FanNation

I find myself in an odd situation, one I never expected to be in.  As one can easily tell by my screen name, Brett Favre is my favorite athlete of any sport.  I grew up watching him.  I am also a fan of the Packers due to a simple childhood misunderstanding.  When I was just a boy back in 1994 I was watching football with my dad, though I wasn't a very big fan at the time.  However, there was a small box score in the corner of the game we were watching, and one of the teams playing in that little boxscore was Green Bay, abbreviated to "GB."  Being a kid, I instantly was interested, because my initials are "GB." 

At first I watched them with the mild interest of a kid who didn't understand football.  Then I saw Favre do his thing in the mid-1990s (perhaps the best three year stretch of a QB ever).  I was forever changed from an indifferent viewer to an avid fan of both the Packers and their golden boy Favre.  Their victory in Super Bowl XXXI (still in my infancy of avid fanhood) only redoubled the bond that everyone has with thier favorite team and favorite player.  Growing up, Favre WAS the Packers, as indescernable as James Bond and vodka martinis, shaken not stirred.

I rose and fell with this team and its star to the current day. The following Super Bowl crushed me, Favre's performance the day after the death of his father is still the greatest sports memory I have, and his last pass as a Packer that ended their title hopes last fall epitomized what made him so great to watch: every play could be the play of the game for either team.

Favre's retirement announcement wasn't unexpected, but it wasn't easy on me either.  In a very dramatic sense, it's like having a loved one with a terminal illness:  you know the end is coming, which helps take the edge off, but it doesn't make it feel ok (as one who has recently lost a loved one after a long bout with cancer, I am in no way saying that sports retirement and death are on the same level). I took solace in two things, 1) I was lucky enough to witness perhaps the greatesr QB ever nearly from start to finish and B) he would retire a Packer, like he belonged. 

In some small corner of my mind I knew he would want to come back, but I always figured it would be with the Packers.  There simply couldn't be a time that Favre would not be welcome as a Packer, a time that Favre wasn't a Packer.  But with Favre's official request for release, it appears that time has come, and I can't say I fully disagree.  Would I like to see Favre return as a Packer?  Sure, but I also know it is best for the team's future if they move on with Aaron Rogers.  The Packers can't be blamed here.  On the other side of the coin, is Favre to blame for seperating the inseperable?  I can't say he is.  If he still wants to play and still can play, and the Packers don't want him on their team, he should be allowed to continue his career elsewhere. 

In a perfect world the Packers would have won the title last year and Favre would have happily sailed into the sunset.  I firmly believe that a large portion of Favre's desire to return is due to the fact that he was thisclose to the Super Bowl and fell short.  He's wondering "what if" and he wants to find out. Whether he will be able to succeed elsewhere with some odds stacked against him (new offense, new city, Madden Curse) is another question for another day, but he deserves the chance to try.

As for what I will do, I am unsure.  I am a diehard fan of both the Packers and Brett Favre.  I suppose it will be sort of like being the child of a divorce: I will love them both the same and be awkward when they meet again, wondering why they ever had to split up but knowing everything will be ok in the end (as one who has divorced parents, I am in no way saying a famous athlete leaving town is like a divorce).  Joe Montana ended his career in Kansas City, Michael Jordan ended his career in Washington, and Babe Ruth finished up with the Boston Braves.  I guess there is room for Favre on that list.