{"id":786,"date":"2015-11-16T18:07:13","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T00:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=786"},"modified":"2015-11-16T18:07:13","modified_gmt":"2015-11-17T00:07:13","slug":"im-a-bears-fan-but-i-really-like-aaron-rodgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/im-a-bears-fan-but-i-really-like-aaron-rodgers\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m A Bears Fan, But I Really Like Aaron Rodgers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God, the Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m a Bears fan…a die-hard Bears fan. I was born in Chicago and raised in its suburbs, and I bleed blue and orange. And there is no team in the NFL I despise more than the Green Bay Packers.\u00a0My revulsion for that team\u00a0is in my blood, and I will never, ever root for that Team Which Shall Not Be Named to my north.<\/p>\n

This fact makes it all the more difficult seeing that my wife is a fan of said team. She, you see, was born and raised in the suburbs of Milwaukee, and she bleeds that ugly green and gold. What’s worse…she has successfully corrupted my children into being fans of that Team Which Shall Not Be Named. It’s so very painful to watch…<\/p>\n

Yet, despite my disdain for that team<\/em>, I really like Aaron Rodgers. He is an excellent quarterback, one of the game’s elite, and it is really fun to watch him play (because I’m forced to sit through their games when they are on TV). His only flaw is that he plays that Team Which Shall Not Be Named.<\/p>\n

My respect, admiration, and sheer awe for Mr. Rodgers increased exponentially this past weekend<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers denounced a fan who yelled “Muslims suck!” during a moment of silence before Sunday’s game…One fan in Green Bay…shouted “Muslims suck” during the moment of silence, and it echoed clearly through the stadium…<\/em><\/p>\n

Following the Packers’ 18-16 loss to the Lions, Rodgers addressed the fan’s comments during the post-game presser. <\/em><\/p>\n

“I must admit though, I was very disappointed with whoever the fan was who made a comment during the moment of silence that I though was really inappropriate. It’s that kind of prejudicial ideology that I think puts us in the position we’re in today as a world.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wow. What an amazing thing to say, and – as an American Muslim – I really appreciate Mr. Rodgers for speaking out against such intolerance and bigotry. Muslims also were killed<\/a> in those terrorist attacks, and it is wrong to say that all “Muslims suck.”<\/p>\n

Thank you, Mr. Rodgers. If only you didn’t play for that<\/em> team<\/em>…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God, the Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring I’m a Bears fan…a die-hard Bears fan. I was born in Chicago and raised in its suburbs, and I bleed blue and orange. And there is no team in the NFL I despise more than the Green Bay Packers.\u00a0My revulsion for that team\u00a0is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[675,601,676,11,677,12,674,576],"class_list":["post-786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-common-word","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-attacks","tag-comment","tag-islam","tag-moment-of-silence","tag-muslims","tag-packers","tag-paris"],"yoast_head":"\nI'm A Bears Fan, But I Really Like Aaron Rodgers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm a die-hard Bears fan, but my respect and admiration for Aaron Rodgers increased exponentially after he denounced anti-Muslim comments made during a game\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I'm A Bears Fan, But I Really Like Aaron Rodgers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I'm a die-hard Bears fan, but my respect and admiration for Aaron Rodgers increased exponentially after he denounced anti-Muslim comments made during a game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/im-a-bears-fan-but-i-really-like-aaron-rodgers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Word, Common Lord\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-11-17T00:07:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hesham A. 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Hassaballa","description":"Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow\" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio. Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, \u201cWhy I Love the Ten Commandments,\u201d was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition. In 2007, his blog \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is \u201cthe most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.\u201d \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" has also received an award for being one of the \"Top Muslim Blogs for 2010\" by Awarding The Web. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. 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