I am a Packer fan. I am a Brett Favre fan. And right now I am in Packer hell.
Unless you have been living on Mars for the last two weeks, you are probably aware that long time Packer quarterback Brett Favre announced that his retirement in March was premature, and that he wanted to play football again this year.
Thus the drama began as the Packers apparently did not want him back. They said, "Dude, we moved on", and I could certainly see their point. But by Brett's account they really pressured him to making a decision before the draft. At that time the decision was to retire, but says he is now mentally and physically ready to play. I can also see his point.
Since Brett announced that he wanted to return, Packers management have displayed an odd mixture of trying to protect the asset that Brett was to the organization, and heartily wishing he would go away. But he did not. He stuck with it and reported to training camp this week.
Brett had a meeting with Green Bay's coach and other quarterbacks, and coach McCarthy came out of it saying that Brett was not in the right mindset to play. I guess that means that Favre was messing up their plans by not agreeing to ride the clipboard as a backup to Aaron Rogers. The Packers did not want one of the best QBs of all time, and who had a wonderful season last year, to lead their team.
One of the painful things about this whole mess is watching Brett learn that while he was loyal to the team, the team was not loyal to him. I've seen this in corporate America over the last 25 years. The old idea that you are loyal to the company and the company is loyal to you is dead. The reality is that as an employee you have to look out for yourself, because the company will not. If circumstances require it, anyone can be escorted from the building at a moment's notice and without consideration for the employee. Even Brett Favre is not immune to this trend.
Last night I watched Brett stand in a press conference holding up a green jersey bearing the number "4" and his name, but it was a New York Jets jersey. It was the saddest sports-related event of my life.
Brett was traded to the Jets and with his blessing will be their starting quarterback. His new team is in a different division and will not play the Packers until 2012. I'm sure the fact that the two teams would not meet in the near future, and likely not until after Brett retires for good, was one of the factors that made this trade desirable in the eyes of Packers management.
So do I root for the Packers, whose management has shown me only bumbling idiocy, and who will be starting an untried quarterback? Do I root for Brett on his new team? Should I trade in my Packers gear and Green Bay number "4" jersey for NY Jets stuff?
In truth I will root for both Brett and the Packers. He was only part of what drew me to the Packers, so I continue will root for Green Bay. I will still wear my number "4" Packers jersey and my cheesehead. But I will also root for Brett when I watch him play. Since these two entities will probably never play against each other, I'm pretty safe there.
I always knew that one day Brett would not be leading the Packers, and that my faith in my team would be challenged as a new QB took the helm. I did not know that the ineptitude of Packers management would leave such a bad taste in my mouth. I did not know that instead of watching games from his home in Mississippi, Brett would be playing in New York wearing a frakkin' Jets jersey.
This is not the way it's supposed to be, dammit.
