I know this isn't the busiest news cycle for sports- and it goes to show how little Americans care about the Tour de France without one of ours contending- but why won't this story leave the television? What is it that attracts both reporters and fans to it, like flies to a huge pile of steaming crap? Seriously, there are hundreds of players in the NFL, and nearly none of them will get this kind of hype over retirement.
It's got to be Favre. He's a perfect collection of personal and professional traits that siphons in attention. For one, he's a tie in with a set of QBs that are now fully retired, and are now on their way to becoming an "era" in pro football: Aikman, Elway, Young, Moon, and even Montana and Marino in a way. So reporters get to play the nostalgia card when Favre comes up, always good for column fodder. Another factor is the style of play-- in a game that depends on teamwork nearly every single play, Favre still was able to freelance enough to hold the game in his hands, win or lose. The figure (archetype, even) of the lone expert is always a popular one in western culture, and IMO especially so for Americans. A QB can make excellent plays via audibles or reading the defense . . but that won't make the highlight reels like scrambling for time to throw down field, something Favre seemed to do a couple times every game.
Even more important, though, was the attitude toward the game. Remember when Ricky Williams retired after barely starting a career? I wrote at the time that the opprobrium- and it was intense- likely had more to do with fan fantasies than the man. Tons of men want to be good enough to play pro sports, and would sacrifice a lot to do so; to have someone just walk away with a shrub was a slap in the face to that slice of fans. (And yes, this probably included most sports writers, geeks to the core for the most part.) Well, Favre never presented fans with that problem; in fact, he allowed a lot of projection, I'd guess, allowing viewers to "feel" the pressure of still wanting to play without the confidence that they could still perform. Add in that "aw shucks" smile and goofy, even childlike approach on the field, and you couldn't get a better character from central casting. Contrast this, again, with Williams doing that interview with the tinted helmet on. Painful shyness, probably, and perhaps even more genuine an emotion-- but not a genuineness that inspired fan respect. Even before the compelling family stories came along, Favre was a sports writers wet dream, and sick and dying relatives became icing on the cake. (Talk about macabre, when you think about it.) At least these are my guesses as to why the chattering bastards won't let the story be; there might be other reasons, and more simple ones at that.
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Funny development, possibly: the Packers have apparently filed a complaint against the Vikings alleging "tampering" with negotiations with Favre. If this goes anywhere, it will certainly be far more interesting to me than this whole Hamlet routine, because it will seriously undercut the whole "cheesehead forever!" image Favre has worked on for so long. But it could just be a smokescreen, so we'll have to wait and see.
Ex ignorantia ad sapientiam; e luce ad tenebras
If Favre thinks he's still got something in the tank, then he should be allowed the opportunity to show it -- on the field, in uniform, during the regular NFL season. But when he announced his retirement, he should have taken the advice he's offering the club he left -- move on. Thus, when he redecided he wanted to play, he should have approached the club privately and said, "I want a trade." The club could have used its common sense and right to ixnay a trade to a club they didn't want him to play for. Thus any team in the division would have been off limits. Then he would have had about 25 clubs to peddle his wares to.
You mean to tell me that the Ravens couldn't have put him to use? What about the Raiders? Or the Dolphins? Or the Falcons? Or a couple of others? That way the two parties part on amicable terms and the legend gets to continue his career. But all this he said, they said, public attacks on each other's motives and actions are just awful. It puts the Packers in a bad spot. As I wrote in the write up, I find it difficult to believe the Packer faithful will give Aaron Rodgers much leeway should he be less a QB than Favre. Also, it puts a huge blemish on Favre's reputation as a winner, a guy who focused on winning and didn't get distracted by all the bullshit. Because it's all bullshit he's dredging up now. And Lord help him if he's taking snaps in Miami behind their offensive line. Enough pictures of Favre splayed out all over a football field does not help his professional reputation.
Illegitimi non carborundum.
