Just Saying, Is All... | What Might Have Been for Brett Favre

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Graceful exits are overrated.

Brett Favre can’t quit. He also can’t help it. Once upon a time, the ex-Packer might have ridden peacefully into a Green and Golden sunset—which would have been a happy ending for everyone but the ender himself.

Passion means doing what your heart suggests.

Pathology, on the other hand, means doing what your brain demands.

It’s not that I’m rooting for another comeback. There’s a fine line between a soap opera and a train wreck, and Favre’s legacy was in much better shape 16 months ago. But let’s not delude ourselves with wishful retrospection. In a league where every quarterback is limited by his playbook, it would have been silly to expect anything less than a go-for-broke audible from No. 4.

Faith is hope beyond logic.

Love is need beyond reason.

If Favre were able to make a clean break, he wouldn’t be the idol we’ve come to believe in.

Zealous champions always have trouble saying goodbye. Willie Mays, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice—they were guilty of irrational ardor, of clinging to joy in defiance of common sense. The problem, of course, is that old dogs can’t unlearn their most meaningful tricks. Conventional wisdomites will argue that Favre should have known when to leave well enough alone. I’d counter that the all-time greats are ignorant of every truth except the only one that really matters.

Dignity is good.

Desire is better.

A lesser legend would have settled for pride, but Brett is Brett because he wants what he wants.

Human nature abhors a vacuum. To exist is to drift ever into darkness; to thrive is to rage against the retiring of the light. What might have been for Brett Favre is beside the point, because all that’s left is that which has to be. Every mortal is fated to lose his fight with eternity. The crazy one is at least sane enough to go down swinging.

Ernest Hemingway wasn't shy about letting go, but he could still sympathize with folks more inclined to hang on:

"Oh Cheeseheads," Brett said, "We could have had such a damned good time together."

"Yes," the Cheeseheads said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?"

Which is as crisp a coda as any flawed hero could hope to write.

Because closing on a good note means having the balls to walk away, and those who claim to be unafraid of conclusions are either buried in Ketchum or only just saying, is all...

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