Aaron Rodgers' championship belt TD celebration is approaching Lambeau Leap status in Green Bay.
Self-motivation can be an interesting thing sometimes. Whether in business, entertainment or in sports, sometimes individuals come up with unique ways to motivate themselves when things are not going the way they had planned.
Hence the now famous Aaron Rodgers championship belt touchdown celebration.
Selected late in the first round of the 2005 draft, Rodgers languished on the Packers scout team for three long years while backing up Brett Favre. During those three frustrating years, Rodgers attempted a grand total of 59 passes in real games and threw one touchdown. However in practice, Rodgers was the king.
Through the tedious daily routine of running the scout team, Rodgers came up with a unique idea to motivate himself and motivate the rest of the guys who were nothing more than practice fodder.
"It is something that started on the scout team when Ruvell Martin and I used to hook up with long passes in practice and just trying to have fun with it," Rodgers said. "That was my game. That was my Super Bowl every day, playing on that scout team and trying to make plays. A lot of times you have guys in there who do not want to be a part of it and maybe not giving the same kind of effort so you have to do something to get them interested and if it means me being goofy and doing silly celebrations, so be it."
It turns out that his teammate loved it and loved him for doing it.
"Now we all do it," tackle Chad Clifton said. "In our walkthrough if Matt Flynn is playing safety and picks off one of Aaron's passes, he's doing the belt. It's definitely grown and you see other players doing it now. It's pretty funny to watch."
Fullback and Green Bay folk hero John Kuhn didn't start out as a fan of the "belt," but now he loves it like everyone else.
"His celebration is pretty neat," Kuhn admitted. "When he first started doing it we were like 'what's this guy doing?' But it's grown on everybody."
The celebration isn't all fun and games. Rodgers' teammates know what he went through during those three disheartening years backing up Favre. They know there's a deeper meaning to the "belt" and as Clifton points out, they are proud of him whenever he straps it on.
"He's our guy, he's our quarterback, it means a great deal to us," Clifton said.
"Guys liked it," Rodgers added. "Guys on my team imitated it; guys around the league try to imitate it sometimes. I like it."
Not only do the guys on the team like it, but Packers fans all across North America have fallen in love with it. It is so popular that it has its own Facebook page boasting 7,525 members.
Tight end Donald Lee loves the belt for a number of reasons, especially because it pays tribute to Rodgers' favourite sport outside of football.
"He's a fan of the WWE (and so am I)," Lee said. "To see him do that it symbolizes that the champ is here and symbolizes he just made a great play. The guy is playing lights out it is an awesome deal to see him do that."
Rodgers does admit he's channeling his favourite wrestler when he straps on the "belt" after scoring a touchdown.
"Hulk Hogan, he's one of the greatest of all time."
Packers fans are hoping that Rodgers straps on his championship belt numerous times Sunday against the Steelers.
