Favre Developments

Brett Favre has asked the Green Bay Packers to grant him his unconditional release so that he can return to the NFL with any team that would like to sign him.  The Packers now have to make up their mind what they want to do:  Give him his freedom, keep him and try to trade him, or keep him and see if they can work it out with him.

How did it ever get to this point?  Apparently, Favre had not entirely made up his mind about retirement in the days leading up to his announcement.  But the Packers pressured him to make a decision and in the face of that pressure Brett decided to quit.  Then, Brett realized that he wasn’t ready to quit…but apparently felt that he’d already burned his bridges in Green Bay, and had no choice but to petition the team to let him loose.

The Packers, in short, didn’t show Brett what he thought was proper respect.  He wanted them to get down on their knees, kiss his ring and beg him to come back.  And they didn’t do that.  They acted like every other NFL franchise, weighing their options carefully, taking all factors into account.

Favre feels he was disrespected by Green Bay, but really, Favre has disrespected them every step of the way.  He held them hostage year-after-year while he flirted with retirement.  He refused this off-season to give them an answer when they wanted one.  Was it so much to ask for him to just decide one way or another so they could set their plans regarding Aaron Rodgers?

I don’t blame the Packers organization for being fed up with Favre.  You can talk all you want about Favre’s importance there and the deference he may have earned, but the people who run the team have to do what’s best for the team, and can’t allow a single player, no matter his stature, to throw all their plans into disarray.

The Packers showed Favre immense patience.  He is wrong if he thinks they didn’t respect him…they showed him more respect than he deserved given the way he left them swaying in the breeze after every off-season.

He’s acted, forgive me for saying so, like a petulant little snit.  And this latest move, sending the team a letter asking for his release, is his grandest act of snittery to date.

It’s time Packer fans woke up to this simple fact:  Favre does not love you as much as you love him.  If he did, he would just retire.  He would not wish to be released so he could play somewhere else.  He’s clearly not concerned about his legacy in Green Bay…and why should he be?  That legacy is decided ultimately by the fans, and obviously, Favre does not care what they think.  He feels himself above them.  The love they bestow upon him is, in his mind, his right…just as it’s his right to be tongue-kissed by the media.

The sense of entitlement Favre carries through life is just staggering.  Clearly, this guy has bought into all the hype about himself and thinks he can do no wrong.  He believes he is immune to criticism.  He thinks the Packers, indeed the entire NFL, owe him something.  This is not a humble man.  And obviously, those tears he shed during his retirement speech were utterly insincere.  The only thing he was upset about was not having a votive candle lit for him by the Packers.

“I don’t have anymore to give,” the big disingenuous crybaby said.  “Unless you get down on your knees and plead with me and tell me how great I am,” he should’ve added.  “Then I guess I could come back and play one more year.”