Brett Favre Is A Dickbag

I realize that, as a Bears fan, calling Brett Favre a dickbag probably assumes that this post will be a one-sided, jaded affair. And it is one-sided but I think it is a side that almost no one brings up lest they commit the awful sin of criticizing Mr. Favre (as we speak, the Vatican is mulling over a doctrine that makes bad-mouthing Favre equivalent to adultery).

I realize too that Brett Favre is a Big Deal in the sports world and that his retirement is a story that required greater exposure than that of Michael Strahan or Jonathan Ogden’s retirement. But let’s not kid each other here—Favre has been waving the retirement flag in front of the Packers’ front office for years now and (seemingly) always begging them to commit a PR gaffe that would only add to his saintly status with his fans and media types who are hypnotized by his down-home, Southern style hokum and affable “he seems like a cool guy to have a drink with” personality.

Whatever you may think of the Packers and Brett Favre it is worth noting that the Packers are the only NFL team (and, I think, the only team in any of the major American sports) owned by its fans and, therefore, I find it doubly amazing that Favre always got a pass from its shareholders for constantly hamstringing and undermining the team’s long-term progress. People want to vilify GM Ted Thompson for being so quick to get Favre to retire and for being curt in his text messages but he helps run a team. It is in his best interest to balance out positives against negatives and making decisions that (hopefully) garner more positives than negatives.

I understand that Favre is loved and that a large segment of people have unknowingly drank the Kool-Aid that causes them to believe that, because the Packers made it to the NFC Championship game last year, they have a shot to make it to the Super Bowl this year. Whatever, I get that. But here’s the problem: last year Packers team was a fluke. Favre wasn’t more disciplined last year—he still threw the ball into double- and triple-coverage. A large amount of the Packers success last year was that a lot of young guys bought into Favre and Coach McCarthy, another young guy. The Packers beat the Giants and Chargers in the beginning of the year while their flaws were still exposed and enormous. Their four losses last year were to teams that never stopped hitting them in the face (the Bears twice, the Cowboys, and, ultimately, the Giants in the playoffs). Objectively speaking, the Packers are poised to have a disappointing season this year with or without Favre because they already have a supposed starting QB (Aaron Rodgers) who may already be psychologically damaged because of all of Favre’s retirement ploys since Rodgers was drafted.

I get that people don’t want to live a football life without Brett Favre. I really do. But if almost anyone else had been pulling off what Favre has done to the Packers organization they would be murdered in the press yet Favre gets a free pass because he’s “gritty” and an “iron man.” He’s also a dickbag who should be called out for exactly what he is: the NFL’s all-time interception leader and a QB who has declined almost every year since 1999. He’s a guy who has had a great career but, like Dan Marino and Peyton Manning, is a QB you would never start in a hypothetical game in which you get to pick one QB to win one must-win game (Montana will always win that debate to me).

Favre’s an overrated dickbag who, if he were named Ray Lewis, Tom Brady, LaDanian Tomlinson, or Michael Vick (pre-dogfighting, of course), would be crucified in the media for his willingness to undermine his employer by demanding they release him after his un-retirement. And if that’s not bad enough we have a sports media that is mostly willing to look the other way during all of it because, well, it would make for an awesome pre-season story and a great excuse to run Favre-themed montages every six minutes.

I’m over it. The Packers are at a serious crossroads because A) practically no team in the history of the NFL has ever quickly recovered when their Hall of Fame QB has left or retired and B) the gig is up on the Packers next year as all of their weaknesses will be doubly exposed (weak running game, slow tackles, aging secondary, etc.). All four parties involved—Ted Thompson, Brett Favre, Packers fans, the media–have something to lose and are trying to move on in the best manner possible but, at the end of the day, Favre is simply an aging quarterback. He is not a Senator caught in a series of mistakes that ballooned into something he couldn’t handle. He is not an aging entrepreneur who helped change the world. We need a little perspective about how overexaggerated this story has become.

And it begins with the notion that Favre has been a dickbag the last four offseasons and that, if he were black, he would not be able to get away with all that he has gotten away with.