boiga
07-28-2008, 06:45 PM
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8387530
RIVER FALLS, Wis. (aka, anywhere but Green Bay) - Titletown is starting to look an awful lot like Tinseltown.
The fine folks in Hollywood who make millions writing dirty plots and creating cunning villains could be proud of the muck the Brett Favre soap opera has raked up. The only thing missing from this divorce are a few slimy lawyers.
FAVRE-WATCH
Brett Favre The Brett Favre saga has taken some interesting turns since he supposedly announced his retirement from the NFL.
As the annual Glaze Across America training camp tour-slash-debacle shifts into high gear, one thing is clear — there is no escaping the Favre Files.
From the Bears to Rams to Chiefs to my damn cell phone, it's Favre 24/7. I'm trying to cover the other 31 teams as well as the Packers, but with each sitdown with a player, every beer with a coach, conversation after conversation, the question I've now grown to dread usually takes all of one second to be launched ... "OK, what's really going on with the Favre thing?"
So, we're going to try to weed through the murky waters of two sides, the truths, the lies and everything in between.
I do not believe there is any right answer here and when the smoke clears, I believe there will be no winner. The Packers, Favre, tradition, legacy — all thrown under the bus. Admittedly, I am a huge Favre fan. When he throws TD passes like the one he launched against Denver to start overtime last year, it produces chuckles, the same type of laughs that you can't help when Devin Hester returns yet another punt or Tiger Woods drops another 50-footer.
However, legend or no legend, if in any other business an employee, even the top sales manager of all time, calls his boss a liar three times on national television, and then reveals conversations with his boss that were believed to be private and then threatens his bosses ... seriously, how many of those folks would still be employed? How many players in this league would come through unscathed, especially in the wallet?
Now imagine if Mr. Johnny Cool Salesman, it turns out, took such a path for the sole purpose of bolting to a rival company, what does his boss do at this point?
Favre is clearly trying to gain his release, an option the Packers, sources have told FOXSports.com, told Brett as late as two days ago absolutely will NOT happen. In fact, those same sources say that GM Ted Thompson never told Favre he'd get fired for letting him back in the building. Instead, he joked that even the people who don't want Brett back would want him fired if he released the famed gunslinger.
But how in the world does one of the most beloved sports figures of all time, a man who epitomized toughness and grit turn so soap opera-ish so fast? His PR tactics have gained him little if any sympathy, even from his peers. In my travels through camp so far, not one coach I've talked to agrees with his stance and the players have been split 50 percent somewhat sadly against Favre, 25 percent adamantly for Favre and 25 percent absolutely blasting him for the PR route he's taken.
"I don't care, it's Brett Favre, give him his helmet back," said one Bears player over beers the other night. "I don't care what happened or how it's gotten here, it's freakin' Brett Favre!"
"Don't let him back in the building," said a Rams veteran after practice on Sunday. "He's made it all about Brett. I'd be pissed if I was in that locker room and he's made it all about him all this time. Man, I'd want to move on. Enough already, it's been about is he coming back or not for damn near four years. I'd be sick of it."
Then there's the case of their own locker room. Packers players told FOXSports.com that head coach Mike McCarthy was very moved in his speech to the team Sunday afternoon, emphatically praising them for the way his players have handled the most difficult of situations.
Favre is welcome back into the locker room by the front office and coaches, albeit not as the starter. However, if he thought he'd walk in and the locker room would run to his defense, it may not be as clear cut as he'd like to believe.
Remember, 21 of the players in that locker room have never met Favre. Their only experience has been with young Aaron Rodgers and this storm of controversy. Additionally, because of the youth of the team, there's a high percentage of second- and third-year players.
Didn't Favre say just two short weeks ago that he probably wasn't going to force the Packers' hand and show up for fear of something just like this? Didn't he say he didn't want to be a distraction ... but now he wants to be?
The Bucs and Jets are still alive in trade talks, although how strong depends upon the hour you check. Both teams have asked for and received permission to speak with Favre. Favre has not talked to the Jets at this point, although his agent has. The Bucs, oddly, have yet to act and have even publicly denied asking for permission.
The trade is not for a first-round pick, as had been reported, nor for a first-round pick plus other compensation, as is now the latest word on the rumor mill. The Packers, several sources have told FOXSports.com, have based their compensation upon an escalating scale that could go as high as a first-rounder based upon certain performance benchmarks Favre would have to hit.
However, negotiations on the compensation is far from firm as the parties involved are still in serious talks regarding what it would take to make this move. The Packers do not have a firm asking price, as they are trying to trade their formerly beloved player.
So where do we go from here so the rest of us can happily get back to our NFL training camp tours and actually acknowledge that there are 31 other teams in this league? Is Brett Favre great for this league? No doubt, especially when he played like he did last year. The Favre who threw pick after pick in the two previous years? Not so much.
But maybe we all didn't have to come down this road in the first place. In talking with some Chiefs vets last night, they didn't understand why he never came out with, "Look, I made a mistake. I know I've flip-flopped on the organization a lot and for that I truly am sorry. I love this game and I truly realize how much I miss it. I know I've put the organization and especially Aaron in a tough spot and again, I apologize. I made the decision to retire but that itch has returned. What do I need to do to prove I'm fully committed and how can I help the Packers and Aaron?" Would it have worked? Who knows, but it sure would have been better than blasting his boss as a liar and putting the fans he says he loves in a must-choose position.
The fans of Green Bay are like family to the team. But they've been brought into the center of a divorce, being pushed to choose between mom and dad. It's simply not fair.
If Brett truly wants to play football, has that itch, then he should push for a trade to the two teams that have shown interest. Based on my conversations with personnel men and coaches throughout the league, the Packers have called every team in the league aside from those within their own division and those who already have a star QB (Patriots, Colts, etc.). They are working it.
Or, better yet, he can always stay home, quietly apologize for this PR disaster and, should something happen to Aaron Rodgers, gallop in on his white horse and save the day!
We don't like to see our sports stars struggle in their twilight, don't like to hear chants for their hook or boos surrounding their latter-years performances. But we love when they defy the odds and create magic when time tells them they shouldn't.
Only Favre can end this now.Sorry if this is one too many Favre threads, but Glazer's got an interesting take on the subject. The two bold bits were especially interesting to me.
RIVER FALLS, Wis. (aka, anywhere but Green Bay) - Titletown is starting to look an awful lot like Tinseltown.
The fine folks in Hollywood who make millions writing dirty plots and creating cunning villains could be proud of the muck the Brett Favre soap opera has raked up. The only thing missing from this divorce are a few slimy lawyers.
FAVRE-WATCH
Brett Favre The Brett Favre saga has taken some interesting turns since he supposedly announced his retirement from the NFL.
As the annual Glaze Across America training camp tour-slash-debacle shifts into high gear, one thing is clear — there is no escaping the Favre Files.
From the Bears to Rams to Chiefs to my damn cell phone, it's Favre 24/7. I'm trying to cover the other 31 teams as well as the Packers, but with each sitdown with a player, every beer with a coach, conversation after conversation, the question I've now grown to dread usually takes all of one second to be launched ... "OK, what's really going on with the Favre thing?"
So, we're going to try to weed through the murky waters of two sides, the truths, the lies and everything in between.
I do not believe there is any right answer here and when the smoke clears, I believe there will be no winner. The Packers, Favre, tradition, legacy — all thrown under the bus. Admittedly, I am a huge Favre fan. When he throws TD passes like the one he launched against Denver to start overtime last year, it produces chuckles, the same type of laughs that you can't help when Devin Hester returns yet another punt or Tiger Woods drops another 50-footer.
However, legend or no legend, if in any other business an employee, even the top sales manager of all time, calls his boss a liar three times on national television, and then reveals conversations with his boss that were believed to be private and then threatens his bosses ... seriously, how many of those folks would still be employed? How many players in this league would come through unscathed, especially in the wallet?
Now imagine if Mr. Johnny Cool Salesman, it turns out, took such a path for the sole purpose of bolting to a rival company, what does his boss do at this point?
Favre is clearly trying to gain his release, an option the Packers, sources have told FOXSports.com, told Brett as late as two days ago absolutely will NOT happen. In fact, those same sources say that GM Ted Thompson never told Favre he'd get fired for letting him back in the building. Instead, he joked that even the people who don't want Brett back would want him fired if he released the famed gunslinger.
But how in the world does one of the most beloved sports figures of all time, a man who epitomized toughness and grit turn so soap opera-ish so fast? His PR tactics have gained him little if any sympathy, even from his peers. In my travels through camp so far, not one coach I've talked to agrees with his stance and the players have been split 50 percent somewhat sadly against Favre, 25 percent adamantly for Favre and 25 percent absolutely blasting him for the PR route he's taken.
"I don't care, it's Brett Favre, give him his helmet back," said one Bears player over beers the other night. "I don't care what happened or how it's gotten here, it's freakin' Brett Favre!"
"Don't let him back in the building," said a Rams veteran after practice on Sunday. "He's made it all about Brett. I'd be pissed if I was in that locker room and he's made it all about him all this time. Man, I'd want to move on. Enough already, it's been about is he coming back or not for damn near four years. I'd be sick of it."
Then there's the case of their own locker room. Packers players told FOXSports.com that head coach Mike McCarthy was very moved in his speech to the team Sunday afternoon, emphatically praising them for the way his players have handled the most difficult of situations.
Favre is welcome back into the locker room by the front office and coaches, albeit not as the starter. However, if he thought he'd walk in and the locker room would run to his defense, it may not be as clear cut as he'd like to believe.
Remember, 21 of the players in that locker room have never met Favre. Their only experience has been with young Aaron Rodgers and this storm of controversy. Additionally, because of the youth of the team, there's a high percentage of second- and third-year players.
Didn't Favre say just two short weeks ago that he probably wasn't going to force the Packers' hand and show up for fear of something just like this? Didn't he say he didn't want to be a distraction ... but now he wants to be?
The Bucs and Jets are still alive in trade talks, although how strong depends upon the hour you check. Both teams have asked for and received permission to speak with Favre. Favre has not talked to the Jets at this point, although his agent has. The Bucs, oddly, have yet to act and have even publicly denied asking for permission.
The trade is not for a first-round pick, as had been reported, nor for a first-round pick plus other compensation, as is now the latest word on the rumor mill. The Packers, several sources have told FOXSports.com, have based their compensation upon an escalating scale that could go as high as a first-rounder based upon certain performance benchmarks Favre would have to hit.
However, negotiations on the compensation is far from firm as the parties involved are still in serious talks regarding what it would take to make this move. The Packers do not have a firm asking price, as they are trying to trade their formerly beloved player.
So where do we go from here so the rest of us can happily get back to our NFL training camp tours and actually acknowledge that there are 31 other teams in this league? Is Brett Favre great for this league? No doubt, especially when he played like he did last year. The Favre who threw pick after pick in the two previous years? Not so much.
But maybe we all didn't have to come down this road in the first place. In talking with some Chiefs vets last night, they didn't understand why he never came out with, "Look, I made a mistake. I know I've flip-flopped on the organization a lot and for that I truly am sorry. I love this game and I truly realize how much I miss it. I know I've put the organization and especially Aaron in a tough spot and again, I apologize. I made the decision to retire but that itch has returned. What do I need to do to prove I'm fully committed and how can I help the Packers and Aaron?" Would it have worked? Who knows, but it sure would have been better than blasting his boss as a liar and putting the fans he says he loves in a must-choose position.
The fans of Green Bay are like family to the team. But they've been brought into the center of a divorce, being pushed to choose between mom and dad. It's simply not fair.
If Brett truly wants to play football, has that itch, then he should push for a trade to the two teams that have shown interest. Based on my conversations with personnel men and coaches throughout the league, the Packers have called every team in the league aside from those within their own division and those who already have a star QB (Patriots, Colts, etc.). They are working it.
Or, better yet, he can always stay home, quietly apologize for this PR disaster and, should something happen to Aaron Rodgers, gallop in on his white horse and save the day!
We don't like to see our sports stars struggle in their twilight, don't like to hear chants for their hook or boos surrounding their latter-years performances. But we love when they defy the odds and create magic when time tells them they shouldn't.
Only Favre can end this now.Sorry if this is one too many Favre threads, but Glazer's got an interesting take on the subject. The two bold bits were especially interesting to me.