It's Time, My Friend...

I almost expect it at this point. This is the year that Brett Favre will retire. Of course, it hasn't been made official. In fact, Brett may not retire for another year or so. He hasn't officially said he's done playing football, but for all practical purposes he's done. Today, I woke up at 7:00 AM so I could get onto the internet and watch the live press conference where Brett was supposed to announce his plans for the upcoming season. He didn't make an announcement regarding his future. He didn't really give any glimpse of his NFL future at all. The only thing that is certain is that no matter what happens this upcoming year, Brett is in a no-win situation. It's actually quite different than any situation he's ever been in before. Brett was always the longshot. Small town quarterback. Second round pick. Not good enough. Too wild to ever succeed. He always had to come through when the odds were stacked against him. Only twice during his 15 year tenure as the Packers quarterback did Green Bay have a supporting cast that could equal Brett's contributions. Both times the Packers went to the Super Bowl. Every other year he was forced to carry Green Bay himself. With the exception of this past year, he always came through. It didn't matter that he never had that one dominant receiver like Montana, Young or Manning or Palmer (Jerry Rice, Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison and Chad Johnson). Unlike golden boy Tom Brady, Brett's played the majority of his career for coaches who weren't exactly stellar (Ray Rhodes, Mike Sherman). Who cares if every year the players around him were constantly changing (his leading receivers throughout his career include Sterling Sharpe, Robert Brooks, Antonio Freeman, Ahman Green, Bill Schroeder, Donald Driver and Javon Walker). Brett didn't care who he was throwing to. Week in and week out, he just kept throwing it. For 14 straight seasons, it was good enough to win.

Today, everyone is taking their shots at Brett. He's selfish. He just wants more money. He's not a team player. He's an egomaniac. He's too old. As someone who's followed his career from the beginning, I can surely tell you all that is a bunch of BS. Every year it seems the deck is stacked against him. He never gave in. All he wanted to do was win. Most of the time, he did.

As he career draws to a close, it seems to be awfully trendy to bash Brett. Maybe thats because he's the longshot that should have gone away a long time ago. Maybe because he seems invincible (he's never missed a game in his 15 NFL seasons). Maybe you hate him because he's beaten your team single handedly year in and year out. However, when he's gone there won't be another one like him. Many will try, none will succeed. We're not talking about some cocky prima-donna whose face is synonimous with dollar signs, we're talking about a legend. I suppose someday people will talk about the legend of Peyton Manning. Or Michael Vick. Maybe the legend of Daunte Culpepper or Eli Manning. In my mind, none of them will ever equal Brett Favre and his band of misfits known as the Green Bay Packers. As long as he was the quarterback, there was always a glimpse of hope. No matter how bad the team around was, you could always bank on Brett to give you a chance.

Maybe Brett will play one more year. We'll find out in the next couple of days. If you don't like Brett Favre, this could be the time you've waited for. Once he's gone, he's gone. At that point, all we have to look forward to is a weekly snoozefest starring Michael Vick or Donovan McNabb. Or, perhaps you'll be tuning to watch that delightful Peyton Manning, or his equally obnoxious younger brother Eli. How about Brad Johnson? Kerry Collins? Daunte Culpepper? I'm sorry, none of them are once-in-a-lifetime legends.

In the meantime, celebrate his accomplishments. I know I will. No matter what happens Brett, you'll always have a fan at All Killer...No Filler.

Brett Favre, the longshot.

Truly, Madly, Deeply,

Bryan