Favre Deserved What He Got

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In case you missed it between the Rams victory and the World Series (not that you could have considering all the coverage it got), there was a little get together in Green Bay, Wisconsin this past weekend. Some guy named Brett Favre, now wearing the purple of the Minnesota Vikings (and it still takes some getting used to) came back to a town he called home for sixteen years. Favre returned to his old stomping grounds to face off against the franchise that he helped bring back from the abyss.

 

If it was revenge that Favre was looking for (and there are many that believe it was), then consider it sweet revenge for the old gunslinger. Favre threw four touchdown passes without an interception, and the Vikings held off Aaron Rodgers and the Packers 38-26. Rodgers played well himself (especially in the second half), but the Vikings are more than just the great Favre. They have a running game (maybe you have heard of Adrian Peterson?). They have a tough defense (you don’t run against them, and Jared Allen is a beast). Rodgers was sacked eight times in the first meeting between these two teams. He was sacked another five times on Sunday.

 

There were two storylines that emerged Sunday afternoon. The first was what happened in the game itself. The second was what happened before the game. If you thought the 70,000 in attendance was going to give Favre a warm welcome home, you were badly mistaken. Favre was booed lustily when he made his way on to the field for the pregame warmup. Sure, there were plenty of cheers, but the jeers were loud.

 

Really loud.

 

It was a shocking scene for most outside observers. How could the Packer fans do this to a legend? How could they treat him like that? How could they disrespect him in such a way?

 

These were just some of the questions being asked after Sunday’s game. Some other media members decided they were going to take Packer fans to task. More than one talking head called the fans of the Packers ‘classless.’

 

Those observers are off base. Packer fans had every right to boo Favre the way they did on Sunday afternoon.

 

Yes, Favre was one of the reasons the Packers came back to prominence after being irrelevant for about twenty years (Reggie White, Mike Holmgren, Ron Wolf and Bon Harlan payed big roles in their resurgence as well). But, Favre also had played a very dangerous game with the fans and their emotions. And it finally came back to bite him in the butt.

 

The best way I can describe the Favre relationship with the fans of Green Bay is to call it a marriage. It’s truly what it was. There were good times (winning the Super Bowl at the end of the 1996 season). There were bad times (a public admission of battles with alcohol and pain pills). From 1992 thru 2007 (and into 2008) Favre and the Packer fans stuck with each other through thick and thin.

 

The cracks in the relationship’s foundation began to show about six years ago, when Favre started to play his annual game of ‘Should I stay or should I go.’ Favre’s yearly ‘will he or won’t he return’ routine wore thin with the fans of this franchise.

 

It reached a crescendo after the 2005 season, a season that saw Favre throw 29 interceptions as the Packers (victims of a laundry list of injuries) fell from grace and went 4-12.

 

Favre waited until three days before the 2006 draft to decide that he would return. There was public sniping (Favre taking shots at Packers GM Ted Thompson). And along the way, some of the Packer faithful began to lose that warm and fuzzy feeling they had for Favre.

 

Favre played better in 2006 (though not great) as the Packers went 8-8 – a four game improvement from 2005. He must have sensed that his image took a hit after he strung his decision out for four months in the previous off-season, because he wasted little time in announcing that he would return to play in 2007.

 

And 2007 was a magical season for Favre and the Packers. He had his best campaign in a number of years and led the Packers to the NFC Championship game. We know what happened there. A Favre interception gave the Giants a win and a spot in the Super Bowl opposite New England. And we know what happened when those two teams got together.

 

Favre announced his retirement six weeks after that last pass in frigid Green Bay, and the fans gave Favre a proper sendoff. Unfortunately for Favre, he couldn’t stay away. Weeks after retiring Favre informed the Packers he wanted to return. They welcomed him back, had worked out a contract extension (reportedly) with Rodgers, and were prepared to announce Favre’s return. In fact, the organization sent a plane to Mississippi to pick him up. With all of this happening, Favre called the Packers and told them he was going to stay retired.

 

From there it became a circus. Favre tried (again) to return in June of last year. But by then he had burned every bridge with the organization (Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy). They had committed to Aaron Rodgers and they weren’t going to back away from that commitment.

 

We all know what happened next. There were public accusations made by both sides. There was an attempt by Favre to force his way into training camp (where he was locked out by Thompson and McCarthy). And, finally there was the trade to the New York Jets.

 

The trade, and the soap opera that preceded it for the month of July, was not received well by many Packer fans. Many of ‘The Brett Backers’ (different from Packer fans), felt their hero should have been treated better than he was. There were protests held outside Lambeau Field. There were websites launched. Online petitions to bring Favre back to Green Bay were out there. The fact that Favre played well (for the first half of the season), coupled with the Green Bay’s struggles (a 6-10 season that was no fault of Rodgers), gave ‘The Brett Backers’ confidence that they were right.

 

But then Favre got hurt in the second half, faltered down the stretch, and presided over a collapse that led the Jets to miss the playoffs after racing out to an 8-3 start. His Jets teammates took shots at Favre for being distant. He retired for the second straight year, claiming he was done for good.

 

But, again, he couldn’t stay away. There were rumors before the Jets trade that Favre wanted to play for the Minnesota Vikings. In fact, there were more than just rumors. The Packers thought Minnesota had tampered with Favre, and filed charges with the league (which threw those charges out). Shortly after the draft, the rumblings started that Favre was ‘getting the itch.’ Sure enough, he had the itch, and it was so strong that he decided to get his shoulder worked on by Dr. James Andrews in the hopes that he would be able to play this season.

 

It seemed like another Favre comeback, this time with NFC North rival Minnesota was a foregone conclusion. But, in one final twist, Favre announced in July that he was going to stay retired.

 

But again, the retirement didn’t stick. He returned, and he returned with the Vikings. It was a comeback motivated by nothing more than revenge against the Packers (Favre has admitted to having bad feelings towards the current Packer hierarchy).

 

There have been players who have switched sides in rivalries towards the end of their careers. Former Bears defensive lineman Steve McMichael finished his career with the Packers. Former Packers safety Darren Sharper (now with the Saints) moved on to the Vikings after Green Bay cut him loose. Both players were greeted warmly when they returned home wearing enemy colors. That obviously was not the case with Favre.

 

It comes down to this. Favre spent six years playing with the emotions of an entire fan base. After his latest comeback, even the most ardent of ‘Brett Backers’ threw their hands up in the air and said ‘Enough is enough.”

 

Again, it’s like a marriage. One that eventually went bad. And one that had spiraled downward for a number of years.

 

We all know people who have been in marriages like that. We know the animosity that can exist between husbands and wives when they split up.

 

That’s what happened with Favre and Packer Nation.

 

I’m not some outside observer when it comes to this. I spent the last four years covering this team. I spent the last four years talking about this team every day. I understand Packer fans. I know former Packer players, and I know people who currently work for the organization. I watched firsthand how the relationship between Favre and the Packers broke down. I watched firsthand how the relationship between Favre and Packer Nation fell apart. Favre took and took and took until the team and its fans finally said that they had enough.

 

One day, and that day may not come for ten years or so, Favre will return to Green Bay and watch as his jersey is retired. He will stand at midfield in Green Bay and watch as his name goes up on the façade at Lambeau Field. But, as I mentioned before, that day isn’t going to come any time soon.

 

This isn’t the way most teams and their stars part ways. Most of the time, it is handled with class on both sides. Marshall Faulk is still (and always will be) an icon in St. Louis. Even though things on the field ended badly for Kurt Warner here, the team and the fans will always treat Warner like a hero for coming out of nowhere to lead the Rams to a Super Bowl win ten years ago. Unfortunately, it wasn't the way things ended in Green Bay for Favre, the Packers and their fans.

 

You can look at what happened on Sunday and call the Packer fans classless for booing Favre if you want. But you also need to know the whole story. You need to know how all of the parties involved got to this point.

 

Now you do.

 

Are Packer fans still classless for what they did, or can you understand why they greeted him with about as much warmth as you’ll find in Green Bay in the dead of winter?

 

I can understand why they turned on him.