A Brief History of the Man Who Won't Go Away

I first started to really follow sports in 1988 while living in the small town of Pacific Grove, CA which happens to be just short of 2 hours south of San Francisco. The Raiders were still in their self-imposed exile in Los Angeles so I became a fan of the Niners. These were not tough times to get on the bandwagon. They had two future Hall of Famers at QB. The team had won two Super Bowls earlier on in the decade and were perennially in contention for the playoffs. The team then proceeded to win the title later that year and again the next...then again in 1994. Then came the Green Bay Packers and a troublesome QB by the name of Brett Favre. Three straight years the Pack eliminated my team in the playoffs. I grew to despise Favre. I didn't care that he played the game with the enthusiasm of a school boy. I especially hated the "hop". You know...the fake throw that he sells by jumping up after handing the ball off that usually goes for at least 10 yards. I even hated the way his last name was pronounced and embarrassed myself in a crowded theatre by laughing hysterically at that scene in "There's Something About Mary" that every Niner fan knows by heart. Then came the 1998 season. We got the monkey off our back by beating the Pack in the playoffs on the last play of the game when Young hit an inexperienced receiver over the middle in the endzone who had 4 previous drops by the name of Terrell Owens. I'll never forget that play. I was able to no longer hate the Packers. I grew to enjoy watching Favre thread the football through two defenders and smile instead of scream.

Flash forward to the end of the 2007 NFL season.

Favre had led the Packers into the NFC Championship Game. He had a phenomenal game considering the sub-zero temperatures (including a club record 90 yard TD to Donald Driver) but threw an ill-advised pass in OT that was intercepted and set up the game winning FG by the Giants. In the ensuing off-season, Favre announced his retirement. Then he asked for his outright release, which the Packers rightfully declined saying he could compete in camp with his chosen successor Aaron Rodgers. He then claimed that we wasn't "fully committed" to the retirement and was "forced" into it by the Packers organization so that they could move forward. A few months later, after meeting with Packers head coach Mike McCarthy who realized that bringing him back would be detrimental to team morale, he was finally release and he signed with the NY Jets.

Flash forward to the off-season between the '08 and '09 NFL season.

After not re-signing with the Jets, Favre said he was retired. For good. The Vikings tried to say otherwise. They offered him a spot in camp, but he declined. He affirmed that he was staying retired and also mentioned that he required surgery on his throwing arm. Vikings head coach Brad Childress addressed the situation by saying that if indeed Favre wanted to come back, he would have to say so by the beginning of training camp. That deadline came and went with no sign of Favre outside of Mississippi. Then came August 18th. Almost a month after training camp had started, Favre signed with the Vikings.

This frustrates me to no end. Favre has not only denigrated his legacy but he has also started to insult his greatest fans, those of the Packers. He was quoted as saying that true Packers fans would understand him signing with a division rival because of his desire to play. Desire? If he so wants to play, why retire? The easy answer is that athletes love to compete and hate not being able to when they reach a certain age. Another thought is that he just doesn't like camp. News flash - most players don't. It's miserably hot and the two-a-days are brutal. My thoughts are that he just doesn't want to leave the game after disastrous endings (the INT in the playoffs and only 2 TD's vs 5 INT's in the last 5 games of last season). I think he will continue this charade until he can walk off into the sunset with a Lombardi trophy in hand.