Brett Favre: You Say Retired, and I Say I Don't Care

I will remember Brett Favre most for how many times he retired, unretired, and debated retiring—and that’s sad.

I’m not kidding. I’ve thought about this a lot over the last two years, and it’s the truth. When I think of Favre, as much as his many exploits on the football field, I think about this retirement silliness, and probably always will.

It's been a strange, ongoing postscript to an illustrious career.

We debate whether he should retire, or not.

We debate whether he has the right to keep changing his mind.

We debate whether the retirement questions tarnish his legacy, or don’t.

We debate whether it's good for football, or not.

We debate whether ESPN should cover the story so rabidly. (Okay, not really—we know they will.)

Then he goes out and plays another season, and we say, “Oh, that was interesting, he sure is great for his age—now, is he going to retire this year?”

Then we do it all over again.

Meanwhile, he does a Sears commercial that pokes fun at it all.

Then he’s kept in the limelight a bit longer when he is awarded an ESPY for “best play” (for a well-timed, but fairly ordinary throw that, thanks to an exceptional catch by Greg Lewis, resulted in a dramatic, game-winning touchdown).

Speaking of ESPN, their panelists on the 5-to-6 p.m. talk fests Tuesday were divided on whether he’s retired, or not, and whether he’ll stay that way if he is.

Some teammates say he’s gone. Other teammates don’t.

Nobody knows what to think about this guy, ever.

I first wrote about this two years ago, but it bears repeating:

I don't care if Brett Favre ever plays in the NFL again.

I enjoyed watching him and was impressed by his accomplishments. But I really don't care if he plays.

I don't care if he retires. I don't care if he unretires.

I don't care if he comes back to the Vikings, or goes to the CFL, or ends up in the arena leagues. I just don't care anymore.

All the attention heaped on his every move by ESPN and the other co-conspirators in the breathless, dead-horse beating industry is as ridiculous as it is irritating.

The whole thing is a bizarre circus. To me, Favre has needlessly tarnished his image with all this pins-and-needles stuff over the years.

Sugar Ray Leonard had nothing on this guy.

Retire, don't retire, but make up your mind already.