Awwwww, Drag

I hate Brett Favre.

Having lived in Wisconsin his entire playing career, all I've ever heard about is how great Brett Favre is. Honestly, in those first couple of years, I couldn't see what was so special about this pill-popping hick with the phonetically-incorrect name. Sure, he won an MVP, but, as I've said before, everybody's got one MVP year in them. I didn't see what the big deal was.

And then the Packers won the Super Bowl.

Suddenly, you'd've thought Christ had come back and was playing for the Packers. Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre and how great the fucking Packers were was all I ever heard. This is where the hatred really kicked in. After he won his second MVP in '96, I threatened to stop watching football if he won it again. (He did, but the Packers getting smoked in the Super Bowl made me rescind my threat.)

The Packers never went to the Super Bowl again, but all you ever heard, year after year, was "The Pack's gonna win it this year!" It's enough to make a player hater like myself wanna kill people.

But, like all bad things, they do eventually end, and Brett Favre finally retired.

Now, like other players I've hated on in the past that retired (Michael Jordan being another good example), Favre can be appreciated for his career, as I no longer have to see him play or hear about how great he is every fucking day.

So, I'll just come out and admit it: Favre was great; possibly the best ever.

During his 16 years, he managed to break every major passing record. He's one of three players to win the MVP three times (in a row, even). And even though he only won the one Super Bowl, the fact that he did it with a very much second-rate team only adds to his greatness. Hell, the fact he was able to win with any of the terrible teams he got saddled with (particularly the '07 squad) is quite a feat in and of itself.

Will his greatness stand the test of time? If Payton Manning stays healthy and consistent, he'll break most of Favre's records. It'll be a stretch, but it can be done.

However, he did set two records last season which are pretty much unbreakable. His 253 consecutive starts at quarterback (270-something including playoffs) is akin to, and possibly more impressive than, Cal Ripkin's consecutive games streak, and just as unbreakable. That's 16 years of never missing a game, which, in football, is unheard of. The more dubious record is Favre's 288 interceptions. The only person who would have a remote chance to beat that is Vinny Testeverde, except that a) he retired, and b) he played until he was 57 and still didn't get close to 288.

And, with the end of the Favre Era comes the end of the Packers ever being good again. I think they expected Favre never to retire, so they really never came up with a plan for when he did. There's no Steve Young waiting in the wings to take over. And when you've got a guy who's never missed a game, it's kinda hard to develop a backup. So, I don't suspect they'll ever be good again, especially since the team they had this year, with the exception of Favre, was really terrible.

And that's that: One of the greats retires, and the Packers become a first-year expansion team. I'm pleased on both counts.