First Quarterback Controversy of The Year!!!

I know people who get very sad this time of year. They wake up one late Spring day and realize the NBA finals are over, the Stanley Cup has been skated, and there is nothing but baseball now.

That's not me. This is a very exciting MLB season with Yankees drama, Cubs excitement, Detroit comebacks, Tampa Bay dominance (until this week!) and many other story lines that I am eating up. And bring on the All Star Game tomorrow night!

But if you are one of those sad sacks with a countdown on your calendar to the start of football season, man, did you love this weekend!

Brett Favre, one of the elite quarterbacks in the history of the game, a player so beloved they should retire the #4 jersey on every team, not just in Green Bay, has decided he wants to un-retire.

I was planning on writing more about it but when I read Gene Wojciechowski's column on same on ESPN.com i realized I could not improve upon anything he said about it. With one exception. I think he goes a little light on Favre. Yeah, I know it is mighty hard to walk out of the spotlight (see Michael Jordan, Roger Clemens, Evander Holyfield, etc.) but the way he did this is kind of a dick move. He should have had all these second thoughts before that March press conference and if he still ended up retiring and now wants to change his mind he should keep it to himself for the sake of the Packers organization.

Anyway, here's the first part of Gene's excellent analysis with a link to the rest....

"The World Series of Poker isn't being played in Las Vegas. It's being played in Green Bay, Wis., and Hattiesburg, Miss. And so far, a very amateurish Ted Thompson is trying to show strength in his hand.

Feel free to laugh the next time Green Bay Packers management, both past and present, starts talking about 'preserving' Brett Favre's legacy and cherishing Favre's place in the team's 'family.' It means nothing.

The Packers are about the Packers, and that's fine, even expected, but at least say so from the beginning. Don't pretend you're genuinely concerned about Favre's standing in franchise lore when, in reality, you're more concerned about damage and image control.

Favre wants to unretire. And yeah, it's a bit of a diva-ish thing to do. Tears in March. Text messages in July.

But Favre has earned his share of diva currency, enough for one Get Out Of Retirement card. He's played hurt. He's played with his heart heavy with grief. And he's played for the moment, not the money. There are bits and pieces of his body all over Lambeau Field.

Thompson, the Packers' general manager, doesn't see it that way. His solution -- and remember, the Packers are the self-appointed guardians of Favre's football reputation -- is to announce that one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, the guy only seven months removed from the NFC Championship Game, can return but may be a second-stringer. Think about it: Favre wearing a baseball cap and holding a clipboard.

Some legacy.

Packers management wants it both ways. It says it wants to protect Favre from himself, but mostly it wants to protect Favre from becoming a free agent, signing with the Minnesota Vikings and possibly kicking the Packers' butts twice in the regular season. That's the reason behind not granting Favre his release -- nothing else.

Management says the 'finality' of Favre's retirement prompted the Packers to 'move forward with our football team.' But how can you move forward if Favre is still on the depth chart? If you don't want him as your starter, which is beyond astounding, then why want him at all?"

The rest is here. What do you think will happen next? This is juicy stuff, people.

Comments

[Edmund F]

They should let him go. The Raiders will probably overpay him to stand behind an inept O-Line and get squished.

[Raul]

It only makes sense that if he comes back then the Packers would for sure win the Superbowl. Place your bets now!

[Ana]

He is a diva. He will probably play for another team and get hurt. His wife will finally divorce his ass-o-ness! He's too much! To quote lonelysandwich (a blogger), "F him in the I, then F him in the other I."

[db]

I hope he signs with some crappy team for a huge payday and in the fall Wisconsin born and raised Joe Thomas OL/Cleveland Browns hits Brett "have you seen my baseball" so hard that he swallows his chew...

[Sketchbook by Chris]

I think this is bad form on the part of Farve. The Team has to put the team first and if Favre loved the Packers, and wasn't being selfish, he wouldn't put them in such a situation. You retired, deal with it. If you didn't want to retire, you shouldn't have. Now it is a game to see who can spin this the best, and I don't see how the Pack win with any decision that they make in this situation.

[Kings Fan]

In case anyone forgot, Favre had three more years remaining on his contract and HE DECIDED to opt out and retire. He put the Packers in a situation and now he's trying to come back and play for another team. I think the Packers should make him honor the remainder of his contract and then see if anyone wants him when he's 41. For the record, I can't stand Favre or the Packers and was excited to think that John Madden wouldn't be slobbering all over Favre each week when he announced a game. Great, now he has more to talk about.

[Kelly]

How about those Angels? Football? - Oh yeah, we follow the LA Galaxy! But we call it soccer here in Southern California. LOL

[Fred G]

Sports needs new rules. If you have a press conference to announce your retirement and change your mind, you sit out for half the next season. If you cry, you sit out a full year.

[Rochelle]

What's it matter when InBev, a Belgian company, is going to Buy Anheuser-Busch? What's next; are the Japanese going to buy Ford motor co.? America: land of the free, but owned by everyone else.

[Stacey]

"...and there is nothing but baseball now..."

I hate to mention it, but the state religion of NC is still going on right now - that's right, NASCAR (well, maybe it's just behind college basketball in terms of religious status). Personally, I don't consider it to be a sport, but I don't dare say that out loud in the Tarheel state.

I think it's funny that less than a month from the start of the summer Olympics, Bean says there's no sports going on but baseball, which doesn't count. I guess I'm not the only one that can't recall a summer Olympics that has been less anticipated, but that's a whole other rant.

As for Favre, I don't watch football, I have no interest in football, but I've got a rapid Packer fan for a best friend who's been spitting nails today - maybe I can blame the football diva????

If it's true that he still had some time left on his contract, then the management of the team should hold him to it, then bench him. He's pretty inconsiderate - acting as if the whole damn football world was revolving around him. Not cool.

[Mary]

Oh Geez...this whole thing is making me crazy! I love the Pack and I love Brett, but I am so conflicted on what to think that all day Saturday I was a nervous wreck. I even DREAMED about it on Friday night! To make it worse, I'm the kind of person who belittles people that get all crazy over American Idol and celebrities...so I was up to my eyes in self-loathing to boot.
My biggest problem is that Brett didn't keep his word and now expects the team to go back on their word (to Rodgers).
Something is definitely rotten in Denmark here, and each day brings new perspectives on what is happening.
The article you mention is a good one as is one I read in JSOnline.com. Tonight at 7PST Brett will be on Fox News with Greta CrookedFace telling his side.