I have been a Packer fan my entire life. I would sit there, throughout the 80s, and watch them lose to the Buccaneers, one of the few teams that were actually sorrier than my team. I would sit there for the entire game, even when the game was basically over, due to my allegiance to the Packers.
For every other sport, I'm admittedly fair-weather. If the Brewers make it to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, I will be watching every single playoff game. However, I probably won't watch any of their games this season, and I can probably count on one hand how many televised games I've watched in the past 26 years. Don't even get me started on the Bucks.
The Packers are different. Growing up, I was emotionally involved with the successes (or failures) of Lynn Dickey, James Lofton, Harlan Huckleby, Chuck Cecil, Tim Harris, Ed West, Jeff Query, I could go on and on. I sat there--or more like paced-- every Sunday, cheering on my lowly Packers, only to have my heart broken at the end. But I always came back the following Sunday.
Then came Favre. Finally, all of my dedication to the team paid off. I can remember moving into the dorms my freshman year in college, going down to one of the study rooms that had the Packer-Bengal game on to check the score. The Majik man went down in that game, and I can remember thinking "here comes another loss". Next thing I know, Favre is taking the Packers 90+ yard in less than a minute in his first of many come-from-behind victories. That was the day the Packers stopped being the doormat of the NFL. And almost every victory, since then, has been because of Favre. And I'll always remember Favre as being one of the greatest, if not greatest, Packers of all time.
With that being said, I do not side with Favre in this dispute with the Packers.
Favre has every right to want to come back, and I would actually welcome him back as the starting QB for the Packers. I admit, the Packers have a better chance at winning the Super Bowl with Favre than with Rodgers this season. However, I do not blame the Packers for moving on. Favre has been jerking the Packers around since 2002, when he told Peter King that he was thinking of retiring. Every offseason is a media circus of whether or not he was going to retire. The Packers draft Aaron Rodgers three years ago specifically because they thought Favre would be retiring. Favre's indecision effects everything the Packers do--how they draft, who they sign in free agency, and how they design their playbook.
The thing is, the Packers were already going to let Favre unretire in March. A few weeks after his retirement conference, the Packers were informed that he changed his mind. They said that that was fine and that they'd welcome him back. The chartered a plane for Mississippi to finalize his return, but at the last minute he says "I discussed it with Dianna, and I think I going to stay retired." So the Packers go about their offseason as if Favre is not coming back. Drafting Brohm in the 2nd round, and another QB in the 7th. They tailor their playbook to fit Rodgers.
They moved on. Now they're supposed to scrap everything so that Favre can come back, again, because he changed his mind, again?
Like I said, Favre gives the Packers a better chance this year at a SB than Rodgers, but if they did accept him back as the starter, anything less than a SB win will be a disappointment and make his return a mistake. For really, why else, as a fan, would I want him back? Him coming back would almost guarantee the Packers losing Rodgers, and while we don't know what they have in Rodgers, it's certainly more than we know what they have in Brian Brohm.
At this point, I really don't care what happens--if he starts for the Pack this season, fine, if not, that's fine also. He can play for another team, as long as it's through a trade and as long as that team is not the Vikings.
No matter what happens, I'll always be rooting for the Packers. I survived the 80s, I think I can live through this.
And Al Davis should sell the Raiders.
Friday, July 25, 2008
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4 comments:
welcome to the show, dobolina.
When I met Lynn Dickey at Mark Lasky's birthday party in the early 80's, I asked him what it's like playing against the Raiders. He said, "There's definitely a mystique."
Unfortunately that was a quarter century ago.
To use an over-the-top Biblical reference, Majik was like John the Baptist, Favre obviously Jesus-esque, and if he goes and plays for the Vikings it would kind of be like Jesus taking that deal with the devil. He's supposed to roll away the stone and go sit at the right hand of Vince Lombardi, not come back and lead an effort to take down his own religion.
Per by your Messianic analogy, hopefully JaMarcus is Barack Obama!
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