You know how they always tell you about those five stages of grief?

Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.

They left out a stage.

Sad.

I'm there, at the stage called sad.

I'm very, very sad about this whole Brett Favre thing. There are so many things to make me sad.

I'm very sad for this Green Bay franchise. Say what you will, there is now, and always has been, something very special about the Packers. Part of it is size. More than that, it's about excellence. Pride. Dignity. No matter what happened, there was nothing craven or phony about this team. Sure, there were isolated instances of weakness, but this is a franchise that can hold its head high in honor.

Now, they are throwing charges back and forth. Tampering. Lying. Cheating. Disappointment. Who said what, when, and to whom? God, how has it come to this?

I'm so sad that Bob Harlan retired. I've known that man for more than three decades and I just know he would never, ever have let things get this far. So far, Mark Murphy, the man who replaced Harlan, has been disguised as an empty seat in Lambeau Field.

I'm very sad about Brett.

In my life, I have known athletes of enormous courage and grace, as well as skill. Mike Webster of the Steelers was one. So were James Lofton of the Packers and Bob Lanier of the Bucks. Larry Hisle of the Brewers. But nobody was a warrior like Brett Favre.

It was never just about his skills, although they were obvious. It was always something that you couldn't put your finger on. You watched him and your heart would take flight and he'd put a smile on your face. We cringed when he got leveled. And we shook it off when he got back up and stepped into the huddle.

Can you imagine millions of people sitting in front of their television sets, shrugging their shoulders, shaking the cobwebs out and getting ready for the next play? That's what Favre did to us.

Now he's sitting down across from Greta Van Susteren of all people, for God's sake. When last we saw her, she had not yet been shot full of Botox past its expiration date and she was screaming about Johnnie Cochran and Mark Fuhrman. Now she's talking to our quarterback and fighting with Steve "The Homer" True.

I'm so sad that there are so many people who don't know anything, have absolutely no judgment, don't have a lick of common sense and aren't anxious for a gentle solution have been given free reign to assault the rest of us. People who talk and write for a living that think it's cool that this story shows no signs of dying.

I'm sad that I've heard about a million times from somebody who thinks he's unique by saying "Brett gives the Packers the best chance to get to the Super Bowl in 2008." God, I could put my finger down my throat.

I'm sad that Favre showed up in Green Bay Saturday night and met with reporters but that questions about the dispute were off limits. I'm sad the reporters agreed to that.

Most of all, I'm sad for me. I'm selfish about this. Me and the millions of other people who pay attention to all of this, but wish, deep down in our hearts, we didn't have to.