It Was Money Well-Spent » Brats & Beer

March 7, 2008
posted under: Brett Favre, retirement

Trapped in my cubicle under a pile of TPS reports, I didn’t have a chance to watch Brett Favre’s press conference live. It’s probably for the best because I seriously would have been balling my eyes out right there at work.

What’s clear from the video is this was a difficult decision for him, one that he has thought about long and hard, but now that he’s made up his mind he is committed to it. That means no un-retiring or making a comeback with another team or anything like that. Brett Favre is finished playing. Full stop.

He did answer most all of our lingering questions and didn’t leave much to be deciphered or decoded. Ultimately he made the decision to stop playing because he simply didn’t want to play anymore. He didn’t want to continue enduring the physical and mental fatigue that comes with being a professional football player. Or in his words, “I’ve given everything I possibly can give to this organization, to the game of football, and I don’t think I’ve got anything left to give, and that’s it.” So it had nothing to do with Randy Moss, Ted Thompson, or anything else; it was his decision to make and he made it.

What most struck me most, though, was Favre’s raw, heartfelt honesty throughout the press conference. He wasn’t trying to spin anything, he wasn’t trying to put on a show or anything like that. He accepted the good with the bad in his career, and in fact embraced the bad as being part of what made the good parts so special. Most of all, you could see the love and deep respect he has for the game, and for the Green Bay Packers. The most touching line I think he delivered was when he said, “It was never my accomplishments, it was our accomplishments.”

A one of a kind player, a living legend, has left the stage for the last time. I’m just glad I was around to see him play and share in the glory. And to respond to his opening statement, I would say that every penny the Packers spent was well worth it.