The last-minute taken-back touchdown and the would-be comeback against his old team, the Green Bay Packers, on Sunday at his old stomping grounds be damned. All the goodwill and good karma he’s stockpiled over his lengthy career cannot possibly save him from this latest scandal of his, but for what it’s worth it’s probably not too late for him to earn some more.
Favre’s career is almost literally on its last legs. Even with the two fractures in his ankle, as revealed on Monday, Favre’s latest performance at Lambeau Field, perhaps his last, should not be applauded. He threw three interceptions, including one for a touchdown and another especially critical one care of free safety Nick Collins in the dying minutes, and was generally ineffective, a description that is very apt of his body of work this season overall.
Had he won, it’s sad to say, but his interceptions would have been overlooked, his mistakes swept under the rug, and he would have been revered for at least one more week at the tail-end of an undeniably Hall-of-Fame-worthy career. But he didn’t. He lost. And now he must bear the full brunt of criticism. Until he redeems himself. In the NFL, don’t you know, it’s all about what have you done lately. And lately he’s been the subject of a none-too-gracious SNL skit showing him promoting a brand of jeans made specifically for easy pull-out access to his privates. He’s certainly come a long way since he appeared in There’s Something About Mary.
Oddly enough, Minnesota head coach Brad Childress has come under heavy criticism for calling Favre out after Sunday’s game, for the simple reason that the league is clearly trending toward a more politically correct image. One week after the NFL had to fine three different players for illegal helmet-to-helmet hits? Now that’s what I call rapid progress. Far be it for Childress to call a spade a spade and try and light a fire under his star quarterback. Nothing else has worked, but remember: this is Brett Favre we’re talking about. You have to wear kid gloves while handling him at all times. It’s not as if at the ripe old age of 41 he has been there before. I mean, granted, you don’t know where he’s been especially in light of these recent transgressions of his, but the point stands.
Favre has played the role of the heroic gunslinger to perfection over most of his 20 seasons in the NFL, but his image has taken a serious sack recently with the ongoing league investigation in regard to his unbecoming conduct toward a then-fellow-New York Jets employee back in 2008.
Of course, Favre is not the first professional athlete to spit in the face of holy matrimony, but it is somewhat eye-opening to know that he’s not only a father but a grandfather as well. That isn’t to say that he should be held to a higher standard than everyone else, just that the family-friendly image he’s made for himself, even throughout his well-documented painkiller addiction, is built on a foundation of lies. It’s just somewhat disturbing to know that a grandfather can be that slimy and sexually active. Imagine retirement homes filled to the brim with Brett Favre clones and tell me you’re not the least bit creeped out.
In any case, now that Favre’s iron-man streak of 291-straight games played is all but assured to be over, he should take this opportunity to step away from the game as long as is necessary to get as healed up as possible and then try to return to be able to retire on a high note with a little dignity, because as things are shaping up now he’s got none left of which to speak.
Giving fans a chance to take a breather from his incompetence this season would also give them a chance to realize just how great he used to be, because for all the “what have you done for me lately” talk fans want to love their idols and not trash them. Favre isn’t winning much of anything playing on one ankle, so why try? He may not be a quitter, but all he’s doing is playing hurt and further hurting his image. Walk away now, for the time being, while you still can.
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