Brett Favre: The Man. The Legend. The Genius?

Brett Favre is the man. Brett Favre is a legend. And Brett Favre is a genius.

Brett Favre will always be remembered for his records and loyal devotion to Green Bay, Wisconsin. He will always be the man and legend that fans across the world adore and respect. He will always be remembered for retiring and returning to a different team. He will not be remembered for why he did it.

The bottom line is that Favre is a genius. He chose not to follow the path of the fallen men before him. He purposely retired to save the fans of Green Bay from pain and anguish. But why? Pain from what?

It is simple. What do Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, and Brett Favre have in common? They all were featured on the cover of Madden. How is Favre different from the rest? He had a plan.

Brett Favre learned from the past, and used it to predict the future. He knew the Madden Curse was inevitable. Each player before him became damaged goods.

George gave away the playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens and was injured the following year. Culpepper had a season-ending knee injury. Faulk injured his ankle and never ran for 1,000 yards again. Vick broke his leg in the first preseason game and turned to dog fighting. Lewis broke his wrist. McNabb had a sports hernia.  Alexander broke a bone in his foot in the first game of the season. Young threw 17 interceptions with only nine touchdowns.

Favre decided to retire. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to. He knew if he stayed in Green Bay, their season would be ruined. During Favre's brief retirement, he spent much time watching movies. After watching the series of Final Destination movies, a light bulb flickered in his brain. He knew how to beat the system.

He realized he didn't have to give up the sport he loved or ruin his beloved fans and city for years to come. Favre decided to come back to the NFL and came back to Green Bay with the desire to be traded.

Favre loved Green Bay so much that he wanted to be traded within the division. Why?  So in case he was injured he would help his old team win the division by diminishing the success of his new team.

Of course, the Packers' organization was blind and stupid. They traded him to the Jets, which didn't benefit them in any way. If only they had half the brain that Favre has, they could have seen it. Now they have broken the curse, and must watch the Jets flourish with their quarterback while their new leader Rodgers suffers the consequences.

Brett, you tried. It isn't your fault. I wish you much luck this season. Break a leg in New York! (In a theatrical sense, not literally).