August 4, 2008
By: Dirty
The circus that Brett Favre created by backing out of his retirement has brought a black eye to the NFL, its fans, and the storied Green Bay Packers. The Circus that he has created needs to be addressed by Commissioner Goodell to make sure this disgrace to the game never happens again. There is a simple solution that I will get into in a minute. Below are my reasons why I believe this.
He gave a moving tearful speech a few weeks after the Super Bowl that brought tears to many. He retired the best way he could have other than winning a Super Bowl. He was adamant that he was done with football forever and was looking forward to spending time with his wife and kids. He even went as far as to tell Green Bay executives who flew to Mississippi to speak to him the night before the NFL Draft in April that they could move on. He was going to stay retired.
The Green Bay Packers, their fans and most importantly Aaron Rodgers took him at his word. The team prepared for life without Brett and drafted that way. They gave the reigns to the talented, but unproven, Rodgers and told him the team was his. The fans moved on the best they knew how and were ready to support Rodgers. Rodgers spent countless hours in mini-camp and extra work preparing for his new role as leader of the Packers. The Green Bay Packers and its fans were finally coming to grips that the legendary gunslinger was riding off into the Sunset with his next stop to be Canton, Ohio. What better way to go out by almost making it to the Super Bowl and Favre having a career year after 3 seasons where he was mediocre at best.
But Wait!!!! Favre was just pulling our legs… he didn’t mean the tear filled retirement…. He was forced into it by the Packers …. Blah, Blah, Blah….
Oh the Humanity that an NFL team wanted to know what Favre was going to do. It didn’t matter that Favre had held the Packers hostage the last 3 years telling them he didn’t know if he would play or not until right before the season. It didn’t that if he was not going to play the team had to draft with a different strategy. What he did was unfair to the coaches, management, and fans, but most importantly it was unfair to his teammates. They had to know who to stand behind. Would it be Favre or Rodgers? They just needed to know so they could prepare properly for the 2008-09’ NFL season. It is hard enough to win in the NFL in the salary cap ERA because lack of depth, but even more-so when you have to replace a legend.
As a former coach of college baseball prospects playing American Legion Baseball I personally had to go through this almost every summer. A couple of our players would graduate with a year of eligibility left. They would go on and play a season of College ball and still be eligible to play depending on their date of birth. We would literally not know if they were playing or not until the first of June, when our season started the 3rd weekend of May. It was hard on the coaches, players, and fans not knowing. If you know then you can prepare. It keeps everyone held Hostage.
The Circus that is going on in the NFL could be remedied very easily by the NFL implementing the “Brett Favre Rule”. The rule would simply state that when you go on TV and whine, cry and pour your heart out and give thanks to everyone this side of the Dalai Lama that you are done for one year. Once you announce your retirement publicly, or to team officials, you have 14 days to submit your retirement papers to the NFL Commissioners Office. If you submit the proper paperwork then you can be reinstated in 365 days if you pass your physical and the Commissioner approves. If you do not submit the paper work then you waive your right to reinstatement forever.
This would work in most cases, because most guys like Favre just don’t know what to do with their time when it is time to report to camp. It is what they have done their whole lives. Start playing football in August. Once you sit out a year you have had plenty of time to think things over and assess the situation.
If you don’t want to retire or can’t make up your mind, then you can be put on the physically unable to perform list until you do. That way the team is not responsible for your salary during your time of indecision.
Brett Favre and his childish behavior has disgraced himself, his family, the NFL, but most importantly the NFL and the Green Bay Packers family. He has put the Packers in a no win situation because no matter what they decide they are goats. The only suitable outcome would be for Rodgers to win the Super Bowl. Anything short of that then everyone would say “If we would have had Brett we would have (fill in the blank). I knew the management should have let him play”.
Now we have to put up with the Circus for a few more weeks and all just because Brett Favre is acting like the neighborhood kid that took his ball and went home because he didn’t get his way. Then when he found out everyone else moved on he got upset and is making them pay.
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