Interesting Favre article.

[ND72]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1179707/index.htm

Very interesting read. Lots of little tid bits, especially from his mom. Kind of makes you wonder what his post-career will truly be like.

[MichiganPackerFan]

The best part of the article? It's written in the future!!!!

[Scott Campbell]

Even his own mother said we were right.

"I hate that it ended the way it did," Bonita says. "It was such a wonderful experience, those years in Green Bay. It's just the way it ended ... and he should have stayed retired then. But we can't go back."

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...#ixzz17XhnQqEE

[3irty1]

Anyone else think that those "hunting trips" might be for ladies and not deer?

[HowardRoark]

The best part of the article? It's written in the future!!!!

A lot can happen in 5 days with that guy.

[mmmdk]

Even his own mother said we were right.

"I hate that it ended the way it did," Bonita says. "It was such a wonderful experience, those years in Green Bay. It's just the way it ended ... and he should have stayed retired then. But we can't go back."

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...#ixzz17XhnQqEE

That sprung out to me as well. Bonita knew what was in cards when Brett returned; the last chapters should not have been written.

[Joemailman]

Even his own mother said we were right.

"I hate that it ended the way it did," Bonita says. "It was such a wonderful experience, those years in Green Bay. It's just the way it ended ... and he should have stayed retired then. But we can't go back."

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...#ixzz17XhnQqEE

Sure, but did she tell him that back in 2008 when it would have done some good? Maybe she did and he didn't listen. I wonder though. I've felt for some time that Favre's biggest problem is that ever since Irv died, he's been surrounded by "yes" people. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, they're saying he should retire, but were they saying it last year? Or the year before?

[ND72]

Sure, but did she tell him that back in 2008 when it would have done some good? Maybe she did and he didn't listen. I wonder though. I've felt for some time that Favre's biggest problem is that ever since Irv died, he's been surrounded by "yes" people. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, they're saying he should retire, but were they saying it last year? Or the year before?

Or a wife who enjoys fame and fortune???

[mmmdk]

Sure, but did she tell him that back in 2008 when it would have done some good? Maybe she did and he didn't listen. I wonder though. I've felt for some time that Favre's biggest problem is that ever since Irv died, he's been surrounded by "yes" people. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, they're saying he should retire, but were they saying it last year? Or the year before?

I prefer "Yes" women...

[gbgary]

i'm burned out on bf. not interested in reading anything about him.

[ND72]

Agreed, but I found this article interesting

[pbmax]

Not sure about Deanna, fame and fortune. Possible, but with in excess of $100 million earned, does the additional $36 million make much difference in their lives? Perhaps Brett is saving for a divorce.

I also don't buy the "if Irv was here" line of thinking. This article hints that the father couldn't really talk to the son about his football career or much of anything else and was as much of a fan as the rest of the family (maybe moreso) in his heart. And its hard to blame him; the son completely lapped the father doing it the wrong way. He also surpasses any bound of normalcy or success the family knew.

There is a level of success that simply overwhelms the individual. He may have no true guide and if you add to that pretty typical faults, it would be enough to wreck most men. Media love to tell you how the player's humble roots gave him the unique fundamentals that led to his eventual success. If that line of thinking were true, all men of humble backgrounds would be saints. He has a level of success that only other athletes and families of the wealthy can identify with.

His children may be better able to navigate the minefields, just by having grown up around it, if the privileges aren't too overwhelming.

[RashanGary]

Not sure about Deanna, fame and fortune. Possible, but with in excess of $100 million earned, does the additional $36 million make much difference in their lives? Perhaps Brett is saving for a divorce.

I also don't buy the "if Irv was here" line of thinking. This article hints that the father couldn't really talk to the son about his football career or much of anything else and was as much of a fan as the rest of the family (maybe moreso) in his heart. And its hard to blame him; the son completely lapped the father doing it the wrong way. He also surpasses any bound of normalcy or success the family knew.

There is a level of success that simply overwhelms the individual. He may have no true guide and if you add to that pretty typical faults, it would be enough to wreck most men. Media love to tell you how the player's humble roots gave him the unique fundamentals that led to his eventual success. If that line of thinking were true, all men of humble backgrounds would be saints. He has a level of success that only other athletes and families of the wealthy can identify with.

His children may be better able to navigate the minefields, just by having grown up around it, if the privileges aren't too overwhelming.

You may be putting the Chicken before the egg here, PB. Maybe it's not all about growing up in a stable environment. Maybe there is some hereditary there. Maybe Unstable people tend to act in unstable ways, tend to have unstable children and that unstable temperment goes on and on.

Brett has an unstable temperment very typical of poverty and lower class. His dad seemed to have it.

It's not all one or the other, but simply growing up in a wealthy, stable environment. . . . While it does correlate strongly, I'm not so sure the causation is as strongly linked as you suggest.

And to call Brett's faults pretty typical. Sure, I guess. Women, drugs, booze. . . . Many many men flirt with them and even get in a little trouble, but the great typical majority aren't nearly as bizzare, reckless and destructive with them. Favre went way beyond typical male. Favre has constantly bordered on destruction of himself, his team, his family. Eventually it blew up. His actions are anything but typical. I could make a stronger case for Tiger with that than Brett.

I think Favre is bipolar.

[vince]

The whole Favre clan, including Brett, have been humbled by the last few years - this year in particular. Brett won't admit it directly, and his ego may not even be ready to admit it to himself, but I think his actions show that deep down, he knows he's screwed up royally. Even those closest to him can see it clearly now.

He's a masterful media and public manipulator, and I think he'll come back to the Packer family and will be accepted by the Packers and the overwhelming majority of fans. It's in everyone's best interests for that to happen because that's how the public remembers him most fondly.

I think Ted Thompson will embrace him and play a key role in the process of Packer fans' forgiveness for all that Favre has done in his attempts to hurt the franchise. Regardless of whether Favre manipulated his way out of town and blamed Thompson or Thompson manipulated Favre into retirement and out of town, it's blatantly clear that Thompson has come out smelling like a rose with Aaron Rodgers leading a young winning team into the future. Through ubelievable criticism and ridicule, Thompson stood tall, held to his convictions and emerged victorious in what became the most heated public battle with the most beloved football player of all time. Through it all, Ted's allegiance has remained with the Packers and their fans, and he knows it's in the Packers' best interests to welcome Favre back when he retires. When Thompson moves on from the past, it will be the signal that everyone else should too, and it will come very soon after Brett retires.

Favre has already showed signs of reconnecting with the Packers through the media. After the beatdown the Packers gave the Vikes in Minneapolis, Favre complimented McCarthy on what a great coach his is and reportedly said to Nick Collins after the game, "Keep it going. You guys can go all the way." Favre knows from experience that very little escapes the media in those situations.

It's definitely in the financial best interests of the Packers to reconnect with Favre's glory years because there's a lot of affinity among Packer fans for those years - even among those like me who think Favre has acted despicably toward the Packers' franchise since '08. Favre's significant imperfections have once again reared their ugly head, and they're all part of what has made him such an icon through the years.

[pbmax]

You may be putting the Chicken before the egg here, PB. Maybe it's not all about growing up in a stable environment. Maybe there is some hereditary there. Maybe Unstable people tend to act in unstable ways, tend to have unstable children and that unstable temperment goes on and on.

Brett has an unstable temperment very typical of poverty and lower class. His dad seemed to have it.

It's not all one or the other, but simply growing up in a wealthy, stable environment. . . . While it does correlate strongly, I'm not so sure the causation is as strongly linked as you suggest.

And to call Brett's faults pretty typical. Sure, I guess. Women, drugs, booze. . . . Many many men flirt with them and even get in a little trouble, but the great typical majority aren't nearly as bizzare, reckless and destructive with them. Favre went way beyond typical male. Favre has constantly bordered on destruction of himself, his team, his family. Eventually it blew up. His actions are anything but typical. I could make a stronger case for Tiger with that than Brett.

I think Favre is bipolar.

I am sure the Favre family is many things, but I am not sure you can call them lower class or unstable. His father was the football coach at the local high school. And his mother was a teacher, if I remember correctly Special Education, and now owns a restaurant. Jobs require people to have some talent, education and training. They would have earned a decent income and working with the public, would not flourish if they were unstable.

I don't see how you can get to bipolar because he has engaged in some self destructive behavior. He has demonstrated very little variability in his demeanor publicly and I don't think the press could ignore the behavior if there was more to the story. It certainly would have affected him at work. When was the last time Favre missed practice he wasn't retired from? When was the last time he had to be sent off the field for a blowup?

And I think a reasonable number of men engage in the very behavior Favre has. But there are no websites who will buy my texted photos if I decide to work in self portrait. So the difference isn't so much the behavior but the public interest. Favre isn't bipolar because TMZ is following him around.

And I am not suggesting that growing up in a wealthy environment does anything other than offer someone the opportunity to learn about how to deal with success and wealth. It doesn't mean the lesson will be learned and it doesn't mean there will be stability.