Brett Favre: Why the Man Who Cried Retire Isn't Going Anywhere

After spending this past season with the Vikings having proved any doubters wrong about his ability to play, Brett Favre is reported to have told teammates he will be retiring.

This is not a repeat from 2009, or 2008, or any other times he was considering it. Then again, maybe it is.

The back to school sales are being set up, family vacations are being wrapped up, training camp is underway, and Brett Favre is "retiring." It's late summer alright.

Naturally, everyone is reporting that he is in fact retiring this time, with ESPN discussing how the Vikings may perform without Favre, and Brad Childress waiting to hear it from Favre himself.

Kevin Seifert said it best in his blog: "Favre deserves nothing but our skepticism, especially after announcing his retirement in March 2008. And July 2009. And, privately, several more times in between. Someday, it will be for real. But the only way we'll know it is if the season comes and goes without Favre in uniform. We're six months away from that eventuality."

He makes a great point; why should we believe this man? If he actually is retiring this time, which I do not buy for a second, then no one will believe him. If he seems surprised that fans think he'll come back, then that's his fault for doing this every season. He wants to play, we understand that as fans, he wants to use his diminishing (?) skills to the fullest.

There's a right way and a wrong way to go about wrapping up a career. Brett Favre's method is about as wrong as you can get. Continuing to declare retirement to get the media in a frenzy and then coming back just makes him look bad as a person. Seeing as how myself and many others are now writing about this, I guess it's working.

His legacy as a quarterback won't be questioned, but continuing to do this does hurt his image, justifiably or not. It's frustrating to hear this constantly. If it does end up being confirmed by Favre, that does not mean he's gone. He'll be in a Vikings uniform come September, even if he ends up missing most of training camp.

As is being said, until we hear him say he's retiring, we can't believe him. In fact, even if he does declare today that he is retired, I still do not buy it for a second. He loves the attention and the game too much.