Brett Favre has retired
By Tom Grout
March 4, 2008
I don’t think I will truly believe it until the football season comes around and there is no number 4 in the Green Bay Packer program. But word has it today that Brett Favre has retired.
I’m not sure I believe it yet because we went through this year’s ago with Muhammad Ali with his numerous retirements and we also went through it with Michael Jordan. So, like I said I will believe it when it actually happens.
I haven’t always been a Brett Favre fan. I suspect it is mostly because he plays for our Vikings rival the Green Bay Packers. But like a lot of players I haven’t liked, as soon as they get older they seem to mellow out, or I do, and I don’t mind them so much. Kinda like Reggie Jackson, I never really liked the guy but I thought the older he got the more mellow and I eased up on him a bit. This theory doesn’t always hold true though as I was a big fan of Joe Morgan as a player but now as an announcer, I’m not so sure.
As a Viking fan, I can’t help but throw this out at you all. How about the Vikings swing a deal for Favre? He has stated that he could play a couple more years and last year he had a good season. He also holds the record for consecutive games played so health, to this point, has not been a problem.
How could the Vikings not be thinking about it? They have made it clear they want to win now with the players they have and have had some nice free agent signings so far. In a lot of people’s opinions the Vikings are now just a quarterback away from possibly winning the whole thing. You have to admit it has to be tempting.
Favre would bring on immediate talks of a possible Super Bowl and I can’t help but think Viking fans, no matter how they felt about him in the past, would love to have him on their side of the ball. His presence in the lineup would make everyone better. The confidence level would go sky high. To me it’s a no brainier for the Vikings to at least inquire about it.
Why would Favre want to come to Minnesota? Lot’s of reasons. One is to just get back at the Green Bay front office. He thought they dismissed him a little bit for not begging him to reconsider, so this would be a way to show them up by signing with division rival the Vikings. To add insult to injury, win the division with the Vikings.
The Vikings have just signed a good deep threat receiver, the offensive line is pretty solid, and they have one of the best running backs in the league. They also have one of the better defenses and they play indoors. He also has a couple of ex teammates on the Vikings who are friends, Darren Sharper and Ryan Longwell, so what’s not to like?
I realize seeing Favre wearing the Purple colors of the Vikings and not the green and gold of the Packers would look a little weird. Like how Harmon Killebrew looked in his Kansas City Royal uniform during his last year of playing. But hey, we would all get used to it. If you want to look at it another way, he would be a great teacher for Tarvaris Jackson. I’d call him a mentor but I don’t think Brett wants to be a mentor, but T-Jack could still learn a lot from him.
Ok, so maybe I’m out of my mind, but I would get excited again about the Vikings if he played for them. Come on, how many of you out there did not think of this very same thing the minute you heard he retired. If anything just having him out of the division is exciting.
Tom --
Excellent idea. I doubt it could happen, but I love the idea. I'm not sure of Farve's contract situation. If he's in the middle of a contract, he can still retire, but the Pack would retain his "rights". In that case we can forget it, because GB's front office just ain't gonna OK it. Additionally, you think Farve would intentionally fire-bomb the Wisconsin love-fest for he & Dani? The Vikes do have a history of bringing old QB's -- Archie Manning, Jim McMahon, Cunningham, Jeff George. Why not Farve -- my guess is he would be a whole lot more like Cunningham than Manning, and really, what's to loose, have you seen the names of the stiffs that are trying to land?
Nah, Favre ain't the answer for the Vikes!
Even if he were allowed to get out of his current contract, he's looking at one year only, and it would all be about $.
Favre, as much as I hate to admit it, was wonderful. You hated the guy if you were/are a Vikings fan, but that kid could just play football. John Randle loved him. As Bud Grant says: it's all about the longevity of an athlete that dictates his ability. (Tarkenton, Marshall, et al)
And yes, the Vikes do have a penchant for resurrecting the dead, er, uh, I mean old qbs, but TJack is the direction they're going and don't be surprised to see the Vikes draft another qb this year!
I think he'd help the Vikes alot. I doubt if GB or Favre will be willing. I don't think I could take it if he did. The whole season would be about him as the media would dwell on that to sickening lengths. I just don't like the way the NFL treats him like a god and that's why I couldn't watch GB games this past few years. It ruined it for me as he was and still is an outstanding player and he's the kind of player that I would normally love but he was way too often the only story line those moronic TV announcers could develop. I do admire the way he played all those years, what he accomplished last year, and how he's going out. So in a way, I hope the Vikes could get him, but in a way, I also hope they don't.
Stay retired or stay with Green Bay, I say. I don't think Brett would really want to play all his home games on artificial turf. He would have to learn Childress's "kick-azz" offense, and for one year it wouldn't help and it wouldn't be worth it. Plus, nobody really knows how much gas is left in his tank. Sometimes it looks like a lot, other times it looks like he's running on fumes.
One thing I really hate in sports is when guys who are put out to pasture try to salvage one or more seasons with another team. It saddens me, really. Tom, you mentioned Killebrew. How about Unitas, Emmitt Smith going to Arizona, OJ Simpson going to San Fran, etc., etc. It just doesn't seem right when the face of the franchise is let go, the guy switches uniforms, and then has a sub-par season. There's no reason to believe this same thing would happen with Favre, although with him you never know. My personal feeling for Favre is I have always thought he forced way too many throws, which is why he owns the most career interceptions record also. You can't ignore that he is indeed a gamer. I really kind of wanted him to play longer, because he is my age and it's nice to have someone your age still playing pro sports. Now most every pro athlete is younger than me...by a lot!
you are getting old Parker.
I have a loooonnnnggg way to go to catch up with you, Tommy!
You know, I had one more comment on this topic.
We all know that many NFL teams have terrible quarterbacks. Favre, being as good and as dependable as he was, is an anomoly. I heard a stat this morning that since Favre starting his string of games started, the Vikings have used 14 starting quarterbacks and the Bears have used 21. That's amazing.
How about back a bunch of years when Joe Montana and Steve Young were on the same 49ers team? Montana goes out for the season early and Young comes in and goes on to win the MVP. What does the team do for the next year? You have Joe Montana plus the reining league MVP and they both can't play at the same time. It was a predicament that probably won't ever happen again. Joe got traded to the Chiefs and never really did much there.
Parker --
Tom wanted Y.A. Tittle to keep playing for the same reason.
Tdawg--
Only cuz Norm Van Brocklin was already dead.
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