So Our Man Brett believes the Packers will win the Super Bowl.
In an e-mail to ESPN, No. 4 opines that his former team is "by far" the best remaining among the final four. He says his replacement behind center is the superior quarterback in the tournament field, better even than the guy in Pittsburgh who has as many Super Bowl rings as Aaron Rodgers does playoff victories.
Favre heaps hosannas on the Green Bay receiving corps, Dom Capers and the defense in general. He stops short, though, of mentioning the general manager, head coach or the person who worked so hard to move his locker to the inaccessible reaches of the Packers' locker room.
And, as the final plank in the platform speech he hopes will secure the nomination as Ambassador for Life with one of the world's pre-eminent franchises, Favre also wrote this about the Packers winning the whole thing:
"I hope they do, if you're wondering."
Actually, I wasn't. Except for an occasional thought of the American Hamlet catching on next season with the Carolina Panthers after the labor dust settles, out of mind had been an appropriate dwelling place for the last QB to lead the Packers to a Super Bowl championship. . . . XIV seasons ago.
When I posted this to a group of friends to who like to discuss the Packers, one colleague responded by noting that he wished the team would win the Super Bowl so fans could move on from Favre. In contemplating that, I don't know that any of us who lived through the Favre years can ever really "move on." I mean, I've never really moved on from Bart Starr--he remains my hero to this day. Because of the depth of my feelings for the Packers, I will probably never be able to shrug my shoulders and say "whatever" about any guy who was as important to the team as a guy like Favre. But passion is a doubled-edged sword, magnifying both the joys and the hurts. I don't know that either ever really go away. Time might mute those feelings to some degree, but if they were really honestly felt, I am not sure that one is ever entirely free of or fully objective about them.
Oh, I will always relish the success the team had with Favre calling the signals and acknowledge the key role Brett played in that era. But feeling again about him as I once did, that is much more difficult. I don't think winning a Super Bowl with another QB is going to flip that switch for me, at least not now, and probably not for some time.
Whilst I don't quite agree with you, your honestly and candor are refreshing.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your checking out this post, Mark, and taking time to share your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI've managed to convince myself that there are, in fact, two Brett Favres. The one I love was the 20th Century Favre. Then, when Y2K hit and the end-of-the-world computer glitch scenario panned out, nobody noticed that a temporal shift caused Good Brett Favre to switch places with Evil Brett Favre (who wisely shaved the goatee so we wouldn't recognize him like Evil Spock in Star Trek.) This disgruntled 21st Century Favre who faux-retired every season, who went to the Jets (and picked up on a hottie half his age by sexting,) all so he could wind up on the Vikings and play a minute or so with Randy Moss... well, that's the one I don't love.
ReplyDeleteThat seems about as plausible as anything else, Russ. Glad someone has some perspective on this situation!
ReplyDelete