First of all, I must point out to you, reader, that I disdain any form of indecisiveness in people. I respect the kind of person who can make an educated decision and then stick to it. Flip-floppers get no respect in my book, or at least very little. Secondly, I have to also inform you of the great respect I have for Brett Favre - even as a hometown fan of a division rival (my hapless Detroit Lions), I had a hearty amount of respect for him as a player and a person - he is an NFL legend beyond a doubt. But I think once the decision is made to retire, tearful press conference and all, you have to stick to that. Choosing to retire from a good team that had a good run and could make a better run next year... you don't come back from that with "hey, release me won't ya?" five months later.
Sure, he doesn't owe the Packers anything. He has a Super Bowl ring from his time there - the relationship between the Packers and Favre was a mutually beneficial one for years and years. Sure, his "I will, I won't, I will, I won't" dance about retirement the last three years or so has been a continual off-season headache, but so what? Either he does or does not and they drafted Aaron Rodgers for the year when he finally throws in the towel. Which was this year. Defying all logic that I applied to the situation, he retired this year. This was the one year I thought that he would most certainly not retire - after all, he had helped lead that team to a surprisingly good year, a year that I think provided a perfect foundation to spring into the Super Bowl next year if he stayed. And it made sense, stay on for one more year and make that final Super Bowl push. But he retired instead. There was a very emotional press conference and he retired. And I said to myself "Leave it at that, Brett. You did good. You had a great career, you're a legend and an icon for this generation of football. Leave it at that and enjoy the rest of your life." But I guess that was too much to ask for.
So now we get the headache and the drama. A new headache, but still a headache. The return comes and on one hand, he realizes that his place isn't with the Packers. This is, I think, very true. The Packers as an organization need to move on and keeping someone as supposedly-talented as Rodgers on the bench will only stunt his development. But think of the fanbase. Favre is an icon. He was supposed to retire in the green-and-yellow (aren't they retiring his number on opening day?), not retire and come back and play for another team. It will tarnish his legacy. No playoff contender is shopping for a QB right now, for one. If he's looking for one more shot at glory, I don't think it's within his grasp if he's released. He'll end up with a team like Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs or some other hapless team, where he'll spend the years he has left in the tank laboring to help build a team into a contender, at best. Or maybe he'll play forever and be the next Vinny Testaverde, passed around from team to team every year and used as an "ohshit" button when the starting QB gets hurt, but never playing for long and never playing for a legitimate contender. And none of those options are befitting a man of the status that Brett Favre has in the NFL.
I think what we have here is a case of confusion and sadness and doubt. With things warming up, perhaps he misses that feeling, the summer rush, the preparation to get on the gridiron and play 60 minutes. I don't know. But I could understand that. If the man loves football, well, it's hard to give up what you love. But I think there's always a time when it's right to let go. I'm sure he's missing the grass beneath his cleats, or the adrenaline of the pass rusher in his face, or maybe he's thinking that one more year would do it. But I have to ask, do what? What is he after? Does he want a second Super Bowl ring? Or does he just want, simply, to play football more - no aspirations of winning big or anything, but just be on that field with the ball in hand? Either way, I guess what I'm saying is that the man is a legend already - every Packer QB from here on out will be measured by the fanbase to Brett Favre. And honestly, when you've attained that status, no matter how much more football you want to play, all that's left is to tarnish it.
Take a lesson from John Elway, Brett. Your last game may not have been a Super Bowl victory, but there's nowhere left for you to go but down, and nothing left to accomplish. If you miss it that much, do like Steve Yzerman did after he retired from the Detroit Red Wings - take a position with the team. Help coach, or help scout, or help develop young talent. But the moment you set foot on the field in a uniform that isn't Packer green-and-yellow, you begin to soil your own legacy. The fans who have followed you in Green Bay all these years don't deserve that. The fans across the NFL who have followed you all these years don't deserve that. And most of all, you do not deserve that.
Keywords: Green Bay Packers
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