SPORTS/GOSSIP/THE PACK: It’s Official: AR & Danica Patrick Are “An Item!”

Forget “S___gate,” the Budget, North Korea, and all that other stuff. Even forget the Pack’s post-season reorganization of their coaching staff and front office following a disappointing 7-9 season, The front page news from Green Bay is that the Superstar QB Aaron (“AR”) Rodgers is dating recently retired race driver Danica Patrick.

Here’s what the Green Bay Press Gazette had to say about it in an article that forced most other news to the second page!

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/fans/2018/01/15/its-official-aaron-rodgers-and-danica-patrick-dating/1034255001/

“Buckle up, Packers fans: Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick’s relationship just hit the fast lane.

“Yes, Aaron and I are dating,” the race car driver confirmed Monday to the Associated Press.

Speculation that Rodgers, 34, had moved on from actress Olivia Munn with Patrick, 35, surfaced earlier this month when sports gossip blogger Terez Owens reported the two had been spotted at Chives Restaurant in Suamico after Christmas and “couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other.”

Neither Rodgers nor Patrick had commented publicly about the report, but it didn’t stop Maxim from quickly declaring them “the sports world’s newest super couple.”

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Patrick told the AP the two first met at the 2012 ESPY Awards. There is, however, a wrinkle: Patrick, who was born in Beloit and grew up in Illinois, is a Chicago Bears fan.

“I told him (Rodgers) a long time ago I’d always root for him as a player,” Patrick told the AP. “Now I am probably going to cheer for the whole team. Take out the word ‘probably.’ Now I’m going to cheer for the whole team.”

Rodgers split from actress Olivia Munn in 2017 after three years together. In December, a spokesperson for Patrick announced she and fellow NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were no longer a couple after nearly five years.

TMZ posted a photo over the weekend of Rodgers and Patrick dining with other guests on Saturday night at a Mexican restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona. Patrick lives in Arizona.

In November, Patrick announced her retirement from full-time racing and said she plans to make the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 her final two races.

She has recently been promoting her fitness book, “Pretty Intense: The 90-Day Mind, Body and Food Plan That Will Absolutely Change Your Life,” which came out Dec. 26.”

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Wow! Dinner in Suamico! Can’t get much more romantic than that! We were actually in Green Bay right after Christmas. But, we mostly ate (vegan) Mexican and carry out! Actually, a fantastic and very authentic Mexican restaurant is right in Wick’s neighborhood. I was impressed with how well they had meshed the Mexican and Packer themes. A bunch of big screen TVs tuned to football and low-priced generous Margaritas didn’t hurt either. I highly recommend El Serape (two locations) the next time your travels take you to Packer city.
No speculation yet on how this will affect AR’s play next season. I suspect that the performance of new Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine and how the Pack does in the draft and in free agent signings will have more to do with AR’s stats and the Packer’s success next fall than Danica!
And, yeah, even though as a lifelong Packer fan I don’t normally have much of a warm spot for the Minnesota Vikings, I was very happy for them and their fans after the “miracle catch” by Stefon Diggs for the winning TD. Good luck to them in the NFC Championship game v. the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday! Congrats to Arlington ICE Deputy Chief Counsel David Kelly, a native Minnesotan and die-hard Vikes fan! I just wish my daughter-in-law Anastasia’s mother Susan Rathman had lived long enough to see her beloved Vikes a game away from the Super Bowl!
PWS
01-17-18

IN MEMORIAM: Susan Rathman — Friend, Relative By Marriage, Independent Intellect, Grandmother, Avid Vikings Fan

SUSAN RATHMAN

 

Smart, strong, independent, adventurous, feisty, and liberal. That was Susan Rathman, mother of our daughter-in-law Anastasia (married to our oldest son Wick, and mother of five of our seven grandchildren.)

 

I first met Susan at Wick and Anastasia’s Princeton University graduation festivities in May 1999. That was when Wick asked Anastasia to marry him while giving the “Latin Salutatorian” speech at the Princeton graduation ceremony with all the cameras rolling and the national media in attendance. Susan and I hit it off, dancing at the “graduation dance” and rooting for “the kids” to make it official and start a life together.

 

A small town Midwesterner (like my wife, Cathy) from Minnesota, Susan reminded me of the “true characters” from our college days. Like many of us steeped in an earlier age of upper Midwestern progressive liberalism, Susan eventually took refuge on the coast, in her case the ”left coast” of California. But, she remained an avid Minnesota Vikings fan.

 

In addition to politics, Susan and I bonded over our love of professional football. Her Vikings and my beloved Packers are in the same division, and we always carried on a friendly banter about the games. But, Susan was always the first to congratulate me if the Pack won, and I returned the favor when the Vikes prevailed.

 

Indeed, one of my fondest recollections of Susan was when we “jointly underwrote” a Packers – Vikings game at the one and only Lambeau Field with Wick and my son-in law Daniel. Perhaps fittingly, the game ended in an overtime tie. But, it was a memorable occasion, and I remember walking back to Wick’s car with Susan while discussing what our respective teams had to do to save their seasons.

 

Susan joined our combined family for a number of great events, Thanksgiving at my brother’s home in Milton, Massachusetts, Christmas with us in Alexandria, Virginia, and our daughter Anna’s wedding to Daniel in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The grandchildren were ushers and flower girls, and Susan designed and made their dresses and suits.

 

Sure, there were some rocky spots. We carried on continuing internet dialogues about immigration policy, particularly as it affected California. Susan “respectfully dissented” from my view that religion could play a positive role in the quest for social justice in America.

 

Susan also gave the grandchildren and the Anastasia-Wick family some memorable trips. I see Susan’s strength of character in Anastasia. Of course, I also can see Susan in the faces of our grandchildren, particularly the girls. And, I see Susan’s legacy in the courage, determination, passion, intellectual engagement, and, occasionally, stubbornness of the grandchildren

 

Susan died last Monday, shortly after a final visit from Anastasia, Wick, and their family. Several days ago, I deleted Susan’s name from my e-mail distribution list. I guess that’s when it really hit me that I wouldn’t be getting any more of her comments on my frequent internet posts, nor would we be discussing this year’s Packer and Viking playoff prospects.

 

I miss Susan. I always imagined that we’d “do” another Packer-Viking game together at Lambeau or celebrate the grandchildrens’ graduations; now I have to face the fact that’s not going to happen. I’m thankful for what she left us – Anastasia, the grandchildren, the intellectual dialogue, her commitment to liberalism, and the memories of good times together.

 

On Sunday, October 15, 2017, the Pack will take the field against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. I have to believe that somewhere out there, Susan will be watching. May the best team win!

PWS

06-25-17