Pity The Cash Cow: Brett Favre, Dr. Z, and Moo Pooh

Pity Brett Favre. Someone, somewhere dubbed him a cash cow, told him he can be all things to all kinds of folks, including people looking to make some cash.

Consider Sports Illustrated reporter Paul Zimmerman, whose column goes by the moniker Dr. Z., and what 'the Dr." wrote in his column  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/dr_z/10/20/jets/index.html

blaming Favre for failing to assist in the Jets' hype to sell seats to the Jets' new stadium.

Zimmerman, never a Favre fan, says Favre, after just SIX WEEKS as the Jet quarterback, has failed  in his mission to ignite a fire in fans' butts to buy, buy, buy those Jet season tickets.

Alas, Zimmerman fails to understand the difference between a bell cow and a cash cow.

We all know both the Jets and the Minnesota Vikings viewed Favre as a cash cow. The Jets were in the process of building a new stadium when Favre, upset because the Packers wouldn't take him back after he announced his retirement this spring, went looking to take his HOF numbers and take-no-prisoners-attitude to greener pastures.

Desperate to get at least some public financing for a new stadium, the Minnesota Vikings wanted Favre like a Meth addict wants a new hit and some acne medication that ACTUALLY WORKS. The Packer organization, realizing if the Vikings don't get a new stadium soon the team could be moved and the Packers become the team of choice in the Twin Cities area, blocked Favre's move to the Vikings.

Hence, the Jets step in, hoping to revitalize a fan base and get their cash cow to sell stadium season tickets.

But what Zimmerman and the Jets fail to understand is the difference between a bell cow and a cash cow. In dairy farming, a bell cow is one who can be relied upon to lead the herd to the best watering hole, the choicest grazing pasture, and get back to the barn. The bell cow always knows where the grass is greener.

The cash cow, on the other hand, gives a lot of milk but she can't find the best grass and might not be smart enough to come out of the rain. She's the one who will stand under a tree while lightning is striking all around, bellowing to high-hell, but not moving an inch unless the bell cow leads her out. The cash cow is a diva, giving out a lot of milk IF she gets to the barn, but you got to get her there.

Brett Favre wasn't even the MVP in the only Superbowl he ever won (in 42 Superbowls, a QB has won the award 22 times.) Favre was a cash cow for the Packers but that was  because he was the right man, in the right town, in the right fan base, with the right teammates and coaches. He was never the leader, never the bell cow.

Asking Favre, age 39, to be the bell cow to somehow make an entire franchise economically viable and exciting in this day, and in these economically fragile times, is ludicrous. Blaming him for not making a Jets prime seat, starting at $5,000, a hot auction item is like blaming the diva cash cow for not coming out of the rain.

The bell cow in the NFL is wins. When you win, a cash cow may emerge. But just win first.

Favre has had the misfortune of being surrounded by some folks who lead him around like a cow with a ring in the nose. Even though new Packer QB Aaron Rodgers is looking good so far, Packer management made a mistake by letting go of their cash cow because you never let go of a cash cow if your lead bell cows are all in place.

But Zimmerman's criticism of Favre is misplaced and mean-spirited. No cash cow can turn around a barn filled with years of mismanagement and manure in just a few weeks. If Favre wants to take $12 million a year to play some place, and can get it, no one should criticize Favre. You don't criticize the cash cow if the bell cow can't get her out of the rain.