An Old Tree Finally Fell...

It's 8:00 pm Eastern time as I write this column. At last check, Brett Favre retired about 2 hours ago and is still retired. When I heard this news, my first reaction was, "does anyone even care at this point?" It reminded me of the old expression: If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound? This is what's become of Brett Favre's legacy - he's nothing but an old tree in the forest that just got chopped down and no one was there to hear it fall (aside from perhaps Chris Mortensen), and no one really cares.

This novelty of anticipating another season from this future Hall of Fame quarterback wore off on me about three retirements ago. I grew up in Milwaukee and while it's not Green Bay, you are pretty much born with green and gold in your blood. It's a blue collar town and what better franchise to claim than one started by Curly Lambeau in 1919 with a $500 donation from a meat packing company.

Here is why I should care (but, don't):

If you are like me, and were born after 1970, you didn't exactly get to experience the 'glory days' this franchise once saw. I probably didn't start to follow the Packers until about 1980 when I was 9 years old. That team was led by quarterback Lynn Dickey,along with guys like James Lofton, Eddie Lee Ivory, and Paul Coffman. For my first two decades on this earth, I had absolutely nothing to get excited about with this NFL team which I was designated to follow, by the mere fact my parents gave birth to me in Wisconsin. By the time I was in high school, I thought this had to be a cruel joke. Every winter my right of passage was watching miserable, losing pro football. All I knew was there was some teenager just like me in Washington DC or San Francisco whom every September had a little extra pep in their step, a fire in their heart, as their teams opened up a new season of promise. I'm thinking, this can't be my lot in life is it? It has to get better. Right? Right Don Majkowski? Please tell me there is more! Please tell me Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau didn't leave us with this broken down product!?!

Flashforward to 1992, I'm a senior in college at University of Southern California in Los Angeles. I'm surrounded by college kids from Dallas to Denver, Chicago and of course, at that time, LA Raiders and Rams fans. From 1989-1991, Sunday's around the dorms or college apartments were like a trip to the dentist for me. Until week 2 of that 1992 season.... It all changed when quarterback Don Majkowski got benched in a game vs. Tampa Bay. The Packers were getting crushed and head coach Mike Holmgren decided to put in newly acquired quarterback from the Falcons, Brett Favre. Aside from completing his first pass to himself, not much registered with me as this Favre kid came in to clean up Majkowski's mess. Week 3 rolls around and Majkowski had to sit out with an injury and Favre got the start. Down 23–17 with 1:07 left in the game, the Packers started an offensive series on their own 8 yard line. Still at the quarterback position, Favre completed a 42 yard pass to Sterling Sharpe. Three plays later, Favre threw the game–winning touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining. The next week Favre started against the Pittsburgh Steelers in what would become the beginning of the longest consecutive starts streak for a QB in NFL history.

Well lookee here!! This was it.....I had my guy! We had our guy! The Green Bay Packers had a hero they could rally behind. We had a gun-slinging, blue collar, Southern talkin', unshaven, tough as nails quarterback leading our team. For 15 years, I was that teenager who grew up in Washington DC in the 80's. I was the kid that was born into the great tradition of the 49ers and Joe Montana. Now it was my turn. My time. My Favre! He quickly became a legend. He was the most popular athlete in any sport in the state of Wisconsin.

So what happened?

March 4th 2008 happened. I will never forget where I was. I happened to be, of all places, in the state of Wisconsin. I was in downtown Milwaukee for business sitting in a restaurant called Mason Street Grill watching Brett Favre announce his retirement from the NFL. The entire place was quiet, shocked and quite honestly, a little misty eyed. Our hero, who brought us so much joy for so many years, was hanging up the cleats, gracefully.

Gracefully. Hmmmmm.... Did I just say that word? Gracefully. Little did I know at the time, that word would only be appropriate for about 4 months time. By July of that summer, there were rumblings that Favre possibly wanted to return to the Packers. He was having second thoughts and knew he still had something left in the tank. Well fast forward to the 2008 season, and our hero was wearing green, but not green and gold....green and white - the color of the NY Jets jerseys. What's wrong with this picture? Let's see............LIKE EVERYTHING! I'm not going to bore you with too much detail about his season with the Jets, because when we look back on his career, his one season in New York will be nothing more than a mosquito flying smack into a windshield on the highway - quick and forgettable.

By the time the 2008-09 season ended, the Brett Favre quotation frustration began. We heard everything from: "I'm retiring" - "I'm thinking about playing" - "I don't' have it anymore" - "I have nothing but great things to say about the Packers organization." - "I want to kick their ass in a Vikings uniform." (ok, I made that last one up, but you get the picture). By the Summer of 2009, I didn't even know who Brett Favre was anymore. Could this possibly be the same hero I hung my hat on to for 15 years? This man was a traitor to 5.5 million people (approximate population of the State of Wisconsin according to me). How dare he not only erase the memories I had of that tearful press conference in April 2008 by sporting a Jets jersey for a season, but now he wants to seek revenge on the team I grew up with? The team he took from the depths of Lake Michigan to the top of world!

Well, I slowly grew tired of his indecisiveness. I didn't even care about his next soundbite on Sportscenter. I grew numb to his antics and started to distance myself from my hero. I began to speak negatively about him. It became therapeutic to let people to know how I felt.

It's one thing in sports to feel betrayed by an organization when your favorite player is traded. You still have the ability to root for "your guy" on his new team. Then, of course, there is the pain you feel when "your guy" leaves your club as a free agent. That one stings, but you subconsciously gravitate towards someone new on the team. That tends to pacify you for a season or two. But there is nothing, I mean nothing, in the Sports Fan Loyalty Rule Book about how to deal with a living legend who retires, un-retires to play for another team, retires again, then un-retires and wants to play for your division rival to seek revenge on the team you cheered for, for 15 glorious years with him as the leader! Oh, and then retires again.

Finally, today, I have closure. Brett Favre "says" he is staying retired. I don't believe him and sadly, I don't care. He can hold another press conference, and Chris Mortensen can cover it, but I will be no where to be found, deep in the forest, at peace.