Brett Favre will go another season without having his number retired in Green Bay, and it is another season too long.
Packers president Mark Murphy told reporters last week that it is just not the time for a Favre ceremony yet with the possibility of booing being a reason.
“That is an issue,” Murphy said. “He doesn’t want it, and neither do we. He wouldn’t want to come back and get booed. You can’t control 80,750 people. I really think as time goes on, every year that passes, it’s less likely that he would get booed, but that is an issue.”
Hopefully the booing isn’t an excuse for there still being tension between Favre and the organization. I have seen many people have say this on Twitter and it makes sense; just send Favre out with Bart Starr and Aaron Rodgers and he will not be booed.
If you are somebody who planned on booing Favre will another year really make a difference? He last played for the Packers in 2007 and last played in the NFL in 2010. If you’re not over it by now you will probably never be over it. Also, if you’re still holding a grudge on Favre at this point you really need to get over it and grow up.
LeBron James agreed to return home to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers after having about as ugly a divorce as possible. Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert wrote a scathing letter tho the fans about James after he left for Miami–and the fans burned his jerseys in the streets–yet they both realized that they behaved badly and reconciled.
The obvious difference is that James is coming back as a player and the city of Cleveland is so desperate for a championship that they will forgive just about anything James could have done. The point is that James swallowed his pride and agreed to play for an owner he used to detest, and the fans have forgiven him.
The same thing needs to happen in Green Bay. Both sides behaved badly and made mistakes in the summer of 2008 just like the Cleveland situation. Favre needs to swallow his pride forgive Ted Thompson and/or Mike McCarthy, and the fans need accept him back.
Favre needs to be apart of the Packers organization again. Without Favre who knows where the franchise would be right now and it’s unlikely they would have had close to the success that they have had in the last two decades. He was one of the huge people who changed the culture in Green Bay.
On the field Favre is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and is a lock for the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He owns the NFL quarterback record for passing touchdowns, yards, completions, consecutive starts and wins. Yes, he threw a few more interceptions than you would have liked, but his 3.3 % career interception rate s just percentage point above Hall of Fame players John Elway (3.1%) and Dan Marino (3.0%).
People remember him too much for the big interceptions in the 2007 and 2009 NFC Championship games and not for what he was in the prime of his career when he won three consecutive NFL MVPs. He should be celebrated for how he played and that he got his teams to that point at ages 38 and 40. It will be done very few times again.
Yes, Favre played for the hated Vikings in part to spite the Packers, but he also just wanted to keep playing the game he loved. Nobody can question Favre’s love for the game and that he was still able to play at a high level. The Packers had agreed to move on, and you’re lying if you say you wouldn’t take $15 million to play the game you love from anybody.
The NFL is a business. Teams look out for themselves and will cut players at any time, so players also have to look out for themselves. That is really the way it is in any profession. Loyalty is a great thing in life, but at the end of the day there will never be loyalty from players or teams.
Favre has flaws as a person and player, but nobody is perfect. He remains one of the most important people in franchise history and deserves to be recognized for it. Both sides and the fans need to move past what happened and do what is best for the Packers. It is time for Brett Favre to return to home where he belongs.
——————Matt Bove is a writer at PackersTalk.com. PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on twitter at @RayRobert9.
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8 responses to “Why Brett Favre Deserves His Packers Day Now”
Why? Why do they have to announce that Favre being sensitive to booing is the reason why they’re postponing his return? Didn’t anyone raise their hand and ask, “if we make an announcement that Favre’s afraid there will be booing, won’t that encourage booing no matter when we bring him in?”
Nice thinking, PR department. They should have said, “Brett knows there’ll be some boos, he’s not worried about that. He’s just humbled that Green Bay would invite him back, and that the team is playing so well under Aaron Rodgers, that he’d hate to distract even a little bit from their accomplishments this season.”
Go ahead, PR guy, cut and paste that if you’d like.
He should have thought of that before he orchestrated the move to Minnesota. If he wants to be ‘forgiven’ he should simply apologize. But you know…I don’t he will because I don’t think he gives a crap. I think the organization is driving this…not Favre.
Favre can suck out and die if he is waiting for real fans to forgive him!! Brent looking out for his self is what he always did and when his wife wore that “Thanks Ted: T-shirt in 09 that drew the line for me; the greatest choker in Packer history deserves every boo he gets!
Why? Why do they have to announce that Favre being sensitive to booing is the reason why they’re postponing his return? Didn’t anyone raise their hand and ask, “if we make an announcement that Favre’s afraid there will be booing, won’t that encourage booing no matter when we bring him in?”
Nice thinking, PR department. They should have said, “Brett knows there’ll be some boos, he’s not worried about that. He’s just humbled that Green Bay would invite him back, and that the team is playing so well under Aaron Rodgers, that he’d hate to distract even a little bit from their accomplishments this season.”
Go ahead, PR guy, cut and paste that if you’d like.
He should have thought of that before he orchestrated the move to Minnesota. If he wants to be ‘forgiven’ he should simply apologize. But you know…I don’t he will because I don’t think he gives a crap. I think the organization is driving this…not Favre.
Favre can suck out and die if he is waiting for real fans to forgive him!! Brent looking out for his self is what he always did and when his wife wore that “Thanks Ted: T-shirt in 09 that drew the line for me; the greatest choker in Packer history deserves every boo he gets!
I’m just guessing here but I think Brett doesn’t want to come back as long as Ted Thompson is at the helm. He is allowed to think that way and Ted Thompson is allowed to continue on as the GM.
If that is the case, I hope Ted Thompson works for another 10 years.
I’m just guessing here but I think Brett doesn’t want to come back as long as Ted Thompson is at the helm. He is allowed to think that way and Ted Thompson is allowed to continue on as the GM.
If that is the case, I hope Ted Thompson works for another 10 years.