Brett Favre's Legacy in the NFL: Vikings QB Should Be Remembered As a Great

The past three years, many NFL fans grew tired of Brett Favre's act.  He was labeled as a diva, stubborn, selfish and over-dramatic. Are these labels justified?  Probably—but let's not forget Brett Favre the player.

Love him or hate him, Favre is a phenomenal competitor and a phenomenal quarterback.  He put together his greatest statistical season ever at the age of 40.  Think about that, most forty year-old men get tired from walking up stairs let alone playing professional football at an absurdly high level. And his streak of consecutive games-started, while at times over-hyped, is undeniably impressive.

Should he have come back this year?  I don't think it's fair for anyone else to answer that question.

Favre should do what Favre wants to do. 

We all make decisions every day.  Some of them work out for us, and some of them are regrettable.  Regardless of the results though, no other person should be able to tell you what you can or can't do.  So if Favre wanted to play this season -- that should be all that matters.

Now, many will look at the way he did it —missing training camp, wallowing back and forth, etc.  Once again though, many of you who criticize him would likely do the same thing.  Say a company was looking to hire you, and was going to give you the same money whether you went through the month-long training process or not, what would you do?  Sure, many of you would want the training, feeling as though it would make you a better employee.  Others, however, may feel like they will be equally effective regardless.  No one complained about Favre missing training camp last season while he was leading the Vikings to be one of the best three teams in the league.

The fact of the matter is Favre was one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. He gave it everything he had, every game, every play. He played with broken bones, sprains, and aches.  He played through emotional and stressful personal situations, and often times (in the case of his father's passing), played at his highest level.

You don't have to agree with every decision he has made throughout his career. You don't have to like his dealings with the Packers and Jets.  But, let him have this moment.  I know, he's already had three "going away parties."  But, this time it's for real.  Brett Favre isn't going to throw another pass in the NFL, and whether you love him or hate him, the NFL will never be the same.