Brett Favre

It breaks my heart to write this, but Brett Favre is now a NY Jet. 

I have been a Packer fan for over 36 years (since my inception), but now I feel it is time for the Packer organization and I to go in different directions (the line they gave to Brett).  I don't feel I can continue to be a Packer fan as long as Ted Thompson is part of the organization.  When he is no longer a part of the organization, which will hopefully be soon, I will resume my position as a life-long Packer Backer.

A large part of the reason that the Green Bay Packers are what they are today is because of Brett Favre.  Brett is wh0 won them games, and Brett is who filled the stadium to bring in revenue.  Brett Favre's name will be remembered long after Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy or Aaron Rodgers have been long forgotten.  Let's face it, Brett Favre is part of the reason Wisconsin is what it is today.  He is our identity.  Our Breweries have moved to foreign shores (and Chicago) and California has taken over the title of America's Largest Dairy Producing State.  The only thing we had left is Brett Favre, and now he is gone.

It is really Brett's fault that he is gone.  He has spoiled Packer Nation into thinking that Quarterbacks are a given for us.  He alone has saw to it that we have not had to worry about who our quarterback was going to be every week.  During the Brett Favre era, when the Packers had 1 and only 1 quarterback, the rest of the league has gone through over 1000 starting quarterbacks.  A victim of his own greatness.

I hear a few Packer Fans complain about Brett coming out of retirement, saying he should have stayed retired, and questioning his reason for coming back.  This to me, is the biggest insult.  For over a decade the thing that we admire most about Brett is his Passion for the game.  We talk most about his enthusiasm, how he LOOKS like he's having fun out there.  His smile as he charges the end zone to tackle his receiver after a touchdown throw.  And now these people just expect him to suddenly lose that passion and desire to play, just because he retired?  That's the same as the people who question when a Marine goes haywire and shoots people when he's home on leave, or kills horses, or puppies.  You can't train a Marine to kill, then expect him to just shut that off.  Same with Brett.  He wasn't just going to lose that passion the day he retired.  He's a competitor, and that desire will always burn in him.  It's just a shame that after last season, Thompson gave him the cold shoulder and drove him into retirement before he was ready.

It's going to be odd for me, but the way I feel right now, every time Aaron Rodgers goes back to pass, I hope he gets intercepted.  I hope the Packers go 0-16 this year, and at the end of the year, all of Packer Nation and an unemployed Ted Thomspon say, "Gee, maybe we should have let Brett come back for another."