Sticking Up For An Old Man

I've never been a big fan of Brett Favre. He obviously is a gifted quarterback who has had a long and successful career; but I never thought very highly of him. In each of the last 3 or 4 offseasons, he has engaged in a protracted process of deciding whether or not to retire from the NFL. Each season, his team (the Packers, then the Jets), has put their plans on hold while waiting for Favre to make up his mind. At the last minute, he decides to come back, and all seems to be forgiven.

Although he certainly has the right to make careful decisions about his future, he also manages to create a media circus that dominates the sports news for weeks at a time each spring. Make no mistake about it, he is the one responsible for keeping himself in the headlines.

This year, after saying that he was retired for good, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings. At the time, I read an article (I can't remember where) that presented an interesting theory. It stated that after all his years in the league, Favre was merely tired of going to training camp each summer, so he orchestrates the charade of fake retirements in order to dealy his reporting to camp as long as possible. The more I thought about it, the more I think there might be something to this. (Not that Favre or anyone else cares what I think).

This afternoon, I turned on the TV at about 4:00 PM to check on the scores. The Giants game ended early, so the network was showing the end of the Vikings-49ers game. The Vikings were trailing by four with about two minutes left. Favre led the team down the field and threw the game-winning touchdown pass with two seconds remaining. It was a good throw, and the receiver made a great catch. But what really struck me was Favre's reaction. He seemed genuinely overjoyed at having helped the team win. This is a man who has won a Super Bowl, yet he was thrilled to win a regular season game with teammates whom he has only known for a couple of months. I thought "there's a player who really loves the game. He takes all the pain that comes with being an NFL player, and just wants to win."

Brett Favre will turn 40 soon. Since I just celebrated my 40th birthday, I find myself rooting more for the "old" guys, who are still out there, teaching those young punks in their 20s a lesson.

So a tip of the hat to you, Brett Favre, you have a new fan today.