Brett Will Be Back

Did I miss something? Did Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy somehow swipe Brett Favre’s get out of retirement free card before the legend tearfully exited his retirement press conference this last March? Call me naïve, die-hard, biased, or simply ignorant, but I cannot understand why, no matter how much the team wants to move on, the Green Bay Packer organization would not welcome Brett back for one more year. To be honest, they should have been expecting it.
Are Thompson and McCarthy that eager to hand the reins over to Aaron Rodgers and celebrate the second coming of Kyle Boller? We all know how wonderful quarterbacks from the professional training ground at the University of California in Berkeley fair in the NFL. Are they more concerned with winning, or winning with their guys, not a legend brought in by former GM Ron Wolf and molded into a champion by the only coach to win a Super Bowl in Green Bay in recent history, Mike Holmgren. I think that is the real reason. Favre represents the old guard. He is a constant reminder to Thompson of what he has not accomplished yet. It’s unfortunate though, because Thompson has made some wonderful moves so far during his tenure as General Manager. Talents such as Greg Jennings, Ryan Grant, James Jones, Atari Bigby, and Aaron Rousse were all wonderful additions to the team. But now he is letting pride get in the way of making the decision that would give them the best chance of winning this year.
One game, one drive, and three points were all that separated the Packers from their third super bowl appearance in ten years. In 2007 Favre played the third best season of his sixteen year career as a starter statistically, finished second in MVP voting, and recorded the second lowest number of turnovers in his career. Oh yeah, and he still has not missed a start in over 260 games. On second thought, you’re right Teddy, I completely understand why you would feel like moving forward with a quarterback that has never started a game, thrown for 329 career passing yards, and has enjoyed the thrill of exactly one full touchdown pass. Why on earth would you bring back a legend given the opportunity?
All great competitors will have the urge to compete until they take their last breath. Mario Lemieux came back, George Foreman fought after retirement, and Michael Jordan graced us with his presence after saying good-bye not once, but twice. All last season you just felt, you knew, Favre would have one more go-around in him. Now we know he does. You can’t trust an athlete’s emotions immediately after a battle-hardened season. No matter what, Favre was in a no-win situation in March. Either he took his time to make a logical decision after his emotions had cooled and his body had recuperated, but listen to the media question him for putting the team on hold, or he make a decision on the spot, obviously giving into the fatigue and emotion of the previous seven months, but risk the possibilities of second thoughts and regret once the new season drew near.
Brett probably did not, however, anticipate this no-limit game of poker he would be playing heads up against his General Manager. So far it seems that Mr. Thompson has been trying to bully Favre out of the pot, tossing the chips of Brett’s legacy into the middle of the table. Number Four has countered nicely though, matching his stack chip for chip with the possibility of starting for another team, one that could play and beat the Pack in the regular season, or even more embarrassing to Thompson, showing up at training camp, putting more pressure of Thompson, McCarthy, and Rodgers than anyone could possibly imagine. You see, in Green Bay, training camps are held outdoors, open to viewing by the general public. Some players even ride the bikes of children from Lambeau Field to the Don Hudson Center. This is a community affair. I remember myself as a kid, making the two and a half hour trip to Green Bay to watch Favre, in his red practice jersey, sling fastballs to his receivers. He, of course, was practicing with the starting unit. What reaction then will the team receive when Favre is standing on the sidelines watching Aaron Rodgers take his place? As much as some Green Bay fans may tire of this battle, we can all agree on this, that Green Bay is Titletown, it was our legendary coach that lent his name to the Lombardi Trophy, and our only goal is to see that trophy returned to its rightful home. How long would it take for the chants to begin, before Aaron Rodgers crumbles under the pressure, and before the team itself splits into two? You see, Thompson and McCarthy may have tried to swipe Brett’s get out of retirement free card, but when it comes to this high stakes game of poker, number four is still holding the winning hand.