Favre

So I was trying to figure out who and what to write about and one thing a friend of mine brought up was Steve McNair. I was going to do it, but then I realized that everything has been written about already. The good and the bad. So then I came to my next topic(which again has had a ton written about him, mostly negative)...Brett Favre. I am a huge fan of his and always will be.

It pains me to sit here and read all the negative press surrounding him. Everyone just thinks he should retire and maybe go into broadcasting or coaching or whatever. He is old(I believe he is like 39 or something, which is about 60 in football years), worn down(shoulder problems last year) and washed up. My argument is this. He is old, but he still plays with the love and excitement of a starter in a Superbowl who just threw the winning touchdown in overtime. He has taken beating after beating, hit after hit and has never missed a game since his first come from behind win back in 92. He has been extremely durable throughout his career with 269 straight starts. No other quarterback is even close to that milestone. While he may have struggled a little last year, it wasn't all his fault. The Jets' offensive line was a fine cheese that rats had gotten a hold of. The Wide Receivers, while good, were very inconsistent. Add to that, the Defense was just pathetic, so that hurt his win total. The late season collapse was mostly his fault though. He was hurt and for some reason he kept himself in and the coaches didn't take him out so, now that I think about it, there should be dual blame.

His fall from grace started when he first announced his retirement with the Packers. He had the tear-filled press conference where he spilled his heart with the world, and if you payed attention, you could see he was hurt. He was retiring from the thing he loved and the thing he knew about more than anything. It was later revealed that he was allegedly forced out of Green Bay by Ted Thompson(which I fully believe since he has always wanted a team of HIS players, even in Seattle) and even when he said he wanted to un-retire, Thompson was outraged. He first of all said that Favre would have to be a backup. After Packer fans everywhere complained and asked for Ted's head, he backed off a little and said that Favre could compete for the starting job. It was highly expected that Ted Thompson would NEVER have let Aaron Rodgers lose the starting job. There was also the contract offer of 20 million dollars to just sit at home and maybe make some public appearances for the Packers. Favre still wanted to play. And he still does. You could see it when he announced the retirement. This time is different though. When he asked for his release from the Jets, it was so that the Jets wouldn't have to pay anything and he could go and show Ted Thompson twice a year that he made a huge mistake by spitting in Favre's face.

I say way to go Favre. It may just be a way to seek revenge on his old boss, but wouldn't every one of you love to do that to someone that once told you that you are worthless? Wouldn't you love to go to a competing company and show your old boss that you are extremely valuable still and you can still do whatever you do better than just about every other person in the industry? That's what Favre wants. He wants to go out on a high note and retire when he wants to, not when another person wants him to. For that I applaud him. I think it is great, and while I am a Packer fan with all my heart, I will have to break the one rule I thought I would never have to break and root for the Vikings. I will be bleeding all kinds of color this year. There will be purple, white, green, and gold pouring from whatever cuts i get. Mark my words too...the Vikings will be dominant this year. They finally will have the missing piece that they need for the puzzle. They now will have the best running back in the league, a dominant defense, a real good offensive line(I'd say great, but Matt Burk is no longer a Viking as you all know) and a solid receiving corps. Add to that a quarterback that can still play real well, and you have yourself one heck of a team. Will that amount to a Superbowl trip or win? Only time will tell. But all I know is when the Packers play the Vikings on October 5th and November 1st, I am going to be chanting GO VIKES GO! Favre will get his revenge this year...oh yes he will. And will it be a bittersweet win for Favre and all Favre fans who know the real story of the Favre saga.