Brett Favre – c’mon home, man
A classic Brett Favre shot, this photograph was shot back in 2003.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph
In the interest of equal time, I’ve got to give Brett Favre a break today – this morning I posted a piece with a picture that made fun of what he looked like on that draft day way back when the Atlanta Falcons selected him.
So, this is serious: Brett Favre – it’s time to come home.
Brett Favre, 2008
Raymond T. Rivard photograph
We were all amused back in early February when he appeared live onstage with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the NFL Awards program on the eve of the Super Bowl. What wasn’t so funny was all the hate against Favre that spewed after that appearance. Yes, there was plenty of love, but I was appalled by the venom thrown his way after the appearance.
It’s got to stop and people have to get over themselves.
Yes, it’s time to put away your pitchforks and torches and realize that It. Is. Time.
First of all, do people really forget what he did for the franchise during his 16 years with the Green Bay Packers? He took the team to two consecutive Super Bowls, he won three consecutive Most Valuable Player awards, his presence was what helped convince the likes of Reggie White to sign with the Packers, he broke every team and league passing record out there (yes, including interceptions), and he changed the face of the franchise that lasts to this very day.
Why the hate? Because he decided to quit, then decided to come back and thought the Packers owed it to him to take him back? Well, being a diva, in my estimation, is far from warranting hate. Yes, he went on to the Jets, got hurt, retired, and then decided to come back and play for the Vikings.
So what? Yes, he beat the Packers in two games in 2009 and nearly led the Vikings to the Super Bowl that season (where they probably would have won). We all know how that ended.
But don’t you remember what happened the next year? Favre lost in his last day at Lambeau, got crushed by the Packers in Minnesota and then the Packers did the ultimate – they went on to win the Super Bowl with their newest hero Aaron Rodgers.
Favre ended his career on the injury list and with his consecutive game streak broken.
He slinked into retirement and has stayed there while Aaron Rodgers is about to become the highest paid player in league history. So, OK, he did have the recent fiasco with calling Greg Jennings to help convince him to sign with the Vikings … hey, maybe he was doing the Packers a favor in this case. The Packers are loaded with receivers and they really don’t need an injury-prone multi-millionaire on their roster. Not only that, but think of the millions the Packers saved to use toward the contracts of Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews. Money better well spent.
Brett Favre watches a replay of an interception he threw to the Bears’ Brian Urlacher in 2007.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph
So, with all things seemingly equal, it’s time to kiss and make up. Even Packers President Mark Murphy thinks so. It’s time to put bygones aside and move on.
It’s time to start planning for the day when Brett Favre will be welcomed back to Lambeau Field with hearty cheers. It’s time to retire #4 and raise his name onto the ring of honor. It’s time to remember the best of Brett Favre and welcome him back into the Packers family where he belongs.
And I’m not the only one saying this. Check out Mike Vandermause’s and Mike Silver’s columns …
While nobody expects the Packers to open their arms and invite Favre back tomorrow – I would suspect that within the next couple of years the inevitable will take place.
Yes, there’s still plenty of discord out there among Packers fans and probably within the Packers organization, but now’s the time to start thinking and planning for that day. Favre will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a couple of years and we all know he will be a first ballot shoe-in.
For one, I want Favre to go into that Hall of Fame as a Packer. Don’t you?
So, let’s get over it, Packers fans. It’s time to move on and time to accept.