Brett Favre Is Not Going Anywhere

            Pardon my cynicism, and given all the information that’s starting to come out it’s not unjustified, but I don’t believe Brett Favre is (finally) retiring for one second. I could go on some long diatribe about how we have been here before and how this is all just a game played by Favre to see how much people really want to see him play. However, I will take a different approach and offer up three simple reasons why there is no reason to believe that Brett Favre is done playing football.

1)      The Last Pass

            First, there is no way that Brett Favre wants to go out with his last pass being that awful interception thrown across his body and into the waiting arms of Saints cornerback Terry Porter costing the Vikings a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Whether he will ever admit it or not, Brett Favre is an egomaniac (which is why we have to go through this whole retirement ordeal every single year) and he doesn’t want people to remember that pass as his final one in the National Football League.

2)      Free Reign Over The Franchise

            The second reason that Brett Favre will play this year is because Minnesota will coddle him, giving him whatever he wants and letting him call his own shots. The Vikings have big aspirations this year after getting so close to the promised land last year and they know that the only way that they are going to get to where they believe they can go is if Brett Favre is lined up under center. As a result, Minnesota will give Brett anything and everything that he wants. If Brett wants more money he will get it, if he wants to skip training camp and practices throughout the year he will be able to do it, if he wants a stake in ownership in the team odds are good that he would get it. Brett Favre has Minnesota in the palm of his hands and he knows it and that makes the allure of playing with them again even greater.

3)      He’s Still Really Good

            The final reason that Brett Favre will play this year is the most obvious: because he still can. In 2009, Favre had his best season as a professional. He set career highs in completion percentage (68.4), fewest interceptions (7), and passer rating (107.2). He was as dominant in 2009 as he was in any of his MVP seasons in Green Bay and that will make it harder for Favre to leave. Great athletes can never say goodbye to the game that they love, especially the great ones who are still able to play at a high level and Favre can still play at a high level. So for that reason above all the others Brett Favre will be lined up under center on Thursday, September 9^th when the Vikings visit the New Orleans Saints in a rematch of NFC Championship game.