Brett Favre

Being that I share an alma mater with Brett Favre, I feel compelled to throw in my two cents about the events that have unfolded over the last month or so. I am surprised at many reactions of people regarding this fiasco.

My friend, Kevin, lives closer to Green Bay than anyone else I know, so I asked him to take the temperature of Packer Nation. Surprisingly, he said that many of the Packer fans he has talked to are siding with management. They think that Favre is ruining his legacy by coming back and can't stand to see him in another jersey.

This baffles me. First of all, can Favre really ruin his legacy? No...he may be able to diminish it, but who is to say that he can't improve upon it. Anyway, who cares? Let him play because he wants to. In an age where we lament over the professional athletes of yore who played for the sheer joy of their game, here we are ridiculing a man for doing just that. Favre was offered $25 million to stay retired! Favre was offered $25 million to stay retired! And yes, I meant to type that twice. His response was basically "Screw it, give me a football to throw."

The second Packer fan complaint was that they hate to see Favre in another team's jersey. Well, why are there Packer fans siding with management then? In my opinion, the Packers basically did everything short of hiring a hitman to prevent Favre from coming back. They could have made it easy for everybody by just going to Aaron at the beginning and saying, "Hey kid, I know we promised you the starting position this year, but there is this guy named Favre who wants to throw until his arm falls off and due to what this organization owes him, we're going to let him do just that."

I saw Ben Roethlisberger interviewed on ESPN, and I loved his remarks on the Favre situation. I am paraphrasing, but he basically said, "He's Brett Favre...he can do whatever he wants. I mean, it sucks for Aaron, but it's Brett Favre." Doesn't that sum it all up?

Why can Favre do whatever he wants? Well, because he's Brett Favre. What does that mean? Being Brett Favre means that you are one of the greatest natural talents in professional sports. It means that you play with childlike enthusiasm and zest for the game that is unparalleled. Being Brett Favre means that your arm gets compared to a cannon, while your charisma and charm levels are off the charts.

I have a friend who played an extra in a Wrangler commercial with Brett Favre. He said that Brett was really laid back and hung out to shoot the shit with the extras between takes.

I was on the phone with a client the other day and he said that he shares hunting land that Favre uses. He said that he has run into him and Favre spent a good 25 minutes talking to him about whatever. I guess we all love Favre because he is so down to earth. You know...he is just the real sodium chloride of the 4.54 billion year old oblate spheroid with an iron inner core.

You gotta love Favre for who he is and what he represents, so forgive him for whatever transgressions you believe he committed against the game and let's enjoy him for however long we can. He just so much damn fun.