The American Spectator : The Final Hail Mary

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The Final Hail Mary

By Ryan Young on 2.13.09 @ 6:06AM

Should Brett Favre have packed it in as a Packer?

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There is something to be said for going out on your own terms. Not ESPN's terms. Yours.

Retiring after the miracle 2007 season might have made for a happier ending; the inevitable NFL Films hagiography couldn't have asked for a better plot. But Favre wanted another shot, and had the determination to pursue it.

One more shot seems to have been enough. Last season was a difficult one. Brett's legendary right arm finally seems to be going out on him. Now is the right time to say goodbye.

Some say Brett tarnished his legacy by coming back. I say he added to it. Remember, his terms. Not SportsCenter's. Favre's career, like his playing style, wasn't always aesthetically pleasing. But he gave his all, and he did it his way. That deserves respect.

At 39, Brett is at that odd age where he's old for sports, but young for most anything else. What's next for him? Nobody knows. Not even him. But if he approaches it with the same tenacity as he did football, watch out.

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About the Author

Ryan Young is Fellow in Regulatory Studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (12) | Leave a comment

David Govett| 2.13.09 @ 1:08PM

Like most men, I am disconcerted by the mere juxtaposition of "foot" and "ball," so I'll keep it brief: If there is time in this suboptimal world to argue about a football player's career, things must be going passably well. Otherwise we would be concerned about problems of consequence.

Charles Sharpless| 2.13.09 @ 2:15PM

I suppose it's because of the sports media's irrational love-affair with Favre that I have resented him for so long (that, and his inability to pronounce his own name correctly). To me, he's been the most overrated QB in my 37 year lifetime.

The "winning drive" stat was popular a few years ago when Montana and Elway were in their prime...measuring how many 4th quarter comebacks or winning drives they engineered. I'd love to see the statistics on that for Favre, and then juxtapose it with the number of his game-losing interceptions

Alan Brooks| 2.13.09 @ 4:59PM

yeah, Dave, it is good we can watch ball games and not nuke wars on the tube.

Bruce Germain| 2.14.09 @ 8:11AM

I get so sick of hearing people harp on Favre's interceptions. He threw the ball about 9500 times. Over 5000 of those throws went to the right guy...about 300 to the other team. His interception percentage is on par with Marino's and better than many other Hall of Fame QB's. The legency will be just fine. I could care less what the talking heads at ESPN have to say.

S. Harrisson| 2.14.09 @ 6:57PM

Thank you for the final, and appropriate, homage to a man who has brought fans of the sport of football so many hours of pain, pleasure and passion.

Alan Brooks| 2.15.09 @ 1:02AM

Elway,
those were the days.

Bugg| 2.15.09 @ 2:32PM

As a Jets fan and season ticketholder, I wish Favre well. When we were 8-3, the future looked great. Note on that 6 TD day, he outplayed Kurt Warner, who came within 3 minutes of winning the Super Bowl.Somewhere between the injury and bad coaching it went wrong. But those aren't things Favre controlled. And as Dolphins fans found out, Favre right now is a better QB than Chad Pennington(though in fairness Pennington is and always will be a class act and a gentleman).It was a chance worth taking.

Good luck to Brett Favre.

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