Brett Favre has accomplished a lot of things: over 61,000 career-passing yards, 442 regular season touchdowns, 5,377 completed passes, one Super Bowl ring...
...and the ability to make me despise one of the best quarterbacks of my generation.
For a gunslinger, Favre does a lot of wavering back and forth. For the past couple of years, it was between retirement and leading the Packers for another season. As of late, the Gulfport, Mississippi native has thrown into the mix that he wants to keep playing, regardless of the team he'd be commanding down the field.
He's been throwing hissy-fit interviews and venting frustrations on national television and the sports world has eaten it up. FOX News sought after an exclusive interview with Favre and aired an overhyped, nothing-new, two-part "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" on July 14th and 15th.
The NFL Network has even given way to the BFL Network (Brett Favre Love Network). They're hosting a "32 reasons in 32 days why he should come back" followed by "32 reasons in 32 days why he shouldn't."
My only question is: do we truly care this much about Favre? Is the media reporting on Favre this much because we really care to listen, or does the media only think we care because it's all over every other news outlet?
Because of the exorbitant amount of love being given to Favre from national outlets, Favre Madness is trickling down into the local and regional newspapers and Internet sites as dozens of headlines are popping up every day chronicling this ridiculous saga. I read headlines such as "Jets receive permission to talk with Favre, ESPN says" and "Bucs have permission to talk with Favre, too" and all I can think is that this stuff is backpage material, people. An NFL teams gaining permission to talk to a player is of fourth or fifth-page importance.
For any team wishing to take on Favre's three-year, $39 million contract, I dare you to watch that three-hour breakdown I like to call the 2008 NFC Championship Game? Favre looked old and cold. A favorite sportswriter of mine always said: "If you're not getting younger, you're getting older."
Teams like the Cardinals, Vikings, and Steelers — teams that Favre could fit in — have no use for a quarterback who is past his prime and carries a small salary of what you could be paying six or seven players.
Favre is a smart man; he knows what he is doing in wanting to come back and make the rest of his money. And that's all it is. It's about the money. There's nothing wrong with that, but stop playing the "I'm frustrated with Packers management" card, Brett. You weren't getting Randy Moss last year. You weren't even close. He was going to the Patriots and even took a pay cut to do it.
I have to believe No. 4 cannot be effective anymore, though some will say he is more competitive than ever now.
Cut him, clear this out of Aaron Rodgers' head, and move on, Green Bay.
July 28, 2008
Mary Schneider-Cheney:
coment by bret farve at u of so, miss may not want his name displayed at greenbay because of he is treated
August 5, 2008
AJ:
What is the point of this? To rant about an issue that everybody has ranted about for 5 months in some way, shape, or form? I know a lot has changed since it has been written, but I don’t see any purpose here. I think it is obvious that people do want to hear about Brett Favre, of course people love drama. Why do you think there’s an entire genre of movies devoted to it?
How you assess Favre as ineffective just baffles me. Why would he suddenly be ineffective now? What has led you to believe that? Is it really one bad game in freezing cold weather, because that is flimsy to me. Yes, he looked horid in that game, but that’s one game in the worst conditions of the season. It may mean he needs to move on from Green Bay, but not that he’s ineffective.
But the thing I most strongly disagree with is you thinking it’s about the money. It is very clearly not about money. It’s about wanting to play football. If it were about money (and I know this was written before the 20 million to stay retired deal but) Favre would have taken that 20 million. If Favre cared about money, he’d be on as many commercials as Peyton Manning. If Favre cared about money, He would have shopped his name around to ESPN and other broadcasting companies. No, he was in Mississippi with his family, playing football at a high school. It is about wanting to play football, not money.