Who is someone who made Aaron Rodgers starstruck?

Following the passing of longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, the former Super Bowl MVP reflected to The Athletic on the importance of the show and its iconic host to him as a child, who spent every night watching it with his grandparents. When the Green Bay Packers quarterback met Trebek during a 2015 episode of “Celebrity Jeopardy!” Rodgers said he felt like a little kid again.

“It’s safe to say I was starstruck. I was just telling one of our coaches today as we talked about it,” Rodgers told The Athletic. “It’s happened a few times in my life where I’ve been starstruck by somebody, and I understand maybe what that feels like to a lesser degree when somebody meets me, and that’s what I think gives me a good perspective with those interactions.

“I think to be starstruck, it has to be a combination of not just really having a connection to somebody deep and meaningful and nostalgic, but when you meet that person, they have the presence and the charisma that you kind of hoped they would, and he definitely did. I was so excited, trying to keep it together and act like it wasn’t the huge deal that it was to me on the inside.”

During his appearance on the show, Rodgers beat “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary and astronaut turned Senator-elect Mark Kelly to win $50,000 for Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer.

Even for one of the NFL’s biggest stars, Rodgers found the opportunity surreal.

“I mean literally, I’ve told friends of mine and people that come and visit and people I’ve dated, six o’clock at my house, is ‘Jeopardy!’ And that’s just the way it goes,” Rodgers said. “I’ve watched it for years and, sadly, he’s gone… I was genuinely bummed out. I really was. There’s a connection with certain people from my childhood, and I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a few of them.”

Upon meeting Trebek, Rodgers was thrilled — and relieved — to discover the host was worthy of his admiration.

“Look, I’ve met a lot of famous people. It’s probably rare that a person is very personable and can carry a conversation and makes you feel great about the interaction than the opposite, which is almost like, ‘Oh man, maybe I wish I hadn’t met that person because I would still think they’re the greatest thing ever.’ But Alex is definitely the former,” Rodgers said. “He was very personable, just all the things that make you feel like he cares about the conversation. I’m talking about old school stuff. I’m talking about shaking your hand and looking you in the eye. I’m talking about eye contact and the conversation. Just the stuff that makes you feel important that I think we often forget about in society because we’re so damn distracted all the time. I felt like he was so present in the moment and I appreciated it.”