When you're sitting next to Olivia Munn, it's hard to imagine wanting to be anywhere else but Aaron Rodgers was a little antsy at Phoenix's Symphony Hall on Saturday night.
The Packers' star was about to receive his second NFL MVP award and his drop- dead gorgeous girlfriend was by his side yet he would have preferred to be at The Arizona Grand Hotel sequestered away from everyone while preparing to play in Super Bowl XLIX.
"You know, I'd rather be at the hotel right now waiting to play (Sunday). But this is a great, great night," Rodgers said.
Rodgers, who also won the award in 2011, garnered 31 of the 50 available votes from a nationwide media panel, beating out Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt to win the award.
Watt was a unanimous pick as Defensive Player of the Year after a dominant season, and received 13 nods -- the most for any defensive player since the number of voters for the MVP was reduced to 50 in 1999.
Other vote getters were Dallas teammates Tony Romo (two) and DeMarco Murray (two), Patriots QB Tom Brady (one) and Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner (one).
"It's tough (for Watt), to be honest with you," Rodgers admitted. "He knows this - it's an offensive-geared league and a quarterback or a running back usually wins this award. So it's going to be tough, but I think if anybody could do it, it's him."
Rodgers, 31, guided the Packers to a 12-4 record and an appearance in the NFC Championship game before imploding late against Seattle.
He completed 341-of-520 passes for 4,381 yards and 38 touchdowns with just five interceptions for a 112.2 passer rating but a late-season calf injury hampered him and could have cost the Packers a spot in the big game.
Rodgers' TD-to-INT ratio was the fifth-best single-season mark in NFL history and second best among quarterbacks with at least 30 touchdown passes, trailing only Brady's 36-touchdown, four-interception performance in the 2010 season.
"I mean, so much has to come together for (reaching the Super Bowl) to happen," he said. "It was a tough year, injury-wise. I had the unathletic hamstring and calf pulls, and just dealing with those.
"My training staff and my acupuncturist and my massage therapist deserve a lot of credit for getting me back on the field. But it was tough; it was a tough grind to get through it, but that's what we do as players. Nobody's healthy at the end of the season, and we all put our bodies on the line every week for our teammates."
Rodgers is just the ninth player in NFL history to win multiple MVP awards, joining, among others, former teammate Brett Favre, a three-time winner, and Peyton Manning, who has a record five MVPs and presented A-Rod with his award on the NFL Honors telecast.
"That's a great list," Rodgers said. "To be mentioned with those guys is an honor, and like I said up there with Peyton (Manning), 'You set the gold standard.' He and Tom Brady, as far as quarterback play in my generation.
"Peyton's won it five times; I mean, that's incredible. But twice, it feels great. It just means that there's been some consistent play. That's what I pride myself on - a consistent approach every week and a good preparation and making the plays that my teammates expect me to make."
Meanwhile, Rodgers keeps adding to Green Bay's history of MVPs at the QB position, which is now six when you include Bart Starr's honor in 1966.
"I think it can't help but sink in when you play for the Packers," Rodgers said. "And when you live in Green Bay, you know about the (Vince) Lombardi years and Bart Starr and all the guys that made those teams special, and you'd like to be a part of something special yourself and hopefully we can keep it going."
So, how about back-to-back MVPs in 2015?
"Peyton's given me my MVP twice," Rodgers said. "So hopefully he's up there (presenting) next year and I'm not."
[SportsNetwork.com]
