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In Sports Commentary

By Steve Czaban Special to OnMilwaukee.com E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Steve Czaban

Published July 23, 2008 at 5:19 a.m.

Tags: packers, favre, nfl network, espn

The NFL's "calm before the storm" is upon us.

Here in the depths of July, just before the first weekend of pre-season games, you can almost smell the September pigskin already.

You start to see more ads for Fantasy Football. There are more and more preview magazines on the shelves at Borders. You start flipping the channel to the 212 -- NFL Network -- more often to see what you might be missing.

(Usually at this time, nothing. But you still check!)

It is a last chance for teams to tweak rosters before they launch into the season. The Jason Taylor era is officially over in Miami. Jeremy Shockey can be somebody else's high-maintenance headache.

And, the Packers better damn well figure out an "end game" Brett Favre's jackknifed and overturned "non-retirement" scenario.

For the record, the Packers have no choice here. None. They MUST bring him back with open arms. Period. You cannot thumb the eye of the football gods by REALLY saying, "No, no, we're good with Aaron Rodgers" this year.

I mean, you can, but you are taking one helluva roll of the karmic dice. Do you really want to live through 20 years of not making the Super Bowl, with the thought that if Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy had just swallowed their pride, you might have banked another Lombardi Trophy?

I wouldn't. I'd cave to the guy and go home and punch a hole in my wall if it makes me feel better. Make no mistake: the Packers are completely in the right. They won this one on merit. They begged him to roll for one more season. He said he just couldn't do it. They begged him to wait a little while. He said, "No I'm done." They even were ready to undo his retirement a few weeks after the fact with a rescue mission to pull him off the mower in Mississippi.

He called that off, too.

The Packers are right for moving on without Favre. The Packers are right in drafting two more quarterbacks. The Packers are right for saying Rodgers deserves his chance. But guess what? Just being right doesn't mean you always win. Try marriage sometime, you'll understand.

Like a girlfriend you thought you would never be without -- even if you have had the break up fight to end all fights. And, even if you are totally moved out of her apartment. If she says, "Let's give it one more try," you go through the hassle of pulling the furniture out of storage and move back in.

Why? Because you can always break up with her again later.

If Favre comes back and is good again, you'll say to yourself, "Cripes! And to think we almost didn't have this kind of season because Ted Thompson's shorts were in a bunch! Were we insane?"

If Favre stays retired, and the porcelain backup gets smashed to bits in Week 5, you'll be mad enough to punch a blocking dummy onto injured reserve.

The downside? Minimal. Favre is bad, or gets hurt and Rodgers gets his way by pouting his way out of town.

To me, it's a no-brainer.

This whole thing bears an eerie sort of resemblance to what happened when the Bulls Dynasty unraveled. Phil Jackson got bum-rushed out of town. Jordan was given the cold shoulder into retirement. Pippen was sent packing to the Rockets. General manager Jerry Krause let slip with the management hubris that precipitated it all.

"Players and coaches don't win championships, organizations win championships."

The Bulls haven't been back to the Eastern Conference Finals, let alone the NBA Finals, since.

Favre has run your team around in circles on this one, made you look foolish or dishonest, toyed with the emotions of millions of Packer fans, and wasted many, many hours of ESPN's airtime.

So what? The man says he wants to play. Swallow it, and get out of the damn way.

11 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by Myke on July 26, 2008 at 10:55 p.m. (report)

I'm amazed at the amount of WI fans that have turned on Favre,for no logical reason(for most sane people any way). If you watched the ESPY Awards it's obvious there is a lot of love for Favre around everywere else & he will be welcomed with open arms were he ends up. Also with alot of astonishment that WI "cheesehead " fans in large part didn't want him anymore.With attitudes like this it's no wonder much of the country looks down on WI peeps.

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Posted by mrclean0497 on July 25, 2008 at 7:13 a.m. (report)

Sign the papers! The thing that gets me about this whole thing is that it is more of Brett trying to do things only on his own terms. If you really want to play, file for re-instatement and TT and company can actually do something, but no, Brett wants to know that he will be able to play where he wants where they will coddle him, not make him work in spring training or whatever else before he signs back up. If he wants to play somewhere else I am fine with it at this point but we can't trade his @ss for anything close to value while he is still retired. If he really wanted to play he'd say ok, I'm back let's figure out where and how, not hey if you can tell me exactly where and how and I'm happy enough with it, then I'll come back. If that's all the passion he has left I think we are better off without him.

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Posted by ogoody on July 24, 2008 at 9:16 p.m. (report)

I remember my parents banging chairs and other furniture around during the 60's while the Packers were building their legacy and those years were part of the groundwork for the support base this team has built. The Packers have had as many great players as any other team in football, and more than many of them put together. Then Favre came along and blew out all the records for a quarterback single handedly. Go look for a list of his accomplishments if you don't already have them commited to memory. If you still remember those accomplishments then you don't have much to think about. If Brett has been too emotional, or wishy washy for some of you manly fans who have sat in the bar or on the couch watching him accomplish great things, then I pity you and your marriage (if you have one). All franchise aguments aside all you have to do is ask yourself "who would be the best starter for GB this year". I guess tha is a no brainer. I agree with Steve. Let him come back and start. If Brett suffers for it we will probably find out early on. Then the drama is over and we "move on" with an unproven set of QB's. It's amazing how some "fans" forget the accomplishments and contributions to the franchise just because the pressure gets to a guy of greatness as he gets older.......

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Posted by lawdog26 on July 24, 2008 at 7:11 a.m. (report)

Absolutely. This isn't high school football. There is no place for pride in a multi-billion dlllar industry. There is only the end result. Championship or no Championship. To turn away the 2nd best, statistically speaking, quarterback in the NFL from 2007 on a matter of principle is down right clinically insane. Furthermore, the comments by Packer fans who feel jilted are indicative of sports fans in Wisconsin. Note: this isn't your local "rah rah" high school team. This is football for money at the highest level. This is the best 1000 or so guys in the planet and, right now, by all indications, Favre is one of the five best at what he does on Earth. There is no question that he gives the Packers the best chance to win and any decision not to use him is the very definition of irresponsible. I hope for Brett's success elsewhere, and I do this as a Packer fan in the hopes that Ted Thompson's career will burst into flames and crash into the mountain, saving my favorite football team from his incredible hubris. He who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind and its gonna get awful windy in Green bay if TT doesn't make a full 180 real soon.

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Posted by Myke on July 23, 2008 at 6:14 p.m. (report)

Great article though I don't agree with all of it. Several excellent points !

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