Fool us once, shame on Brett. Fool us twice, shame on us.
Retirement has Favre struggling to make a decision. Imagine him ordering dinner. (US Presswire)
We’ve learned that Favre is comfortable in Wrangler Jeans. I’d be more comfortable knowing that this is our final summer of Favre’s annual “Should I stay or should I go” event.
One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Favre is doing his best to hold off Miami Heat villain LeBron James in the battle of America’s top Diva.
While Favre has dominated the summer headlines the last handful of years, James did what had seemed impossible for so long: steal the cameras.
It took quite the scheme, but James has excelled in turning people off with his antics since deciding it would be best to break Cleveland’s heart on ESPN. In that case, I guess Favre had no choice, but to hold off as long as he did to announce his inevitable return.
Make no mistake, I recognize that Favre is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. For so long we were all in love with the simple country boy from Mississippi who left us in awe.
That seems like a distant memory as he’s become notoriously known for his late-summer announcements. They may not be as lengthy as James’, but they are redundant to say the least.
I am not looking past the difficult decision that every athlete is faced with regarding retirement. To leave the sport that you’ve dedicated your life to, knowing you will no longer play in that capacity ever again, is no easy task. With that in mind, Favre is not the first athlete to make this decision, yet he has handled it arguably worse than anyone before him.
Let’s look at Kurt Warner. Also an aging quarterback, Warner had shown that there was plenty left in the tank and more football was a realistic path had he chosen to continue his career. After the NFC Divisional Round loss to the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, Warner took a few weeks to decide his future. Warner remained out of the news until he held a press conference announcing his retirement.
Now why can’t Favre take a similar approach? I understand the indecisiveness he has towards ending his career. Just stay out of the headlines until you make a decision.
Work out with local high schools in the meantime, but as far as the hoopla goes, spare us, especially after he said this during his press conference Wednesday.
“Me coming in brings in a lot of expectations and a lot of hoopla,” Favre said. “No one is deserving and worthy of all the attention. Heck, I’m not.”
I doubt Favre believes in what he’s preaching given his track record. How else do you explain the alleged text messages he sent to teammates earlier this month?
Vikings players received word from Favre that he was done. As expected, this sparked nationwide coverage of #4. The next day, Favre refuted these messages and said he will play if he is healthy.
I have a hard time believing that his teammates made up these messages, making Favre the ultimate drama queen.
The coverage will build up until the much-anticipated season opener featuring a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship. Then we can focus on the rest of the league as the season kicks off. That is until Favre breaks a nail, ponders his future after this season, or pushes the envelope and sends racy photos, allegedly at this point, to former New York Jets sideline reporter Jenn Sterger.
Hopefully, for the good of our nation, Favre can eventually ride into the sunset and let us remember him once more for the great player that he was.
“Twenty years, and this is the last year of my contract,” Favre said. “I’m sure a lot of people are like “Yes,” including my family.”
If history shows us anything, we can disregard that last quote and prepare for yet another summer of Favre drama. Unfortunately, I lost faith in Favre after his first retirement announcement in 2008. At the time it was sad to see one of the all-time greats in tears about leaving the game he loves.
Then he changed his mind. Sound familiar?
