NFL analyst interested in replicating Aaron Rodgers’ darkness retreat
Aaron Rodgers has a big decision to make regarding his NFL future. At 39, it wouldn't be a big surprise if he did decide to retire. He could also make a return, albeit not with the Green Bay Packers.
He's decided to take a "darkness retreat" in order to clear his mind and make the right decision for his future. Rodgers has been known to use drugs before, including ayahuasca, so there's a potential that this kind of retreat might involve that.
ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg said:
"If you were making fun of this concept, I really sort of questioned the openness of your own mind. Ayahuasca is something very different from this. Ayahuasca is the taking of an entirely different substance that causes you to hallucinate and causes you to throw up endlessly and all sorts of other things."
He continued:
"And that's what Rogers was talking about, famously last year, and everyone kind of looked at that sideways, because it is, at least in my estimation, a vastly different thing from this. But if you know anything about Buddhism, or any of the other sorts of higher levels of consciousness that people have been trying to achieve, for literally thousands of years, and the benefits that can have this is not something to make fun of. This is awesome."
He finished, saying:
"That means it's not for everyone. I'm not sitting here saying everyone needs to go do a four night darkness retreat. But in all honesty, if that was I actually would be interested in doing something like that."
Greenberg is obviously in full support of Rodgers using whatever he needs to find the place he needs to be to make this decision. It's not an easy decision to make and, however he goes about it, it's clear that Aaron Rodgers is taking it seriously.
Will Aaron Rodgers retire?
Aaron Rodgers is encroaching 40 years old and he's not getting any younger or better. At some point, age will catch up with him and he won't be the same player he was before.
That hasn't appeared to happen yet, though. He struggled last year, but a lot of it was due to poor offensive conditions, more so than his own abilities. He's probably not the back-to-back MVP quarterback he once was, but he is still one of the best in the league, so retirement would feel premature.