CLEVELAND — Tessa Schneider leaned against a fence near FirstEnergy Stadium Thursday and looked out at the stage set for the NFL Draft.
Hoping, it seemed, that no one would notice her.
“I’m embarrassed,” she said. “Everyone keeps yelling at me.”
They were screaming because she was wearing a Green Bay Packers jersey, and they were screaming about potentially dark news from the Packers: Packers MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers wants to leave Green Bay.
Pete Zuehlke, sporting a Packers t-shirt, looked tired as fans of other teams kept asking him for updates on Rodgers.
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“I started telling everyone, ‘I just got off the phone with (Rodgers). He is fine. There’s no truth to it,” Zuehlke said.
Eventually, the draft began Thursday night and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pulled the story. But make no mistake: The Rodgers rumors generated a buzz among the thousands of fans who converged here on a cold, rainy night.
Tyler Bruno, wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey, was excited to hear the discussions and said he would gladly send Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, 39, to make room for Rodgers, 37. Never mind that Bruno wore a jersey with Roethlisberger’s name and not .7 on the back, and that Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls with the Steelers.
“I mean, Ben’s in his senior year,” Bruno said. “We will love him forever. But if Aaron Rodgers becomes available to the Steelers, we’ll take him.
Devante Coats looked equally cheerful when asked if he would give up Patriots quarterback Cam Newton for Rodgers.
“It would be a great situation, knowing that if (Rodgers) had something to prove, what better way to prove something than to wear the Patriots uniform?,” said Coats, who wore a Patriots jersey with the name of Newton and number 1. the back.
Nathan Hagstrom, a Las Vegas Raiders fan, said he would gladly trade Raiders quarterback David Carr for Rodgers. Although – it’s true – Hagstrom wore a Raiders jersey with Carr’s name and the number 8 on the back.
Not far away, three Packers fans gathered together. Each wore a Packers jersey with Rodgers’ name and number 12 on the back. If they were grieving, it was the denial stage.
“I mean, what team is he going to go to?” asked Chris Ringfield.
A group of San Francisco 49ers fans rushed to the draft round, but stopped long enough to make their feelings clear about the idea of Rodgers playing for the 49ers.
“We’ll give up that No. 3 pick (Thursday) and Jimmy Garoppolo and a second and third round pick as well,” Marlon Valentine said before heading to the stage.
