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Shutdown Corner

Fri Nov 18 11:10am EST

In Wisconsin, Rodgers almost as popular as Lincoln and Jesus

By Chris Chase

In Wisconsin, Rodgers almost as popular as Lincoln and Jesus

According to a polling firm, the only two people more popular in Wisconsin than Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers(notes) are Abraham Lincoln and Jesus.

A few weeks ago, Public Policy Polling found that reigning Super Bowl MVP was viewed favorably by 89 percent of people in the state, the highest mark for any individual in the country. Pollsters wondered if any figure could top that mark, so they added a few people with "near universal appeal" into a recent national poll to test out Rodgers' popularity. Only the 16th president (91 percent favorably rating) and Jesus (90 percent) finished ahead of the quarterback.

That means Rodgers outpolled George Washington (86 percent), Mother Theresa (83), Martin Luther King Jr. (74), Santa Claus (67), Gandhi (64), Nelson Mandela (64) and Steve Jobs (62), and is in no way an indication that we Americans take our sports heroes way too seriously.

How PPP passed on the chance to ask Wisconsinites their opinions of Brett Favre(notes), Tim Tebow(notes) and Ralph Bruno (founder of the Cheesehead) is a mystery. Opportunity missed.

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