The story came out yesterday, and as usual, it was the talk of Packer Nation (that is after getting over the euphoria of the Trevor Hoffman signing by the Brewers). Brett Favre talks, and Wisconsin stops what it's doing to take notice.
Not that I blame Packer Nation. The man gave this state, and Packer fans all over the country memories that will last a lifetime. He could run for governor of the state and win in a landslide. If he ran for President of the United States, he'd win the state of Wisconsin. That's how popular he is. He's the new E.F. Hutton. When he speaks, people listen (that's an old 80's TV commercial for those of you wondering).
I admit I read the story. But I also have to admit that I'm happy that I'm not as involved in The Favre Watch as I was for the last few seasons.
Let me give you some background. When I was a producer at Sporting News Radio, and Favre first brought up retirement, my boss gave the entire behind the scenes staff one simple assignment. Find sources close to Favre. Sit on them. Get as much of the story as you can, and be ready to go with wall to wall coverage if he retires. Thankfully I only did that for one off-season, as I moved from a behind the scenes position to a full time on air job in the Summer of 2003.
Fast forward a couple of years, and I'm in Milwaukee doing a daily talk show. The Packers just got done with a 4-12 season. Fans are calling for him to retire. Others want to absolve him for the 29 picks he threw and give him another chance. Either way Lord Favre decided to wait until the week of the draft to announce that he was going to grace us with his on field presence for the 2006 season.
Thank goodness Lord Favre made his decision in early February the following season. That meant we could concentrate on other issues as opposed to the constant "will he or won't he" chatter.
Then came last off-season. The retirement in early March. The stories that came out for months afterward indicating he might be re-thinking his decision to step away. And, of course, the events of last summer. As a talk show host, I know I was personally 'Favred out.' But, you have to give the people what they want, and they wanted Favre, so as a talk show host you HAD to talk about it. Day after day after day after day.
The talk seemed to die down as Favre and the Jets were overshadowed by the problems the Packers went through during the 2008 season. And then, yesterday's news. The news that said he'll take weeks (it'll be months trust me) to decide.
It took about fifteen minutes for the first email to come in. It was from a buddy of mine who runs a sports station in New York. He wanted my advice on how to cover Favre (Tractor) Watch 2009. So, I called him, gave him a few suggestions, and then told him I was glad I wasn't in his position.
And I mean it. He's not Green Bay's problem anymore. He isn't Wisconsin's problem anymore. Let New York worry about him. As far as I'm concerned he hasn't been a Packer since throwing that interception to kill Green Bay's Super Bowl dreams in last year's NFC Championship Game. As far as I'm concerned, out of sight out of mind.
Besides, even if he decides to 'quietly' walk away as he talked about this week, who is to say he will stick to that decision. What's to stop him from waking up one day in June and saying he wants to play again. Last year I thought it was ridiculous to think he would do something like that. Now, I'm not so sure.
I hope he actually does follow through on what he told ESPN. I hope he does walk away quietly. But until the 2009 season starts and he's not under center somewhere, I'm not going to believe it.
And for the first time in a few years, I'm not going to worry about it either. I'll let the New York media, Peter King, Chris Mortensen, Jay Glazer, and Al Jones in Biloxi handle that end.
Good luck gentlemen.
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