How Could You Boo the Lambeau Leaper?

Glenn Franco Simmons by Analyst Written on November 01, 2009
GREEN BAY, WI - NOVEMBER 1: Quarterback Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings hugs a Packers coach after the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on November 1, 2009 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Vikings defeated the Packers 38-26. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images) Scott Boehm/Getty Images

How could Green Bay fans boo Brett Favre in HIS house?

Wasn't it primarily Favre who transformed this franchise from loser to victor?

How could what sounded like the majority of fans boo him when he trotted on to the field?

After all, he'll go into the Hall with Green Bay's own colors. Will they boo him then?

On the way to the stadium, Favre also saw some one-fingered salutes, yet he spoke with a smile and a slight laugh when recounting that after the game.

That's class.

Up until about two years ago, I had been a Favre fan when he wasn't playing against my Niners.

I admired him for coming back from a painful stomach problem that resulted from an auto accident, dealing honestly and very publicly with a prescription pill problem, helping his wife battle through breast cancer, and playing an out-of-this-world game so soon after his beloved father died.

And then the retirement-unretirement melodrama, the tears, the Fox interview, all the media attention, etc., and that bitterness from those past defeats to Green Bay came to the surface of this 49ers Faithful.

I jumped on the anti-Favre bandwagon.

Regrettably.

Watching him this year, and losing on a last-second bullet from Favre in Minnesota, reminded me of of this guy's uniqueness.

I don't think he is the best quarterback ever. It is enough to say Favre is one of the best ever. Where fans and "experts" put him is where they put him.

Tonight he showed what a champion should play like, and he showed how a champion should respond to what were really lame media attempts that basically begged him to say something controversial about Green Bay.

Call it being smart or showing class, or both, Favre didn't bite.

I also admired him for the emotion he showed when asked how it felt like to talk to his former teammates and coaches after the game. He choked up.

Penetrating my thick head was the realization that this guy just wants to play ball, just like I did when I was much younger. Since he is a world-class athlete, he can do it.

So he sheds some tears. Big deal. He's real.

And no one can say the guy isn't tough. In fact, I'll say this: Favre is the most-durable  quarterback of all time in any league.

It's Favre's emotion—that deeply felt love for the game and knowing Father Time is ticking—that led to the retirement drama.

No longer a Favre detractor nor a Favre naysayer, I can see that all the negative written about Favre says more about us than it does about him.

Lastly, I hope he takes Minnesota to the Super Bowl and gets another Lombardi. If any NFL player ever deserved it more, I cannot think of one.

Vote Now! - Author Poll

Is Favre the most-durable QB ever?

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Results - Author Poll

Is Favre the most-durable QB ever?

  • Yes

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  • Total votes: 80
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written on November 01, 2009 Opinion

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