I posted this as a MySpace blog already, and I don't have the energy to rewrite my opinions, so I'm copying and pasting. Yeah, it contains information you already know on top of my opinions, but whatever:
For 14 years, ever since I started watching football regularly (before that, it was just the Super Bowl each January and I didn't even know all the rules of the game) the Packers have been my favorite team and Brett Favre has been my favorite player. But while the Packers will always be my team, I'm
thisclose to washing my hands of all things Favre.
I was never too bothered by the "will he or won't he return" drama in Green Bay because I wanted to know. I wanted him to come back and play for the Packers. He was my favorite; a guy I looked up to. Then there was last year's offseason when he retired (the first time). I actually shed some tears with him during his retirement press conference.
I was angered and disappointed by the way things went down last summer with him deciding to come back (that part excited me) and the subsequent trade to New York (that part did not), but I blamed management just as much as Favre on that fiasco. It was 50/50. Both sides screwed up.
Thus, I supported him last year. The Jets were/are in a different conference than the Packers and didn't play each other, so I wanted New York to do well. I wanted Brett to play well because I was a fan of his, and I wanted the Jets to do well because the better they finished, the higher draft pick the Packers would get from them.
Fast forward to early 2009. Brett, after a decent 2/3 of a season and subsequent meltdown in the final 5 games that the Jets played, chose to retire. Again. While it wasn't the way I wanted to see him go out, not even quarterbacking the final play in a loss that helped drive the nail into the team's coffin, I accepted it. I could appreciate all that he did for the Packers over his decade and a half of service with the team. He was still Brett f'ing Favre, after all.
Not long ago, the Jets drafted Mark Sanchez to be their quarterback of the future. Following this move, Brett Favre was released. People speculated that he asked for his release (he had 1 year left on his contract), but it was later confirmed that the Jets' management made the decision on their own.
Now, for the last few days, it's been all over the media that Favre is meeting today and tomorrow with Vikings coach Brad Childress (a man not even Vikings fans like, frequently brandishing "Fire Childress" signs at games) to discuss a possible return. Of course, Minnesota was the team Brett wanted to be dealt to or to sign with if the Packers granted him his release.
ing Minnesota. Green Bay's #2 rival behind the Bears. For all the love and respect I have had for Brett Favre over the years, this is the last straw. To be honest, if he came back now, after retiring TWICE, to play for any team, I'd lose a lot of respect for him. No need to risk bastardizing his legacy any more. He's about to turn 40 and has a bad arm, anyway. But if he comes back for the Vikings, of all teams, Brett will manage to immediately drop from "all time favorite" to "biggest douche in football". The sole reason for such action would be to "stick it" to the Packers. How petty can a man be? The guy's about to turn 40, not 14. How utterly childish.
This whole situation just sickens me. I just hope Brett can salvage what's left of his legacy (and dignity, for that matter) and stick to his decision to retire from the game. If that's not how things go down, and if he ends up in purple for the 2009 season, I hope he gets exactly what would be coming to him.
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