The Aftermath

But I’m a lifelong Packers’ fan…always have lots of opinions on the Pack, just usually don’t put the pen to the paper.

Thanks though, I appreciate it!

Don’t be so damned obsessed with where a guy USED to play.

If you’re just gonna cheer a team, you’re not gonna care where a player came from before he got there, and you’re not gonna obsess so much where he goes after you claim that you have supposedly “move on.”

What’s even more sickening, is that now Packers fans are doing the exact same thing.

That this is NOT me posting under a different alias! (or the ones below)

This is an example of the NFL fan that I have been telling you about for weeks & more than a few of you came back at me, all cocky, and claimed “I talked to thousands of people and not one of them said anything like that.”

PuhLEASE.

I think I see how it could have happened though, to be honest. Those guys probably talk to hardcore football fans. I talk to people more casual about it, and more representative of the general NFL viewing population. It’d be like those guys talking to only Libertarians and John Birch members to get a feel of how people think of Obama.

I tried to tell you the Packers had a PR problem in how they traded Favre away, that TT squandered his remaining goodwill with Favre (however little there still was) by telling him one thing (he was being traded to Bucs) and then pulling a fast one (trading him to Jets, in the middle of the night while he slept).

All ostensibly for a slightly better draft pick in compensation, but in reality for TT’s personal gain, so (he thought) he would never have to see Favre again. Packers played Tampa IN TAMPA week five last year, but even that was less than TT could stomach, so he double-crossed Favre and Jon Gruden, because he thought he could. I tried to tell you that classy franchise GMs (Walsh with Montana, and yes Rams with Warner) don’t do that to guys that have been the face of their franchise. The trade of Favre is more like Detroit’s trade of Bobby Layne. It was done without the GM ever really caring how the player felt about doing it. You do that with Joe Blow, sure, but you don’t do that with Joe Montana, Kurt Warner (in StL or Arizona), Bobby Layne, and Brett Favre. Even the JETS are smart enough to know THAT (they released him after they decided to go with drafting Sanchez, instead of getting into a pissing match with him, like TT insisted on doing even after he decided he couldn’t be a Packer).

Let me repeat that one more time: Even the JETS showed more consideration and wisdom in how they handled Favre on the way out.

Yes, there are HARDCORE fans of other teams who see your fanatic Packer fan point of view. But I tell you the more general fan DOES NOT GET WHY PACKERS DID THAT. And yes that includes MANY Packer fans (heard on Z104 radio this morning on way to work that half the fans on their 6 buses that went to the game from Madison were wearing purple #4s!) The only way they would is if a trade went down that Favre said, “yeah I agreed to this, this is what we negotiated.” But TT, in one of his numerous bad judgments, decided a draft pick one round higher (although … did he even get that, since Jets did not make playoffs) was more important than creating a giant PR nightmare and motivating Favre to continue to pursue the Vikings instead of being contented where he was traded (Tampa). WAY TO GO TED!

We cheer Kurt Warner when he comes back to STL. No disrespect for our Rams, it’s just that we appreciate what the man did for us.

Kurt Warner was an important member of the Rams for what, 4 years? And he was atrocious in his last year or two, or did you forget the fumbling?

Thanks for the lecture. Come visit again once you get off your high horse.

I don’t get this take. So if a player wants to be released, a team should just release them? That is the take huh? Good luck running a team with that kind of take on things. The fact is that Brett was PROPERTY of the Packers. They invested HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars into him and his family. Please don’t act like he was doing a charitble deed in playing for the Packers…have you SEEN his house? Its the size of the Playboy mansion. Please don’t give me the he did so much for the Packer or he put them on the map. He was part of what made the Packers what they were but he was paid for that. They had NO responsibility to release a player who RETIRED…and I would have been FLAMINGLY mad at management if they had. Why release someone who has value so he can go sign for your bitter rival? That is just shit poor managment. Sorry for the cursing guys but that is the take that just really pisses me off cause it doesn’t even make one OUNCE of logical sense. Football is a business. Favre is a player. He doesn’t own his own path when he signs a contract.

As heartfelt and well articulated as this post is, and as pained as you guys must feel, it ignores the fact that the Packers’ management didn’t grant Favre the release that could have saved face for them. I would completely be on your side if they’d done that, but they didn’t want to lose the competitive edge in the division, at the expense of slighting one of the greatest quarterbacks the game has ever seen and forcing him to play in New York for a season. THAT’S where you guys lose this argument, and honestly, I’m happy he was able to stick it to Thompson/McCarthy, as well as Packer Nation, because at the end of the day, you booed him.

But this is a business. Packer nation isn’t stupid, and neither is TT. We all knew damn well that him going to the Vikings would make them a damn good team. Not too mention all the flak TT would have taken if he had just simply released him so he could go play for the Vikes. Your kidding yourself if you think ANY other NFL owner wouldn’t have done the same thing that TT under the exact same circumstanes.

Well said. I found a whole new respect for Aaron Rodgers watching him play aginst the Vikings twice this season. He handled all the Favre distractions extremely well, and played at a very high level in doing so. He has also proven to be one tough son of a gun while taking a beating, and getting off the mat to come back for more. Aaron is pretty special.

What you said about the Packers missing the chance to win over public opinion by doing the right thing with Favre after they made their decision to change direction was spot on. Forget Favre changing his mind. I will never have any problem with a player changing their mind to play in a league so heavily weighted in the owners and their franchises favor. The Packers first offered Brett $20 million to stay retired. When that didn’t work they tried to limit his ability to move to potentially the highest bidding team with the now famous poison pill trade to the Jets. I don’t care what Fuzzy Thurston says. Unless this happened to him (it didn’t) he has no frame of reference.

I was sickened by the persecuted GB fans who chose to boo one of the guys responsible for bringing the Packers out of the obscurity they lived in for 20 years, and back into prominance in the NFL. I loved watching Favre after the game as much as I did during the game. He was the picture of class after some Packer fans chose to act absolutely classless. I can only hope that their behavior changes. If it doesn’t, who could blame Favre should he choose to enter the HOF as a Viking? The thing about Favre is he won’t do that. He is classy enough to ignore the booing and the organization’s behavior, and do the right thing in spite of it.

the Packers “brought it on them self” by sticking by a HoF qb, giving him until the NFL Draft at the end of April (i.e., 4 months after the loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship game) to make up his mind.

Favre instead rushed himself into a decision that Packers management encouraged him to take time to consider and made his tearful (for him as well as us fans) retirement announcement.

The Pack moved on and began to build for the AF era only to have him send out feelers that he might be reconsidering his retirement. McCarthy and Thompson contacted Favre as to these rumours and Favre denied them and said he’s happily retired.

Finally, in July, Favre shows up for work, out of shape but enthused, demanding to be given the starting position or be traded/released to the Vikings.

Yep, the Packers really brought this on themselves. No doubt about it.

Most of those sacks fall on Rodgers in my book. This was his worst game yet (in the first half at least) for hanging onto the ball. He was NOT making quick reads and had plenty of time to throw early on. Other games I blame the Oline, but this one is on Rodgers!

It’s awfully easy to score the way you guys did when you started in our territory a lot of the game and had multiple chances to score a couple of times in the redzone because of stupid penalties.

Rodgers was absolutely fine in the first half, but had NO time to throw. He had time in the second half, and well, look what he did with it…

I’m sorry but if you truly feel our defense is the weakest part of our team you might be delusional. The o-line is FAR worse, and even our special teams is worse then our defense.

In hindsight you have to admit that Favre was right to want to get Moss. (and for dirt cheap) I mean that move right there could have been the difference between losing in the NFC championship game to the Giants and going to the super bowl.

And that is why I’ve lost respect for Favre and I honestly don’t want him to retire a Packer. He seemed like this heroic figure during my childhood, never getting injured and always playing for fun and for the team. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve seen the real Brett emerge. The one whose ego is so inflated, he thinks that not only should he be the QB of his team, he should also manage the personnel (Remember when he criticized Javon Walker and McKenzie’s contract disputes?) He has proven how petty he is that he will go through everything he did just to get back at a man who didn’t do anything wrong other than not kissing the ground he walked on. He has proven that he cares very little for the people who worshipped him and made him a very wealthy man.

Though I agree 100% with everything else you wrote, this particular paragraph for me sums up my exact feelings on the situation.

This was a very well written post. I couldn’t have done it any better myself.

This week was obviously great for us, but watching Aaron Rogers I couldn’t help but think we won this battle, but he will get more than his share of victory laps at our expense over the next 10-12 years.

I sincerely hope that Rodgers survives that long to have the chance at taking victory laps.

He has handled this entire situation for the last several years with uncommon class. I used his situation as an example when I was training soldiers for and in Afghanistan. Leadership isn’t always the guy that is the loudest…quite professionalism, dignity and being a team player are significantly more important.

Aaron Rodgers has handled this whole situation about as well as anyone could have ever dreamed.

and I agree

for providing an honest assessment from a Vikings fan.

You’ll probably take a lot of heat for saying that he is going to be better then Favre, but it really honestly could happen. I mean look at what he has done with a bottom 5 o-line in the league. The guy really has all the tools to be a great Qb. We just need to put the right pieces around him. (O-line)

I wouldn’t go there yet…its year two man. He’s got to survive for a LOT longer to even think about that. I don’t think you realize how elite Favre’s numbers are. He could do it and I hope he does, but lets have that talk in 5 years or so.

For the record, you have a GREAT, GREAT replacment QB in Aaron Rodgers – man I like him too! But Shhh…don’t tell anyone, I’m not supposed to like your QB…you ARE our hated rivals after all. LOL

Favre retired, all they did was hold him to his decision like he was an adult. Then when they moved forward and he wanted back in, they stuck with their decision with Rodgers. As for releasing him, that move like many have said would’ve gotten them both instantly kicked out of town. But the common misconception people seem to have is that McCarthy and Thompson pushed Favre out, they didn’t, he retired.