Who Needs A Hug? » Brats & Beer

August 6, 2008
posted under: Brett Favre, unretirement

Hug it out, Packer Nation

It looks like we’ve finally come to a resolution, and while it is a relief it isn’t a particularly satisfying end. In fact, it’s pretty crappy when you think about it.

The first time around with Brett Favre leaving Green Bay it was bittersweet seeing him go out — on his own terms and riding high after a successful season. We wanted him to stick around another year, maybe two, but we all knew it was time for him to go after his tearful retirement press conference. He left Lambeau Field, boarded his private jet, and headed off into the sunset, leaving us to carry on making a fresh start with a young team and its untested quarterback.

This time he goes out rebuffed in his efforts to force his way back onto the team, beaten at a game of chicken that he started and brought to a head. With a head full of steam he returned to Green Bay for a final showdown, but during a marathon face-to-face with his coach Mike McCarthy, Favre’s resolve finally exhausted itself when it became clear he’d win neither his starting job back nor his release.

No one wanted to see it go down like this, with a bitter and defeated Favre contemplating his options — a trade to a team he doesn’t want to play for or resigning himself to retirement for a second time in five months — but did anyone think this was going to end well? Even those of us who thought Ted Thompson and McCarthy were taking the right stance in this affair have to feel conflicted over the outcome. The whole thing has left Packer Nation divided and angry, with some fans booing at practice and rooting for failure.

It’s an ugly time right now but we have the means to make the Green & Gold shine again under the autumn sky by reuniting behind a team that is bigger than any player and more than the sum of its fans.