Today, Jan. 12, is the big playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. With Chico being three hours north of San Francisco, most residents are fans of the 49ers. However, the Packers’ star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is a 2002 graduate from Pleasant Valley High School, one of the two high schools in town. That makes a lot of people support the local star and his team.
“That’s been kind of the question around here. Are you for the 49ers or the Packers?” said Curtis Colwes in a Jan. 11 report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Colwes is a Chico High School teacher who coached against Rodgers.
Rodgers, himself, was a 49ers fan and will “tell you all the Niner history there is,” said Ron Souza, Rodgers’ quarterbacks coach at Pleasant Valley.
“Big, big Niner fan,” Souza said. “They are all up here.”
This will be the second time this season that the 49ers and Packers play against each other. The season-opening game at Lambeau Field resulted in a 30-22 win for the 49ers. Niners quarterback Alex Smith completed 20 of 26 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, while Rodgers completed 30 of 44 passing attempts for 303 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
Things will be different this time around. Smith is now the 49ers’ second-string quarterback, and Colin Kaepernick is the starter. So far this year, Kaepernick has completed 136 of 218 pass attempts for 1,814 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions, according to his ESPN profile. Kaepernick took over as starter halfway during the Nov. 11 game against the St. Louis Rams, when Smith left the game with a concussion. Since then, Kaepernick has put up impressive numbers that coach Jim Harbaugh has decided to keep him as starter and have Smith as backup.
This is also the first time that Rodgers has started against the Niners in Candlestick Park, according to a Jan. 12 report from the New York Post. So far this season, Rodgers has completed 371 of 552 passing attempts for 4,295 yards, 39 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
The game will air at 5 p.m. on Fox.
Are you rooting for the 49ers or the Packers? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
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