I don’t care what anyone says about the movie “Con Air.” I could watch the 1997 classic on loop all day long and never get tired of seeing actor Nicholas Cage in his role as the beleaguered and misunderstood war veteran Cameron Poe, complete with an unintentionally horrible fake southern accent and the hilarious quotes about putting the bunny back in the box, saving the day, etc.
Two of the more popular gifs shared on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter feature the moment Poe gets off the prisoner bus and smiles as he smells the air while he’s still wearing his prison shackles, and another where he’s grinning and winking as his plan to thwart the hardened criminals who have taken over the plane comes to fruition.
Throughout much of the movie, Poe is shown wearing a tucked-in white tank top and blue jeans with a black belt, with his hair hanging down to his shoulders mullet-style … which is exactly how Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers showed up to the first day of training camp Tuesday at Lambeau Field in what some have described as a “dramatic” entrance:
Let's do this. @AaronRodgers12 #PackersCamp | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/gEgqBhyzJP
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) July 26, 2022
The jokes and memes started almost immediately, with CBS Sports declaring that “Aaron Rodgers transformation into Cameron Poe is nearing completion”:
Aaron Rodgers transformation into Cameron Poe is nearing completion @packers pic.twitter.com/K4dFKqKZd4
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) July 26, 2022
Others took to adding various audio from either the movie or the movie trailer to the viral clip of Rodgers:
i added the audio from the con air trailer pic.twitter.com/ZBMF2euaIk
— Mike Camerlengo (@MCamerlengo) July 26, 2022
"Con Air" / Aaron Rodgers Remix 🤣 pic.twitter.com/2zkFgOT8GD
— Benstonium (@Benstonium) July 26, 2022
One wise guy quipped how, like Cameron Poe’s nemesis “Cyrus the Virus” Grissom, Rodgers has had “a complicated relationship with how they deal with a virus,” a reference to the battles Rodgers had with the Karens in the mainstream media – and in the sports world – in 2021 over his stance on the coronavirus vaccine:
Interesting that both have a complicated relationship with how they deal with a virus. pic.twitter.com/w1StKLdOPh
— Matt Gresick (@MattGresick) July 26, 2022
At the height of the sports media-driven uproar over Rodgers’ vaccination status, former Pittsburgh Steelers QB-turned Fox NFL Sunday commentator Terry Bradshaw ripped the longtime Packers player, essentially calling Rodgers selfish for allegedly only thinking about himself when he wasn’t upfront over the summer about getting the vaccine and then testing positive for COVID two months later.
As to the Cameron Poe comparisons, to his credit, Rodgers took it all in stride, seeming to confirm on Instagram that the Cameron Poe look was exactly what he was going for in the first place, complete with famous quotes from the movie:
As one who thoroughly enjoys watching “Con Air” for more reasons (ahem!) than just the fact that it’s a good movie (and as someone who hardly watches the NFL anymore because I’m sick of the wokeness), to Rodgers and this particular look I say, “More, please!” 😉
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