Starting this off with a confession, I loved Brett Favre as a Packer. All his post-career shenanigans may have altered my perception of him personally, but they haven’t impacted his position on Green Bay’s Mount Rushmore an iota.
I loved Favre because he was tough as nails. He was Ray Nitschke if Nitschke played quarterback. As one reporter once said, “Favre played for years with injuries that would have hospitalized Godzilla.”
I loved Favre because he was fearless. He was never afraid to fling a football into a window the size of a, well, a football. He wasn’t afraid of success, failure, praise or criticism.
Lots of others loved No. 5, too, but the front office’s fondness for the quarterback eventually cooled and the Packers parted ways with him to embrace the future with a young Aaron Rodgers.
That was rough for folks who were used to watching the gunslinger from Kiln, Miss., turn every Sunday into an adventure.
There were spectacular performances and a Super Bowl victory over the Patriots. There was a memorable Monday night game a day after Favre’s father passed away when he threw for four touchdowns and nearly 400 yards in a rout of the Raiders.
Sure, Favre was far from perfect. There was the addiction to pain-killers. There were the boatload of interceptions. And in his late-30s, there was the annual dance he did with management about retirement.
In 2005, Ted Thompson hedged his bet by drafting Rodgers in the first round. That move bothered Favre and when Mike Sherman was fired and Thompson didn’t give Favre’s buddy, Steve Mariucci, an interview, the quarterback was miffed a bit more. Some observers say the final straw was when the GM refused to pick up Randy Moss and instead the wide receiver was dealt from the Raiders to the Patriots for a measly fourth-round draft pick.
Even without Moss, Favre went on to lead the Packers to the 2007 NFL title game, although a 23-20 overtime loss to the Giants was sealed by the quarterback’s interception. That turned out to be his final pass as a Packer.
Favre announced his retirement in March, unretired a few weeks later, second-guessed himself again and finally asked for his unconditional release at 38 years old.
The Packers had a lot of fans’ blessings when they traded Favre to the AFC’s New York Jets.
Sounds kinda familiar, right?
Favre did have sort of the last laugh. After flopping in New York, the Jets cut him and he signed with the rival Minnesota Vikings where he had one of his best seasons ever. (Never mind season No. 2 was a disaster.)
Enough about Favre, who somehow hasn’t managed to tarnish his image with some of us despite his playing in purple and proving to be a lot less forthright with his finances than we hoped.
Like Favre, future Hall of Famer Rodgers wore out his welcome in Green Bay with many fans. To them, he has proved to be one of the more self-absorbed and selfish star athletes in sports, whose me-first antics were tolerated when he was winning a Super Bowl and at least keeping the Packers in contention season-after-season.
When his production took a dive last season, whether it was due to an injured thumb or simply Father Time finally tapping him on the shoulder, those fans were much less forgiving. The cheesy celebration on social media of his departure indicates many are ready for the Jordan Love era to begin.
Is Love ready? The speculation will be over soon enough. The Packers will find out if they have a gem or a bust. Love has been a good soldier through all this and he seems like he has a winning personality whether he’s a great passer or not. He deserves the chance to develop as a starter without ridiculous comparisons to much more experienced quarterbacks.
As for Rodgers, good luck in the Big Apple if indeed you get there. You will need it because if you think the media has been unfair to you so far, buckle up buttercup. You are heading into the big leagues of media scrutiny and it will be playoffs or bust for the Jets.
Just don’t go wearing purple anytime soon, either.
