Since Brett Favre retired from the NFL in 2008, there have been multiple instances, in word and deed, of him hoping for the Packers' demise.
Favre claims he harbors no ill will against his former team.
That, of course, is a crock.
A week ago, Favre once again was cheering for the Packers' defeat.
From ESPN:
Undoubtedly, the postmortem on Favre will last awhile, really until the 2011 season begins and he's at home, not headed to Miami or Washington or someplace where they're desperate for a legend to play quarterback. To those of us who follow the Bears, Packers, Vikings and Lions (no matter how inglorious they were as a group in some years), Favre will always wear green and gold. In fact, few things have been as exciting in 30 years of covering sports as seeing Favre, in his prime, play quarterback at Lambeau. It was like seeing Jordan in the old Chicago Stadium; or Larry Bird in Boston Garden; or, presumably, Joe DiMaggio in Yankee Stadium. Favre's a Cheesehead, not a Jet or a Viking.
That's certainly how the Bears' defenders will remember him, the dragon who tormented them for the better part of two decades. It must represent some sort of closure for the Monsters, to put Favre not out of his misery but theirs. A division title -- it'll always be the NFC Central to some of us -- and a little piece of Favre's hide on their wall make for a pretty good night for the Bears.
I disagree.
Favre will not always be remembered as wearing green and gold.
Since he retired in 2008, Favre has been on a mission to humiliate the green and gold. He was determined to quarterback for the Vikings or the Bears to get revenge.
Unfortunately for the Packer faithful, that is the final chapter in Favre's NFL story. That's the reality. I, for one, cannot ignore reality.
I'm not saying that fans won't or shouldn't eventually welcome Favre back to the Packer fold if he lets go of his bitterness, but nothing can change how Favre has behaved since leaving the team.
When the bitter Favre longs to stick it to Ted Thompson, he sticks it to the fans. When Favre trashes the Packers or assists their opponents, he's hurting the fans. Favre doesn't seem to get that.
...What [the Bears] want now is the second seed in the NFC, behind Atlanta. That would assure a bye in the first round and a home game in the second round. But that means winning at least one of two remaining games: against the Jets at home or the Packers in Lambeau. And Lambeau brings the evening full circle, to a final mention of Favre.
Peppers was one of the Bears defenders who found Favre after the game, to shake his hand and wish him well, and more actually. "I was happy Brett suited up," Peppers said. "I figured it might be the last time I got to see him across the field from me on the opposing sideline. Yeah, I talked to him after the game. I told him it was an honor to play against him. He said, 'Likewise. … Go beat the Packers in a couple of weeks.'"
Wouldn't the Chicago Bears love to honor that last wish?
See? This is what I'm talking about.
"Beat the Packers"?
In effect, Favre is cheering for the Bears to keep the Packers out of the playoffs.
Yeah, right. Favre is thoroughly green and gold, every spiteful, inadequate inch. Sure.
At this point, given Favre's attitude and his actions, I don't want to see his number retired by the Packers in the near future. I don't think #4 deserves to be retired along with the numbers of Packer greats Don Hutson, Tony Canadeo, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, and Reggie White.
A traitor doesn't belong on Mt. Rushmore.
Favre's been spewing crap since 2008. Three seasons have passed and he's still against the Packers. That's a problem.
The fact that Favre came out of retirement, three times, and played for other teams, including a division rival, doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the way he did it and why he did it.
Time heals. I think that's true. When it comes to retiring Favre's number, the Packers should take their time, lots and lots of time.
I think Favre needs to give some indication that he wants to be remembered as part of the Green Bay team before the Packers should consider a ceremony honoring him. The onus is on him to show that he's green and gold.
It all comes down to this: Favre thinks he's bigger than the Packers. The guy is not a team player. It's all about him.
Note to Favre: NO ONE who's truly green and gold wants the Bears to beat the Packers on Sunday.
1 comment:
It would seem we are kindred spirits when comes to Mr. Favre AND the political spectrum.
It is a sad end to Favre's career. I just wish that there hadn't been so much hype surrounding Favre all these years because there are so many people who confuse the reality of productivity on the field as it builds upward to ultimate success, and the NFL marketing machine to generate dollars. The was in effect two Brett Favre's, the guy who was too good to cut but not good enough to be elite for his team, and the guy who walked on water as far as the casual fan who didn't pay anymore attention than what John Madden or Terry Bradshaw had to say.
In the end, Favre used the Packers to generate his numbers, but when it came time for him to put in the sweat to help carry the team beyond the playoff borderline, he didn't feel that he had to, so when the slope got steepest he had no idea what to do other than wing it. And he AND the team got burned.
There's a reason why Dan Marino is still on people's lips but no one makes much reference to the Dolphins of the 80's an 90's. It's because his accomplishments ended up being largely personal. By and large it's the same with Green Bay and Favre. Favre is the one who gets the noteriety, the Packers not so much, only by way of reference to Favre. There are differences, the Packers did get a Super Bowl, but as a contrast to the Marino Dolphins, that's only because the Packers were the best team for their year while the Dolphins were second to the 49ers. Otherwise the Packers would be completely footnoted just like the Dolphins are in the Marino narrative.
Favre used the Packers and their benefits to run up great personal numbers but he gave very little in return. And then, having read all the press clippings from the NFL marketing side of the ledger, expected the Packers to mortgage their future for his one last push. What did the Packers owe him? HE owed the Packers. And he treatd them like his semi-retirement hobby shop for years, and threw fits that they weren't making institutional sacrifices for his benefit even though it was HE who let so many years and chances go by through lack of commitment and effort to be seriously elite. Being King of the 85th Percentile was good enough, so he thought. And so the Packers rarely tasted the rarified fruits of ultimate victory and are just a notch above those Dolphins of a few decades back.
Favre owed the Packers and he treated them so poorly. And the rank and file lunkheads who conflate the NFL on some par with the WWF see it the complete opposite - through lunch pail parochialism they think the franchise owed Favre and so the messy divorce was a result of THEIR ingratitude. It makes me sick....
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