Favre plans to retire!

[Patler]

Here's a nice article about Favre from Matt Bowen, former Packer and National Football Post writer.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/02/remembering-brett/

Remembering Brett
...
When I walked into the locker room for the first time at Lambeau, I was a 24 year-old kid — and I was star struck. Forget the fact I would soon be wearing a helmet that equaled the tradition of a Yankees’ ball cap, or the fact I would walk down the same concrete steps at the old Lambeau Field that Paul Horning did.

I was playing football with Brett Favre.

Let me say that again — I was playing football with Brett Favre — because it still sounds cool as a 32-year-old father of two. You want to talk about every kid’s dream growing up in my era? That was it, and I was living it — and I still do.

Bowen hits the key factor in all this. It was the dream of kids from his era. Favre is the hero of his era.

Over the years I have heard similar comments from young athletes in many sports who have the thrill of playing with a player they idolized as a youth. The 18-20 year old who had the privilege of stepping on the ice with Wayne Gretsky in LA or even later. Just 8 or 10 years earlier they dreamed of such a day. For Bowen, it was Brett Favre; and for him Favre will always be the greatest. A generation earlier in football it was Johnny Unitas. Kids grew up pretending to be "Johnny U." in their back yards. For them, as adults, Favre did not replace Unitas.

For Bowen it will always be Favre. For his kids it will be some one else, and 20 years from now he may have to defend the reputation of Favre against the new darling of a new era.

We have all experienced it.

[MOBB DEEP]

I wish him the best.

As do I. I wish he could have played for us forever.

QFT...

watchn his highlights today darn near brought me to tears

G.O.A.T

[MOBB DEEP]

So.....


What if Rodgers goes down for the year in week 7 and were 5-2???


(Que Jeopardy music)

Call up Brett.

I say Brett stays in shape till Halloween or so.

Stays in shape? To stay in shape you have to be in shape. Maybe you missed that gut he had all season long.

NOT TRUE! no gut...

[Joemailman]

Packers Statement.

It's cool, we're not making any money off the words herein:

Congratulations to Brett on a remarkable career. The Packers organization wishes him and his family well. Brett always will hold a special place in Green Bay Packers history, and we remain committed to retiring his number at an appropriate time in the future.

It won't happen as long as TT is around.

BLF has it out for that boy.

Favre addressed the issue today. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/39462722.html

I would be disappointed if Favre lets any feelings with Thompson affect his decision. Retiring his number doesn't have anything to do with Ted Thompson. Most of Favre's accomplishments occurred before Ted Thompson arrived here. I understand Favre may resent what Thompson did, but he has the chance to take the high road here. I hope he takes it.

[Old School]

After what Favre put the organization through in general, and Aaron in particular,the only way I want to see him back in Wisconsin is wearing a Viking uniform and our D burying his sorry butt in his own endzone. Then instead of his number up in the stadium, they can paint him over and leave him lay.

I would be very disappointed if the Packers retired his jersey. After all we learned about how he had special treatment over the years. I have zero respect for anyone who puts himself above the team. I say this as a Cub fan who survived the Sam Me Sosa era. They say all the right things in front of the camera, but it's not who they really are. And their team mates suffer in silence.

[Harlan Huckleby]

instead of his number up in the stadium, they can paint him over and leave him lay.

I picture Favre buried up to his neck in an ant hill, his flesh slowly being eaten away.

He did start for the Packers for 15 years, and almost single-handly restore the franchise from years of futility. I think whatever he did in 2008 ought to be forgiven.

[Old School]

I forgive him Harlan. I just don't want to be reminded of what he did last year. He tried his best to stick it to the Packers because couldn't accept not being able to dictate to management after all Green Bay did for him.

Sosa did a lot for the Cubs too. He undid it all when he turned his back on the team. They're all alike.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

Saw espn say jets get our 7th round pick this year.

[packers11]

Saw espn say jets get our 7th round pick this year.

We get their 3rd round pick this year...

They get our 7th round pick in 2010...

[Lurker64]

Saw espn say jets get our 7th round pick this year.

Considering Thompson's habit of trading down, I think we still may manage to pick in the 7th in 2010 when the Jets get that pick.

Then again, Thompson did trade away one of our 7ths last draft to get a 6th in this draft, and the only 7th rounder of the Thompson era to stick around is Wynn... so it may not be a huge loss.

[Fosco33]

I miss that hillbilly already - wonder if he'll disappear (a la Joe Montana) or be on TV weekly (Aikman, Marino, others)?

Glad I can say I saw his last Packer game in person - regardless of the outcome.

[mission]

I'm just registering my presence in this thread.

Who knows, he might retire and this will be the big one. I can sell ad space to JSO or something.

Other than that, I hope we mend things with him from an organizational standpoint. And contrary to popular belief (or not), that's gonna have much more to do with Brett's attitude than anyone else's (TT for example).

[Gunakor]

I'm just registering my presence in this thread.

Who knows, he might retire and this will be the big one. I can sell ad space to JSO or something.

Other than that, I hope we mend things with him from an organizational standpoint. And contrary to popular belief (or not), that's gonna have much more to do with Brett's attitude than anyone else's (TT for example).

I want to think it's 50/50, but comments from Favre like how Ted was trying to take his team away from him cause me to believe that it just might have a bit more to do with Favre than Thompson. It smacks of ego and a sense of entitlement on Favre's part, and until he gets over the fact that the Packers are not nor ever were HIS team I'm not sure bridges can be rebuilt.

Favre was a great quarterback, and will be remembered as such no matter what happens. He took this team to heights unrealized in 25 years prior to his arrival in Green Bay. He helped to restore respect to a franchise that had turned into the Siberia of the NFL. But he did all of that as a quarterback, just one of 53 players who comprised the team. The team as a whole was not his, and due to recent comments I'm not sure he's come to that realization yet. I think that is part of the reason why he still sounds bitter about the whole ordeal, and I think he'll remain bitter about it until that thought subsides. Then, and only then, will he come back and embrace the franchise that helped make him a HOF quarterback.

That's what I think anyway.

[cpk1994]

I'm just registering my presence in this thread.

Who knows, he might retire and this will be the big one. I can sell ad space to JSO or something.

Other than that, I hope we mend things with him from an organizational standpoint. And contrary to popular belief (or not), that's gonna have much more to do with Brett's attitude than anyone else's (TT for example).

Exactly. TT doesn't have a problerm with Brett. He made a decision and stuck to it. He may have made some tactical errors, but the bitterness only comes from one end.

[Fritz]

I'm posting - in quotes - a few lines from the JSO article (this is my attribution):

"He didn't flatly deny that his agent inquired whether the Jets might release him, but he said that was something he had no intention of doing.

'It doesn't matter one way or the other,' Favre said of his release. 'It all comes down to physically how I feel and I don't feel like . . . Again, that could all change with arthroscopic surgery or whatever. But I'm not willing to do that and I'm not willing to take that chance. That more than anything is why I'm retiring. We didn't ask for our release.'"

My point is not to stir the old pot, but to suggest that until the '09 season begins and there are no murmurs bubbling up from Hattiesburg about Favre getting restless, it really won't be possible for any fence-mending to begin.

Too much just-under-the-surface anger, too much skepticism of Favre's retirement at the moment.

But I believe that reconciliation will happen in the long run, and that that is a good thing.