Brett Favre: A Legacy Tarnished? Ask a Packer Fan.

     Brett Favre is not a popular man in the state of Wisconsin.  Or anywhere else, for that matter.  In a period of just a couple of years, he has gone from one of the most respected, if not beloved, figures in all of sports, to a pariah.  The transformation is actually reminiscent of a professional wrestling scenario… the ‘good guy’ becomes the ‘heel’.   The question has been tossed around quite a bit… has Favre’s legacy been tarnished by the fiasco of the last two years?

     Before I answer, be aware that I am a die hard, green and gold bleeding cheesehead.  I was born and raised in Wisconsin, and have been a Packer fan essentially since birth.  When my first son came home from the hospital, he was wearing a Favre jersey.  My daughter, too, for that matter.  And I am not alone.  The state  of Wisconsin has a love affair with our Packers that is nearly unparalleled in professional sports.  We canonize our gridiron heroes.  Names like Starr, Nitzchke, Hourning and Kramer are used with reverence.  I actually know four people who named their children after Farve.  Now on with our discussion…

     To discuss Favre’s legacy, you have to look at it from beginning to end.  The numbers certainly don’t lie… 65,000 yards, 464 touchdowns,  169 wins, 291 straight starts.  He was one of those rare athletes who transcended their sport… people who knew nothing about football knew who he was. 

     He was not the greatest quarterback to ever play.  He wasn’t the passer Dan Marino was.  He wasn’t the athlete John Elway was.  He didn’t have the cool demeanor or command presence of Joe Montana.  But he was, and will always be known as, the Gunslinger.  He made plays no one else would dream of attempting.  He had a competitive edge that was unsurpassed.  And most of all, he did it with class and dignity.  He was every bit the good natured southern boy he appeared to be.  Admired by fans, respected by his fellow players.  He wasn’t all upside… a great many of his NFL record 300+ interceptions were backbreakers.  He won alot of games, but he lost a few as well. 

     So what happened?  How did our cultural icon fall so far?  It began after the 2007 season.  It was quite possibly the best season of his career… the Packers advanced to the NFC Championship game, and very nearly to the Super Bowl.  As had been the case for the past several years, his return was uncertain.  It had almost become an annual event… waiting for months after the season ended to learn weather he would hang up the cleats.  And, in March of 2008, he did.  And the Packers did exactly what they should have.  They moved on, began the transition.

     But months later, he changed his mind.  And did so at a time when it was all but too late.  Sentiment plays a huge part in football, especially in the case of a team like the Packers with such a unique repoire with its fans.  But the NFL is a business, and while Favre apparently felt the packers owed him, the bottom line was that bringing him back would have compromised the good of the franchise.  It happens all the time, unfortunately, which is why you find Emmitt Smith finishing his career in Arizona, and Joe Montana in Kansas City. 

     But for whatever reason, Favre took the decision personally.  The man who had led his career with such grace and dignity suddenly transformed himself into the typical crybaby spoiled athlete we have unfortunately become so used to.  Not only did he want to come back, he wanted to do it in a situation where he could play for one of the Packers’ rivals, or at least a team where he might have a chance to play against them.  Somewhere along the way, Favre’s logic began to fail.   His plot for revenge would not hurt the front office… it really only stood out as a thumb in the nose at his fans.   Which was tactless, and utterly against the grain of the character he had shown for so many years.  The fans didn’t quit on Brett Favre.  We would have forgiven him for playing elsewhere.  The fans all but crucified GM Ted Thompson for his decision. 

     But, like it or leave it, that was how the Green Bay chapter of his story ended.  Enter the New York Jets.  From a professional point of view, you do have to admire what he did in New York.  He took what was essentially a subpar football team, and made them both competitive and relevant.  But he had suddenly become the one label no one, even his most prominent begrudgers, would ever have stuck him with.  He became a primadonna.  Not dressing with his team.  Separating himself, acting like… a star.

     And now, the latest chapter, his insistence on playing for the Minnesota Vikings.  Has he somehow convinced himself this will be his revenge on the Packers’ front office, with whom he claims his dispute lies?  If he believes so, than he truly has begun to believe his own dribble.  They may not say so publicly, but they have got to be licking their chops at the notion.  Imagine the hype, the buildup, the ratings for his return to Lambeau?  It would be a windfall, from a business standpoint.  Again, the ones who will pay will be the fans… and that only happens if his stint with the Vikings is successful.  The Packers stand to be a solid team in 2009, and with a year under his belt,  Aaron Rodgers should be more than up to the task.  And while he would in all likelihood be a step up from Tarvaris Jackson, no one is lining up to pass out super bowl rings to the Vikings.

     So where does this put his legacy?  That remains to be seen.   He is a hall of famer.  He is always going to be in the discussions as one of the best ever.  Some of his charm is gone.  But the fact remains, at least to me, for 15+ years, the man made Sundays exciting in a place that had been living on memories for years and years.  Yes,  this tarnishes his overall legacy.  But the decade and a half of memories far outweigh the bad taste this will leave in our mouths.  One day, I will tell my children how I saw the Gunslinger at Lambeau.  I think I’ll leave this last part out.  This may not ring true for everyone, but while he did go out entirely wrong,  he did leave us this… and we will always remember…

     Whatever happens from here,  his legacy will stand the test of time.  The man played the game the way it was meant to be played.  He competed.  He brought the Packer nation a generation of memories.  What more to say?