Packfan - 4 - ever

It is not a great secret that I am a huge Packers fan. A fan, like many others, who could almost be described as rabid. And yes, as many of you have witnessed, one so superstitious that I wore the same gold underwear for every Packers game I was able to watch this past year (even to Mary's baby shower!).

If you follow sports even remotely, you have probably seem some headline about the great Packers quarterback, Brett Favre. In March, following a disappointing loss in the NFC championship (which I refuse to believe happened), he announced he would retire from the NFL after 17 seasons. I was devastated. How could he hang up his cleats after one of his best seasons and having been so close to another Super Bowl? (It also didn't help when someone told me it "would happen eventually", but that someone has since been forgiven and all is forgotten)...

Following this retirement announcement, I had time to reflect on my football fandom. There isn't a football memory of mine where I do not remember Favre being under center for the Packers. He started his consecutive games streak in 1992. I was 12 and in 7th grade. I remember a few Super Bowls before that, but I wasn't quite into sports like I am now. It was weird to think that my football life had revolved solely around one person for so long. I guess it's like the Steelers fans giving up Coach Cowher. A long time passing on...

Fast forward to July. Recently, it has become known that Favre would like to return to football. Some say he was pressured into retirement, some say he is just waffling. Regardless, I was excited at the prospect of having him back in the league as I have always felt he was a dynamic player of epic (ok, maybe not that great, but it sounded good) proportions. Fun to watch...entertaining...thrilling. I actually was with that same someone that I was with on the day he retired and we chatted about the prospect of his return.

That conversation took a look at both sides. On one hand, from Favre's perspective, it's hard to quit something that has been such a part of your life for so long. He can still play the game better than (easily) 60% of the starting QBs in the NFL. The Packers still have an excellent shot at going to the Super Bowl this year. Yeah, you might want to go out at the top of your game, but what if you got to that one more game this year that truly is the top? Although, on the other hand, I can also see the team's perspective. They want to move on (eventually) and would like to start that process. Ultimately, the team will not have Favre and regardless of this year, there will be a day when he is not the core of the team. So, I can see that with his intention to retire being an issue, they wanted to move on. (And Matt Flynn being cut, you LSU fans, is not a reason to not want Favre back...but I understand.)

As the drama continues to unfold, I am torn. I would love nothing more than Favre to return for his 17th season as a Packer and lead them to a Super Bowl victory and truly go out as the best. The Packers want the best team they can have and I think Favre is a better option than an unproven, perpetual backup. Yes, Rodgers needs a chance and he will get one, maybe this year. I believe the team has a point in wanting to move on and there's no better time to start on tomorrow, today.

To me, however, it seems only fair to at least let there be a competition for the starting job. If Favre wants to come back, truly (and he seems to), and the Packers do not want him to fall into the hands of a rival (which is where he could go), then put him in the green and gold and let him prove that he is committed to the game and willing to take whatever means necessary to bring the Lombardi Trophy home to Green Bay.