The Tainted Legacy: Brett Favre's No Longer a Threat

Retirement is supposed to be a great time in a athlete's life. Sure it's hard to give up playing a game they played and loved for years. Their teams, coaches, opponents, and fans all get to reflect upon and show appreciation for a long career. I never was a fan of players who came out of retirement.

Jordan. Magic. Roger Clemens and Alonzo Mourning to name a few who came back. Jordan sort of cheapened his legacy when he went to the Wizards approaching 40 years old. However at that point it was the ultimate challenge of going to a team like that to compete. At that point he had nothing left to prove and had accomplished everything. He was the only one that gets a pass...sort of.

Larry Bird. Barry Sanders. Patrick Ewing. Michael Strahan. Players who retired on their terms, and will be remembered for going out with class and grace. If you're not one hundred percent sure, then why hold a press conference crying like a girl. They know when their time is up. Most of them anyway.

Brett Favre to me is the worst case of flip-floppers. My opinion of him has plummeted since he left Green Bay, and I'm not alone in that sentiment. For years Brett Favre was synonymous with the Green Bay Packers. Known for being loyal to his organization and teammates. Known for durability. The Cal Ripken of football. Still is.

For years and years the question he had with himself and fans had of him was will he retire at the end of the season. He would wait and wait, then would say he'd play the following season, and think it over, again. He retired the season before last, and was a virtual god in Green Bay, and the country.

Retiring after an unbelievably competitive season where no one expected anything. He was the prototypical football player and athlete. A consummate professional. There is no chance hell come back he told us. There's a good laugh.

Midway through his so called retirement, he starts to hint that he is contemplating coming back. Brett could never just say he's coming back. He has to try to build suspense and drama. That's what he lives for. Its all a game to him. The public knows if Brett is even thinking of coming back, he is coming back.

The Packers couldn't go through it another year and had to think of their  best interest. They decided to stick with Aaron Rodgers since he was already in the mindset to start. Rightly so. He weaseled his way out of his contract and came to the New York Jets. The Packers got tired of wondering how they replace Favre, and actually did it.

Now to make room for him, they traded away their reliable and accurate quarterback, Chad Pennington. So the Jets were all in. It was hit or miss, win now or go home. The guy winds up having the worst season for a quarterback since I started watching the Jets in 1987. He throws 22 interceptions.

Chad hadn't thrown that many in the previous two seasons. the funny thing was Pennington had a MVP-caliber season, taking a team with one win the year before to the playoffs.

After last season, he runs the same line again. There's absolutely no chance that he'll come back. Also, it conveniently comes out that he was playing with a bad shoulder. Sounds like an excuse to me. Since when does Favre complain about injuries? Is that supposed to exonerate him for his terribly abysmal season last year. There's still no chance he'll come back.

A few months into this off-season, here we go again. Reports that Favre is "thinking" of coming back to play for the Vikings. I guess with Aaron Rodgers filling in greatly, along with Favre flopping in New York would warrant him going to the Packers' arch rival. That's a slap in the face. For what at this point.

Sure the guy holds a ton of records, and still hasnt missed a start in how many years. Brett has to be dead to miss a game. But he's left two franchises scrambling to replace him. Granted, Rodgers and Mark Sanchez have filled in greatly, perhaps playing better than the legend.

But his constant wavering negatively effects everyone from teammates to fans. If hes not sure, he should say he's not sure. Not make announcements and renege on them. It screws up the team chemistry along with a lot of other things.

In the end, he winds up coming back, as both the Jets and Packers watch a guy play that told them that he was done. He reminds me of a guy who dates a girl who is married. She leaves her husband, and then a few years later, she leaves the guy. What does he expect. Its happened before.

The guy is definitely a Hall of Famer. No one doubts his passion or love for the game. At a time he could have went out on top.

Instead, I'll remember him for bouncing from team to team in his later years. I'll remember him for retiring and un-retiring constantly. I'll remember the Jets going it for it all, building a team around him and failing. I'll remember him blaming his shoulder injury, retire, and then come back and play for another team. What happened to the loyalty?

Then again, if he did that to the Packers after all those successful years, I shouldn't be too surprised.

Hopefully, when he makes his speech at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony, he could explain his late age football junkie mentality. He tried to give it up, but couldn't and just bounced around, team to team, looking for that same high he had with the Packers in the '90s.