It represented one of the defining moments of Sauce Gardner's rookie season.
And now it's nothing but ... well, sauce.
Cheese sauce, to be exact.
Last October, the New York Jets cornerback donned a Green Bay Packers cheesehead hat as he celebrated his team's upset win over quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Co. at Lambeau Field.
This week, Gardner and two of his Jets teammates — running back Breece Hall and receiver Garrett Wilson — burned that hat. It was part of an effort to convince Rodgers "to come here so we can win the Super Bowl," the reigning defensive rookie of the year said in a video that captured the ritual and was posted on his YouTube channel.
"After the fire goes out, I'm gonna collect the cheese sauce," Gardner said, referring to the plastic hat that had melted in his fire pit, "and we gonna eat some chips and we gonna dip it in the cheese sauce, that's how we gonna do it."
Rodgers is not a free agent. But the four-time league MVP and one-time Super Bowl champion seems to have the upper hand when it comes to deciding his immediate NFL future — which could involve retirement, remaining with the Packers or being traded to a team of his liking.
He reportedly met with members of the Jets organization this week in Los Angeles, causing quite a stir among Jets fans and players.
"Let's make this happen, man," Gardner said into the camera, addressing Rodgers.
"I ain't playing no games no more. I was playing at first. I'm not playing no more. You see it in my face. I need you to lock in. I need you to come here so we can win the Super Bowl. Don't even play no more. I mean, you've been playing a little too much."
Gardner indicated he had spoken with Rodgers.
"We settled our differences, you know, about the cheesehead and everything like that," Gardner said. "He had some energy, I had some energy. Our conversation definitely gave me hope that he could be in that green and white next season."
Gardner asked Wilson what it would be like to catch passes from the future Hall of Famer.
"Man, I just know it's gonna be precise," Wilson said. "That's the main thing I think about when I think about A-Rod."
Just in case setting fire to a piece of plastic wasn't convincing enough, Gardner showed off more of his backyard as more incentive for the indecisive quarterback.
"It's cold outside right now. When this pool cover come off, man, we can take a swim," Gardner said, again addressing a not-present Rodgers. "Like, we can have a little pool party at my crib, man, hosted by you!"
As the video wrapped up, Hall summed up the feelings of Jets faithful everywhere.
"We need you!" he shouted.
