FOX6's Tom Pipines has EXCLUSIVE interview with Aaron Rodgers' parents

GREEN BAY (WITI) -- Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best player in the National Football League today. He is on track to have a bust in Canton, Ohio as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.



Rodgers was born 30 years ago next month in Chico, California to Ed and Darla Rodgers.

"He was the middle child, and he was very good. Very straight and narrow. Didn't cause any trouble," Darla Rodgers told FOX6's Tom Pipines.

Luke is the eldest Rodgers son, followed by Aaron and Jordan, who's trying to make it as an NFL quarterback himself.

It is not surprising to learn the Rodgers boys were ultra-competitive!

"Some of their greatest stories are when one could dunk on the other, or who in the wiffle ball game got the most home runs, so it was always competitive in our family," Darla Rodgers said.

Ed Rodgers is a chiropractor, and also a former college and semi-pro football player who looks as fit as his famous son. When it comes to the burning desire to win, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"I think I'm pretty competitive myself. I'm pretty intense. Maybe over the top a little bit sometimes," Ed Rodgers said.

However, Dad doesn't take all the credit when it comes to Rodgers' athletic talents. Mom Darla was a basketball player and a dancer in cheer squad.

"I think that my guys did get some of my dancer qualities. You have to know where you are in time and space when you're dancing, and they definitely are running for their lives. They know where they are in time and space to be elusive, and I think that I kinda gave them some of that," Darla Rodgers aid.

Ed and Darla weren't over the top in terms of pushing their sons in sports, but they were supportive.

"I think we've tried to create a real family situation, and close to our family, where our boys can talk to each other and we can encourage each other, and it's just the way our home was developed -- to have a real relational home," Ed Rodgers said.

Rodgers' parents say seeing their son succeed and become, possibly, the greatest quarterback in the NFL is a dream come true, but at times, reality was a nightmare -- especially when Rodgers took over for Brett Favre as the Packers QB back in 2008.

"He's definitely handled things better than I think anybody could. I'm not sure I could handle things that well. The adversity he's gone through is pretty amazing. Even as parents we'll stand back and watch how he handled everything, and I thought it was pretty remarkable," Ed Rodgers said.

"He taught us a lot in how to deal with that. It was new to all four of us, the rest of us, how to handle adversity and things spoken over our son that weren't true, and Aaron just was constantly reminding us to focus on the things that we control and let the rest of it go.

Darla and Ed did that, and today, like Rodgers, they call Wisconsin their second home.