By Ryan Young on 7.31.08 @ 12:07AM
The Brett Favre retirement debacle.
Root for the team or root for the player? That's the question
facing many anguished Green Bay Packer fans. Most people, including
this writer, thought that Brett Favre's ritual winter dalliance
with retirement ended with his emotionally charged hanging-it-up
press conference on March 6.
We were wrong. Favre was having second thoughts within weeks. A
whisper here, a rumor there floated through the press. Nobody paid
much mind at first, but then Favre confirmed that he wanted to
play, after all.
Still, the Packers prepared to move on. Aaron Rodgers was
anointed the new starter, and led the team through its offseason
workouts. Packers GM Ted Thompson drafted not one, but two
promising quarterbacks in case Rodgers is injured or
underperforms.
Fan reaction has been mixed. The team or the player? A few
hundred Favre supporters held a "we want Brett" protest outside of
Lambeau Field. But a parody of Favre's recent Sports
Illustrated cover has also made the rounds on the Internet,
with his face replaced by the mug of a crying baby.
On Tuesday Favre forced the team's hand by faxing the league his
reinstatement papers. Now Packers management will have to make the
decision of a lifetime.
IF FAVRE REPORTS to Packers' training camp, what do they do? To
have a future Hall-of-Famer play the backup to someone who has
never started an NFL game is an insult, especially considering that
Favre is coming off one of the best seasons of his long career. He
can still play.
Or can he? Favre hasn't even been in Green Bay since he
announced his retirement. The extent of his offseason training
seems to have been throwing to high school receivers in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Rodgers has a perfect attendance record at Green Bay's offseason
conditioning and practice program. He has been working hard to
learn the playbook and build chemistry with his receivers. He is
becoming a leader.
Clearly Favre-as-backup is a bad choice. So make him the
starter, then? That has its own costs. Rodgers would be alienated,
and his contract expires after the 2009 season. Expect him to leave
the Packers for greener pastures -- and more playing time -- if
Favre is the opening day starter.
Scouts rave over Rodgers, and project him to be an excellent NFL
quarterback. Extending the Favre era for a year or two likely comes
at the expense of the rest of Rodgers's career. As far as sports
go, that's as close to a Sophie's Choice as it gets.
THERE IS A third option: trade Favre to another team. This is
almost unthinkable, and yet probably inevitable.
Brett Favre remains the face of the Green Bay Packers. He hasn't
missed a start since 1992. He led his team to Super Bowl glory and
holds NFL records in every major passing statistic. To quote
receiver Donald Driver, "He would look ugly in any other uniform,
plain and simple."
Will fans still root for the Packers if they kick a legend to
the curb? Will they still cheer for Brett if he plays for someone
else?
Good questions, but not without precedent. Joe Montana spent his
last two years with the Kansas City Chiefs. Johnny Unitas spent a
year as a San Diego Charger. But nobody really remembers; their
respective legacies are as a 49er and a Colt. Wherever Brett ends
up, he will always be a Packer.
It is hard to imagine what Favre's reception would be like if he
runs out of the Lambeau Field tunnels wearing the visitor's jersey.
But we may find out soon enough. If Favre is to be traded, it will
happen in the next few days.
Fans who root for the team will shower the traitor with boos and
catcalls, maybe even beer. Those who root for the player will cheer
for Brett one more time.
This fan would like to have it both ways. For Brett to play
well, and for the Packers to win.
Ryan Young is a Wisconsin native, and therefore a
Packer fan. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, and blogs at Inertia
Wins!
topics:
Trade, Sports
