Favre Holding Packers Hostage

It seems as though Brett Favre's retirement will be short lived. That is unless he decides to change his mind…again. For a man who makes so many split second decisions on the field he sure has a hard time making a definitive one off of it. The problem is that Number 4 simply can't make up his mind on what he wants to do. Ultimately, Favre is holding the Packers back and sabotaging his own career.

Two years ago, teammate Donald Driver thought it was a forgone conclusion that Favre was going to hang it up. He didn't. The Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft in order to groom him as Favre's heir apparent. Well, let the grooming continue...or maybe not. If Favre actually takes the field this year he won't be wearing the green and yellow.

Favre suddenly feels unwanted in Green Bay. Maybe it has something to do with the Vikings trying to coax him into playing in Minnesota this season. The Packers won’t let that happen, but are tired of Favre jerking them around on whether or not he wants to come back and play. At some point the Packers have to move forward and waiting on Favre every year only holds the organization back. Green Bay has made their intentions clear and Favre has conveniently used the Packer’s stance as an excuse to escape Titletown.

Apparently Mr. Favre hasn’t read up on the Madden curse. EA made a bold decision this year in deciding to put the retired Favre on the cover. Obviously, the decision was made in part to celebrate the career of the Packer great, but mostly to avoid destroying yet another star player’s season. If Favre were to come back and play for another franchise imagine the implications. In all likelihood we will witness the first ever Madden cover athlete to play for a different team than the one he is pictured in on the cover in the same season. There is no telling how this may turn out. By changing teams, Favre may have avoided the Madden curse all together and in turn will lead his new franchise to the Super Bowl. More likely, however, Favre is tempting fate and will be decimated by a career ending, catastrophic apocalypse of epic proportions. I don't even know what that means, but to put it simply...this will not end well.

Picturing Favre in a uniform other than that of the Packers is almost impossible. Favre says to let him worry about his legacy, but where is his loyalty? The Packers organization and the fans of Green Bay have treated Favre like an iconic figure. He is literally a folk hero in Green Bay yet has decided to turn his back on the entire community. Favre is willing to taint his legendary status simply because another franchise showed interest in him. It’s just another reminder of the disconnect that exists between the professional athlete and the fan. A fan would never turn his back on his team, but even the most beloved player in the history of a franchise doesn’t think twice about it. Well, maybe in Brett Favre’s case he does, but the end result is all too familiar.