Murphy: "We Are Going To Retire Favre's Number"
Packers' President Mark Murphy tells a crowd gathered in Ashland, Wisconsin that the Packers will retire Brett Favre's number.
By maxginsberg
Love him or hate him, you knew this was coming.
The Packers' Tailgate Tour stopped in Ashland, Wisconsin Wednesday evening, where team President Mark Murphy told a packed house that the Packers would retire Favre's number.
“Eventually, he’ll come back into the fold," Murphy told the crowd gathered at the Bay Area Civic Center. "We are going to retire his number.”
How did the crowd respond to the announcement? Kareem Copeland of the Green Bay Press-Gazette wrote that it was greeted by a round of applause.
My feelings towards the ol' gunslinger have waffled as often as Favre's own indecisiveness, but it's difficult to deny the impact a third-string quarterback in Atlanta had on the city of Green Bay and the entire National Football League. Simply put, the man put the "Title" back in Titletown.
Murphy noted that "very few" Packers have had their numbers retired, and the team will hold the ceremony "at a time when it’s meaningful for both him and the organization."
When the time comes, I imagine the Lambeau crowd will respond much like the group in Ashland, and Favre will get his final standing ovation. Regardless of your feelings, Favre will once again have his day in Lambeau.
Unless Murphy and the Packers change their minds.
Comments (82)
May 11, 2011 at 09:43 pm
Yeah, I suppose someday the Packers will need to do this. But I'm in no hurry at the moment.
May 12, 2011 at 11:46 am
Wait a couple years and do it as part of the "threepeat" celebration.
May 11, 2011 at 11:43 pm
I agree, no hurry. And, when that day comes, I will not be in attendance. My issues with ol' #4 preclude me from honoring him in any way in the future.
May 12, 2011 at 12:11 am
I know it isn't the dudes style, but for me all he has to do is say sorry. Just acknowledge to the fans that things could have been handled differently and be done with the narcissistic melodrama that was the end of his career. Is that too much to ask? Yes, yes it is, but I can hope. I want my old memories back untarnished. Like the MNF game against the Broncos in OT. Yea you know the game.
May 12, 2011 at 09:14 am
This ^
May 14, 2011 at 01:59 pm
Agreed Fully DJB.
First, I for one (and there are many like me) have not forgiven Favre. And I won't until he at least pseudo-apologizes in a Greta van Sustern type interview. Since that won't happen before Murphy, Thompson and McCarthy leave, I don't expect Favre's jersey will be retired until at least 2015 - possibly longer. He'll be in the HOF before he's in the Packer Ring of Honor.
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Second, Favre holds almost all the meaningful NFL records for passing and longevity. And he deserves to. But (and you all know this from personal painful experience) the fact is that he's always been a big game choker. His worst side (BrINT) comes out at the worst possible time. Consider this: He individually ended his team's season with stupid (and I mean STUPID) playoff 4th quarter or overtime interceptions in 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2009.
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I know the argument could be made (and it is valid) that those teams would never have been in the good position they were in, both throughout the season and often in those games.
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Favre was one of the top 10 QB's to ever play. He was a big part of resurrecting GB as a football powerhouse. He is also a megalomaniac, excessively proud, a 'me first' guy, and a choker. The emotions he drags up in all NFL fans (especially NFCN fans) are probably as complex and contradictory as the guy himself.
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For all these reasons, his jersey should be retired in GB, along with a number of others (Reggie, Woodson, and possibly someday AR's) and he should be put up in the ring of honor. But I'm in no hurry. A cooling off period of 10 years or so in this case is probably a good thing.
May 12, 2011 at 12:43 am
Forget this guy. He doesn't deserve a retired number. Not after the way he conducted himself ... flipping the bird to the entire Packers nation. Come August, I hope the training camp punter wears No. 4.
May 12, 2011 at 02:06 am
Regardless of when they hold the ceremony, I hope they have a video compiliation on the Lambeau scoreboard of all BF's "WTF Picks" during the playoffs as a Packer ..... They could end BF's video highlights with a shot of him running out of the tunnel wearing purple at the MetroDome ..... What great memories .....
May 13, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Perfect.
May 12, 2011 at 03:35 am
If I'm in attendance I'll boo louder than I've ever booed before. At the end of the day, Favre did little success-wise with a lot of talented teams (I'm sure many will jump on my back for this). And will be remembered, in my opinion, as one of the most consistently overated QB's of all time. My enduring memory of the dong slinger will be his beyond ridiculous interception in OT during the NFC championship against the Giants during the 07-08 season. That was truly special and an excellent sample of his continued stupidity that many paint positively as his "gun slinger mentality". Being a gun slinger is another word for being a reckless, brainless, moron, traits he exhibited to a "t" during his many half retirements and unruly departure from the Packers.
Ted Thompson will be remembered for building one of the youngest, deepest and most talented GB teams in 2010 and more importantly for his courage in dumping Favre for Rodgers.
Thanks Ted. FU Brett - retire a Viking.
May 13, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Amen
May 13, 2011 at 01:07 pm
Remember, gang....if Lambeau and Lombardi could both move on to the Redskins and have giant bronze statues made of them, BF can have his number retired.
All can be forgiven in due time.
May 13, 2011 at 01:30 pm
But when Lombardi departed, he didn't make it his raison d'etre to stick it to the Packers. He didn't try to give away any plays or secrets to divisional rivals. He didn't want join hated rivals. He didn't actively cheer for said division rivals to not only beat the Packers but knock them out of playoff contention.
I'd be happy to retire his number. Some time after Aaron Rodgers is enshrined in Canton and before Hell freezes over sounds about right.
May 12, 2011 at 04:38 am
That will be the day Deanna puts the "papers" back in Paper Valley
May 12, 2011 at 06:07 am
I hate this. Favre belongs in the ring of honor. He does not deserve to have his number retired. Jim Taylor does no even have his number retired.
Here's a thought experiment: imagine in 10 years Rodgers has won 3 three rings with the Packers. Can the Packers retire 4 without retiring 12? Then, can the Packers retire 12 without retiring 21 and 52?
Where does it stop? There are too many great Packers to retire every number for every great player.
My criteria is this: a player does not get his number retired unless he is arguably the best to ever in the NFL play his position. Hutson, Nitschke, Starr & White all met that criteria at the time that their numbers were retired. (I just don't know much about Canadeo.)
Favre does not satisfy that criteria. Favre should miss the cut.
May 12, 2011 at 07:16 am
Have to agree, for all the talk of Favre's greatness, there are still no more championships on the table then we have with Aaron Rodgers. And as much as we owe our current championship to Rodgers, there also is Woodson and Matthews as there was Reggie White and Leroy Butler back in the day.
Ring of honor . . . sure. Retired number . . . not so much.
May 12, 2011 at 08:15 am
See I think a lot of the insistence on retiring #4 is that the Packers don't want to seem petty. They want to be the "bigger men." They don't want to appear that they canceled retiring his number because Favre was a jackass.
But they made the initial plans in haste and should have never made the announcement in the first instance. These decisions should not be made until the player has been retired 10+ years. Hell, even the PFHOF has a "cooling off period" before players become eligible.
I think had the Packers waited an appropriate amount of time, they would have made a different decisions. Especially if in that intervening time the Packers win multiple Super Bowls with a different QB.
May 12, 2011 at 08:22 am
+1. If the SB was all about Farve then he should have won one with a different cast around him. He was great. Not the greatest.
PackerAaron
May 12, 2011 at 08:33 am
Your hatred for Favre has clouded your vision, young Skywalker.
May 12, 2011 at 10:30 am
Nope. I would have made this same post while Favre was still a Packer.
May 12, 2011 at 10:34 am
+1
May 12, 2011 at 10:53 am
The +1 was for Nagler's comment. I think everyone is forgetting where the Packers were when Favre started winning. Is Dan Marino's number retired?
May 12, 2011 at 11:14 am
This is so insanely meaningless, and wrong quite frankly. It wasn't Favre that build the new team. It wasn't him that adquired the players, assembled the coaching staff. It wasn't him that rebuilt Lambeau. It was Bob Harlan, Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren.
And even regarding wins and losse, I can make a much better case to where were the Packers before Reggie White came on board. Because it wasn't until he was signed that we reached the playoffs, and it wasn't until after he retired that we stopped being a dominant team, even with Favre at the helm.
Favre should have his number retired, but not because of the state of the franchise prior to him. It's because of what he did and represented to the Packers while he was with the team. He was THE franchise for almost 2 decades. Not many people can say that for any other franchise in sports, and, coupled with all his achievements, merits his jersey to be retired.
JohnRehor
May 12, 2011 at 06:50 am
This is the second time in 3 months that Murphy has discussed Favre's future with the Packers-yesterday and right before the Super Bowl (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/02/packers-b...)
He's laying the foundation for his return at some point. The question is when.
May 12, 2011 at 07:16 am
They better hurry before the Vikings do it first.Now how would that look? The Vikings claim him for thier own.
May 12, 2011 at 09:52 am
I'd love to see that just for the comedy value. A guy who plays for them for 2 years (1 good year), wins one playoff game and that's considered worthy of retiring his jersey?
It would look a lot worse for them than it would for us. I have to think even the Viking have higher standards than that. Maybe.
May 12, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Won't happen. The Vikings don't have a stadium.
May 12, 2011 at 05:57 pm
Yea right, no rafters to hang it on
May 12, 2011 at 07:45 am
Give Brett a couple years away from the game and he'll do an "apologies" interview to share his regrets for how things ended in GB. It will be pseudo apology ("I'm sorry for the impact it had on Packers fans" or something like that.) He'll have been gone long enough that most Packers fans will accept this half-measure and welcome him back. Then his number will be retired.
May 12, 2011 at 10:52 am
Yup... I sense you are right on Ed. Just keep the interview away from Fox "News" and Greta van Sustern.. lol..
May 12, 2011 at 09:24 am
The Vikings are not going to retire Favre's jersey. He had one good year with them that ended in him throwing a soul-crushing INT. Every Viking's fan that I talk to has reverted back to the Packer/Favre era and hate the guy. They wish he would have retired in Green Bay instead of extending the Chilly era for another year and a half.
The guy when he retired owned the state of WI. He seemed like the perfect sports hero for WI. A good down to earth guy that was a warrior on the field but a sincere real person off the field. Packer nation mourned his retirement as if their favorite uncle died. Now, half the Packer fans actively dislike him and the other half view the guy like any other pompous professional athlete. He went from iconic hero to typical jerk. That being said, he was one of the greatest Packers of all time at the most important position. He deserves to have his number retired. He just doesn't deserve the adoration he would have had for the rest of this life from Packer Nation.
May 13, 2011 at 01:13 pm
Vikings fans had the entire BF experience Packers fans had...only it was compressed into just 2 years. The thrilling comeback vs. SF, the great regular season record, then the inexplicable yet somehow easily forseeable INT in the NFCC, followed up by the waffling on retirement, and some off the field issues.
Difference is, there's nobody waiting in the wings now that he's apparently left the Vikings. Ponder is in bad shape in terms of picking the offense up if there's no training camp or OTAs. Come to think of it, it'll be a new offense even if they give the job to Joe Webb or T-Jack if the have him back.
Vikings won't retire his number. Tarkenton did so much more for the franchise. You can't compare BF to him in terms of Vikings history.
maxginsberg
May 12, 2011 at 10:13 am
It's hard to quantify Favre's impact on the Packers, but I don't think you can argue against his greatness. Every time he took the field, he gave the Packers a legitimate shot at winning the game.
What other player can you say that about?
May 12, 2011 at 10:33 am
You can SAY it about anyone. It doesn't mean its true. And it wasn't true about Favre---irrespective of how often people SAY it. With a few exceptions, he was terrible in the clutch.
PackerAaron
May 12, 2011 at 10:57 am
You are completely discounting everything he meant to the team and the state before all the retirement nonsense went down. He was much, much more than his accomplishments (or lack thereof) on the field. He was larger than life - he "was" the Packers for legions of fans all. over. the. world. The guy was like the Beatles of football - yeah, a lot of his later stuff was unlistenable, but he was still the prism through which millions of people saw the Packers. He defined an era. He absolutely deserves to have his number retired.
May 12, 2011 at 11:10 am
"The guy was like the Beatles of football – yeah, a lot of his later stuff was unlistenable, but he was still the prism through which millions of people saw the Packers."
Great analogy. I disagree with your conclusion, but it is a great analogy.
May 12, 2011 at 11:16 am
I guess I would ask this: what criteria do you suggest the Packers use on a going forward basis to determine which players have their numbers' retired and which do not?
I've stated my position: the player should be arguably the greatest in history at his position.
Favre falls short if that is the criteria.
The argument on the other side is that we should disregard what he did on the field and focus on what he "meant" to the organization. Which sounds an awful lot like "he was super-duper popular and was well-marketed."
PackerAaron
May 12, 2011 at 11:51 am
"The argument on the other side is that we should disregard what he did on the field and focus on what he “meant” to the organization. Which sounds an awful lot like “he was super-duper popular and was well-marketed.”"
To a complete cynic, yes, yes it does.
PackerAaron
May 12, 2011 at 11:53 am
Thanks. :)
May 12, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Disregard that Favre was a key component, if not THE key component, in a SB win and a multitude of wins and achievements? Let's not talk like Favre isn't a surefire first ballot HoF in here. He's not the best ever like you said, (not even close, not sure if I would put him in the top 10 QBs of all time) but he is still a Hall of Famer.
Like I said before, what he meant to the organization is the most important reason why his jersey should be retired, but he wouldn't have that meaning without the onfield performance.
I understand what you're saying, and I agree that his performance wasn't on par with the others, as in being the best at his position of his time, but it's damn close.
In the end, nobody in the modern era meant more to the Packers than Favre. Maybe one day Rodgers will, but there are 3 faces of the franchise. Lambeau in the "pre-historic" era, Lombardi in the "pre-modern" era, and Favre in the modern era.
PackerAaron
May 12, 2011 at 12:58 pm
" Lambeau in the “pre-historic” era, Lombardi in the “pre-modern” era, and Favre in the modern era."
Exactly. Everyone (or everyone who really cares to know) knows that Harlan and Wolf built foundation upon which all the recent success the franchise has enjoyed is built on. But Favre will always be the face of the franchises return to relevancy. Not saying that it's "correct" - but he was the emotional core that millions of fans latched on to.
May 12, 2011 at 02:20 pm
I suggest a cooling off period to have the time the take a more measured approach and to not act all emotional.
One of the biggest arguments that I hear in favor of retiring #4 is that before Favre got to the Packers, the Packers really sucked for about two decades. Maybe those two decades were something of an anomaly in a historic franchise.
Perhaps a little distance between Favre will add a bit of perspective.
This is the Packers. There are great Packer players that have not had their number retired. There will continue to be great players---Hall of Famers---that do not get their number retired.
This decision should not be based upon "how much did Favre MEAN to Packer fans in 1990s"? It should be: does Favre's legacy withstand the test of time. Is he an all-time great?
Only time will tell.
PackerAaron
May 12, 2011 at 02:23 pm
"Maybe those two decades were something of an anomaly in a historic franchise."
The time between Lambeau and Lombardi, a little over a decade of sub-standard play, suggests otherwise...
May 12, 2011 at 11:58 am
Nagler has obviously fallen hard for the BF PR machine that used to be in place .... Put him on a pedestal if you must but even without your help, everyone knew BF would crawl up on that pedestal (somehow) by himself ..... Snakes have a way of doing that .......
May 12, 2011 at 01:19 pm
"Exactly. Everyone (or everyone who really cares to know) knows that Harlan and Wolf built foundation upon which all the recent success the franchise has enjoyed is built on. But Favre will always be the face of the franchises return to relevancy."
Maybe. But this something that will be revealed in due course. Why the rush?
Let's say ten years from now the Packers have won 3 or 4 Super Bowls during the Rodgers era. Don't you think that might influence how "important" Favre used to seem?
But can someone please tell me: what criteria do we use?
What separates Favre from Jim Taylor?
PackerAaron
May 12, 2011 at 01:44 pm
I agree that there is no need to rush.
What happens down the road has zero relevance to how important Favre was when he was playing. That argument makes no sense to me.
And I understand your wanting "criteria". We obviously come at this from completely different sides. You can't quantify, or draw up a set of criteria that measures, what Favre meant to people. You just can't.
As for what separates Favre from Taylor, I'd say the importance of the position they each played coupled with Taylor never having won 3 league MVPs. But that's just trying to give you something tangible since I know that's what you're after.
May 15, 2011 at 08:48 am
Maybe he was more like Elvis. We'd never seen anything like him before he came on the scene. Then he had us screaming like teenage girls. Then he got fat and embarrasing. Finally it ended in an ugly manner. Some still praise him and visit the shrine, but most went on without him.
May 12, 2011 at 11:20 am
"Every time he took the field, he gave the Packers a legitimate shot at winning the game."
The contrary also applies. Every time he took the field, specially in a playoff game, he gave the other team a legitimate shot at winning. And more often than not he delivered.
That's no reason to retire someone's jersey.
Regardless if he gave them some hypotetical shot at winning, fact is he only brought one Lombardi in 16 seasons.
maxginsberg
May 12, 2011 at 12:26 pm
The "only" Lombardi trophy he brought back was the first one in decades.
And at the end of the game with the Packers down by a touchdown, who did you want running the show?
May 12, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Certainly not Favre vs. the Eagles, Rams, Giants...
maxginsberg
May 12, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Oh, I forgot that he didn't beat those teams. Oh, wait, he beat EVERY team in the league.
May 12, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Just not when it mattered...
He played them multiple times, with a good team, he was bound to win. And he never won in philly for that matter.
Facts are facts. There are no facts that sustain that he gave us a chance to win everytime he took the field.
PackerAaron
May 12, 2011 at 01:04 pm
I understand what you're saying here RS, but you can't quantify "giving a team a chance to win" - how can "giving a team a chance to win" be either proven or dis-proven as a "fact"? It can't.
That said - I would modify Max's stance just a bit myself. Favre gave Packer fans hope. Week after week, season after season. When I turned the tv on in the 70s and 80s - I knew they were going to lose. When I turned the tv on in the 90s - I had real hope that they might win. Yes, a lot of that was due to the team that Wolf had assembled - but I put my hope in Favre. Not Santana Dotson or Antonio Freeman - but Favre.
May 12, 2011 at 05:35 pm
Max, the king-of-the-comeback win was romanticized drivel from the talking heads.
To put my perspective on Favre, I can only offer that my personal opinion is the one thing that separates Brett from the other 10 or so QB's you could argue were the best of all time, is that Brett Favre simply never learned when it was the right time to gamble, and when it was the right time to play it safe.
I will take Aaron Rodgers under center in those circumstances any day, despite what all the "comeback" stats suggest. Try googling "the truth about Brett Favre Comeback Wins" once. Don't know if you'll find it or not, but there was a great article in which some gentleman actually took the time to do the research. The truth is very different from the myth.
May 12, 2011 at 05:49 pm
Yeah I remember that, that he stated most of them Favre drove not many yards to get a FG, not a TD, and those counted in the comeback wins department. And also included games where Favre himself had put the team behind with boneheaded picks, but was able to win the game.
May 12, 2011 at 10:38 am
There will always be haters, but Favre brought Green Bay into national attention. Sometime good, sometimes bad. If you look at the records, he is the best. But does he deserve it, I do not think so. But I ave no vote.
May 12, 2011 at 11:53 am
I think they should announce the retirement of his jersey. Then take it back. Announce it again. Take it back once more. Then announce it for the third time…but indicate that instead of retiring #4 they demand to trade his number from a #4 to #3. Or maybe they could put an * next to it!
May 12, 2011 at 01:07 pm
LOL
May 12, 2011 at 11:40 pm
+1
May 12, 2011 at 01:03 pm
How many consecutive starts? That's why I agree with Murphy.
Douche? Yes
Choke in the clutch? Yes (good fit for Minny)
He has done some very good things with the money he earned. I don't think the Majik man would have taken us to the Lombardi. He holds 3 NFL MVP's, so there must be alot of people that think he was talented.
Now stop giving attention to he who craves it.
May 12, 2011 at 08:21 pm
I'll go to my grave believing we would have won just as many if not more Superbowls with Brunell and Hasselback behind center.
May 14, 2011 at 04:33 pm
I wouldn't go as far, but I have no question that he flat out costed us at least another shot at one.
I used to believe the crap that you had to take the good with the bad, and that if it wasn't for Favre we wouldn't even have reached the playoffs. But then I watched Rodgers play.
May 12, 2011 at 01:11 pm
Doesn't matter if the number is retired or not. No one else in their right mind would want to wear #4 in GB.
For the ceremony when they retire the number they should have favre come out to the 50 yard line to applause and then have Clay come out of nowhere and snap him in two.
May 13, 2011 at 07:44 am
True and true!
May 12, 2011 at 01:17 pm
Good grief! Of course the Packers retire #4. Anyone who argues otherwise is just someone still pissed off he played for another team. I have great memories of watching Packers football with friends and family, and the main reason over the years was because favre was running the show. Those memories are still intact for me, and favre is still a powerful (and positive, for me) image of the Packers historically. It does seem like others have burned their memories right along with their favre jersey, but the reality is that favre = packers.
#4 was a HUGE part of the Packers getting back on the map and becoming a winning organization -- something people easily take for granted with the team winning without him. Favre deserves a spot on the wall.
And if you disagree with that, then think about this:
What future Green Bay Packer player is going to choose to wear the #4 jersey anyway?
May 12, 2011 at 01:41 pm
" but the reality is that favre = packers. " ...... Per John Madden, right? .....
Believe it or not many PackFans were increasingly annoyed that the GB Pack became the 'Favre Pack' in the eyes of the media ..... Some of us (many of us?) appretiated that a capable QB was at the helm but still only looked at BF as 1 of 53 ....
When BF was jettisoned, the 'team' returned .....
May 12, 2011 at 04:24 pm
"When BF was jettisoned, the ‘team’ returned"
Um, I think you're trying to rip Favre, but you're actually giving the GM props with that.
I agree that the Packers as a team got better when Favre left, but it's not because one player was gone. It's because the GM's plan was working.
May 12, 2011 at 05:52 pm
Now that he is zero threat to anyone...invite him as a third string qb for minimum- give him an opportunity to transform by trying to be a humble, fallen and aged warrior that he is. Ride the bikes, attend all the camps...
Oh...and hope we never need him to play.
Maybe he just reminds me too much now of ol' George Blanda.
maxginsberg
May 12, 2011 at 06:09 pm
Thanks for the conversation, everyone. We don't always agree, but I always enjoy it.
May 12, 2011 at 09:49 pm
Not so sure about the number, but may someday retire a letter, and stop calling him Brent.
May 12, 2011 at 09:57 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14cuQA6HS_c&feature=related
May 13, 2011 at 12:25 pm
D.D. Driver, Oppy, PackerRS and Dong Slinger all made great points.
The truth is Favre was the successor to Elway in the NFL's promotional dept. and for years the nation and especially Wisconsin fans ate it up. He was an important part of highly talented teams, but for years was never called out when his bone-headed decisions ended a season.
When people say; "Well he won us a Superbowl.", I reply; "Well then he lost one for us the next year."
May 14, 2011 at 04:28 pm
The only Packers QB to ever lose a SB. And the only Packers QB to ever participate in a SB and not be named MVP.
May 13, 2011 at 02:36 pm
As much as I hated him for leaving and trying to "stick it to us" in his various ways, he most certainly deserves his number to be retired and a bronze statue should be placed out front of Lambeau of him.
Packer fans have way too much class to deny him his rightful place in Packers history.
Time to start the healing and no better way than this in my opinion.
May 13, 2011 at 11:30 pm
The jersey? Maybe. A statue in front of Lambeau? No way.
May 14, 2011 at 12:26 am
I'll line up to be the first to melt down that bronze statue and turn it into a bed stand.
The dong slinger ranks high on the all time list of class-less NFL stars. He doesn't deserve a statue or a retired number within 50 miles of Lambeau or within the boundaries of the great state of Wisconsin for that matter.
Bye Brett. We don't care about you anymore. Retire a viking.
May 14, 2011 at 01:59 pm
A statue !!! ..... That's hilarious ..... Maybe a statue with his pants on the ground & a camera in hand .....
May 14, 2011 at 04:26 pm
Wait wait wait. I think they should retire his number, but "deny his rightful place"? A freaking bronze statue?
Wow. Just wow. I was gonna write something related to you, Favre's photogate and typing with one hand, but let's leave it at that.
May 14, 2011 at 12:13 pm
He made the team relevant for 16 years, without him who knows if we even win a SB in 96.
All the hate is so short term, nice to be able to define his entire body of work in the past 3 years but that is not the truth, go ahead and take the ex girlfriend approach.
May 14, 2011 at 11:04 pm
There are some great posts here. And I rarely, if ever, actually take the time to read all 50 posts when I come late to the party. But I did for this one. A couple things:
First, should the organization really punish Favre for the last 3 years of his ridiculous, stupid, jealous, deceitful, perverted, vengeful behavior? They really shouldn't, they really can't, and they won't. If they did, they wouldn't be acting professionally. And that's not how the team operates.
Personally, I would love to see Murphy and Thompson go right on national TV tomorrow and publicly announce the ceremony for the first home game this year. Why? Because it would force Favre's hand. He would either have to come back and hug and kiss everybody, or he would have to effectively admit he hates the team. The whole process would make him squirm, and I would love it.
The people who insist the Packers would have dried up and blown away in the '90s if not for the arrival of Brett Favre drive me nuts. People...we had Wolf. We had Holmgren. But the biggest thing is that the salary cap came in 1993. Of course there is no guarantee we win a Super Bowl without Favre. But Mike Holmgren took the freaking SEAHAWKS to a Super Bowl. That's substantial.
May 15, 2011 at 02:09 am
"4" should be retired no matter what because I would not want any future Packers player to have to wear that number. I loved Favre as a Packer because of how he played but I also cursed his name after many games for the same reasons. Careless almost reckless play sometimes it was great more often than not it was heartbreaking especially in the playoffs. When Favre retired it was bittersweet for me because I loved the way he played but I was hopeful that Rodgers wouldn't play that careless and was hoping for a future without all the heartbreak. The years with the Jets and Vikings just saddened me more than anything else because Favre could have left without all thus nonsense and been a great story to tell future Packer fans. Now I'll have the last three years in my memory instead of all the great games he played for the Packers. So that's why I wouldn't want anyone else to wear number 4!
May 15, 2011 at 09:56 am
What I like to remember is all those games he was hurt and hoping against hope that he would be able to go out and play, for without him I knew the Packers were doomed. And he always did go out there, many times in a physical condition that would have sidelined, or bedridden most. And many times the Packers won those games. To me that sums up what he meant to ME those years. I too was very displeased with the way things went down the last three years. But even that won't take away what he meant to me earlier (although some of the ints hurt deeply).