Brett Favre, Facts and speculations.

I normally stay away from postings on internet forums, because most of the forums are full of BS and childish name calling. But now, I’m very fed up with the extreme bashing of Brett Favre, most of it very senseless. The most childishness and the biggest “douchebags” are all the people commenting on these stories without having even half the facts. (I don’t have them either.)

Fact;  for 16 + years, Brett Favre has been one of the most celebrated players in the NFL, and perhaps the most celebrated ever in Packers history. His achievements on the field are second to no other QB in NFL history, all his records speak for them self. His gunslinger style play, and the enormous joy he shows on the field has made him probably the biggest icon in the game today. Sure, someone will always criticize him for all the interceptions, but he’s got no problem admitting to it, he’s been quoted numerous times that, with him, you’ve got to take the bad as well as the good. I’ve never ever heard him blame an interception or a loss on a teammate, he’s man enough to take the blame upon himself, even though many interceptions can be put on the shoulders of the receiving part (Robert Ferguson had quite a few balls picket out of his hands in Green Bay. His ability to overcome the bad throws/decisions, and then come back with the great ones. How many times have you seen him throw a pick that left you thinking why the heck he even threw that ball?? And then on the next series, he’ll make a couple of those patented, off balance, back across his body and the field laser/rocket completions for an important 3rd down conversion or TD ??? The throws that leave you awed and just wondering how the heck he completed them. That’s his style, and that’s why some many people tune in to see him play. Just yesterday, after throwing three horrible picks, he came back and showed enough poise to lead the Jets to victory. His stats aren’t outstanding this year, but playing in a new system, with people he hardly know, on a team with hardly average talent around him, I think he’s done great. The talent level, at all positions, is a lot better in Green Bay than the Jets.

Then add all of the off field problems throughout the years, three deaths in the family and his wife’s cancer in the more recent years. With all the media attention, it can’t be that easy being Brett Favre. Most other people would have crumbled under these circumstances.

Sure, Brett hasn’t done everything right outside the field either, he would have been better of keeping his mouth shut at times. But are the things he has been accused of even half as bad as they’re hyped up to be? The most recent things wouldn’t even have happened if Ted Thompson hadn’t squeezed Brett Favre out of Green Bay in the first place. Sure, that’s speculations, but a lot of TT’s actions since he took over seem to point towards that he wanted Favre to retire from day one, so he could create his own legacy. The soap-opera of this summer, Brett Favre has admitted that he didn’t handle things perfectly, Mike McCarthy has to some extent done the same, but Thompson has admitted nothing, and you’ve got to be pretty naïve to believe he did everything perfect. He’s probably the worst of them all, remember who he hired for his PR-work / damage control ?? Ari Fleischer, ‘nough said.

My speculations is this, this past spring/ summer, Brett Favre wanted nothing more than to return to the Packers and make a serious run at the Superbowl. Early March, he was not 100% committed yet, and not willing to go back only 80% committed, he chose to retire, prematurely. Was he forced by TT to make a decision at that time? I don’t see how it would hurt the Packers to wait one more month. But instead we had one of the worst stories ever, the only people who benefitted? Sports writers.

Other than his Vicodin-addiction and alcohol problems, that he faced openly, and kicked more than a decade ago, he’s done nothing bad (that we know about) of the field. He’s never been arrested for DUI, possession of illegal drugs, bar fights, arranging dog fights or other crimes. He’s never been accused of domestic disturbance, or beating his wife. He’s never been on a bye-week boat trip with teammates that involved strippers and prostitutes.

What he has done, is an enormous amount of charity work, benefitting thousands of under privileged children and their families, giving them hope for a decent life. So compared to a lot of other professional athletes, he’s a saint.

The most recent story, and according to some, “only the beginning”, probably something that would even be mentioned if it had been someone else doing it, but it seems like some members of the media has brought it upon themselves, for no apparent reason, to destroy a man’s legacy.

The first report made by Glazer, said Brett Favre called the Lions and gave them the entire Packers gameplan. That turned out to be untrue, and “total BS” as Favre stated in a text message to Peter King, then, he’s accused of lying about that. WHY? The BS comment was probably regarding the fact of who called who, not that it was BS that he talked to Millen at all. Glazer later changed his words to the actual truth (that Millen called Favre) and named Millen to be his source.

Sure, it was not a very good week for Favre to talk to Millen and the Lions, but Brett Favre has the right to be friends with whomever he wants, and after all those years in the NFL, he’s gotten a lot of friends around the league. The real question is how good a friend Matt Millen really is to Favre, first he calls Favre, under the cover of inviting him to go hunting, and then trying to get information about the Packers offense, and that’s not the worst part, the worst part is Millen being an a**hole and leaking the story to Glazer.

Then, the information Favre allegedly gave the Lions, well it can’t have been very accurate, the Packers crushed the Lions. The Lions wouldn’t have won even if spotted 20 pts before the game. Even if someone would have given the Lions the entire Packers playbook, it would not help them much, how the heck would they be able to guess what play they were calling at all times anyway?? And even so, X’s and O’s on a piece of paper doesn’t mean jack s**t without proper execution on the field, the winner of a football game (99% of them anyway) is who executes the fundamentals, blocking and tackling, best in the game. Vince Lombardi supposedly (don’t know if it’s true) gave out his entire playbook before SuperBowl 1, the Packers still beat the Chiefs very convincingly, once the primary (original backup)  wide receiver sobered up in the second half.

And has anyone stopped and thought that maybe Brett Favre got the better of Millen and gave him and the Lions bad information on purpose? That is off course a wild speculation, but Brett Favre is known to pull quite a few practical jokes on his friends, and it would be a pretty good practical joke to give them a load of BS information.

There’s obviously some bad blood between Brett Favre and Ted Thompson (and possibly Mike McCarthy) but, I think Brett Favre has a lot more class than to sell out his former team mates like he’s been accused to do.

So to all the people who have been lashing out at Brett Favre lately, get a life. First of all, I have serious doubts that you’re any better that what you accuse Favre to be. If you were better, you probably wouldn’t make such comments. No, I don’t think any of you are worthless as humans for doing so, but remember that 99,9% of the male population aren’t even close to be considered to play in the NFL, and try to take in to consider the enormous scrutiny the live under from week to week, and why, because the fans hype them up to be perfect all the time.

Fact; all professional athletes are humans, and all humans make mistakes from time to time. What separates great humans from the less-than-great is the ability to forgive other for their mistakes and to admit their own.

Nothing can erase all the great he has done on the field !