It has occasionally been funny, but on too many occasions it has been merely scary. There is of course precedent for such an act of open forgiveness toward a hated player. When the Red Sox finally won the World Series, the fans absolved Bill Buckner , the former symbol of their frustration, and even applauded him when he threw out a first pitch at Fenway Park.
Are the Packers ready to embrace Favre as an organization and bring him back to Lambeau for some kind of formalized burying-the-hatchet ceremony like the Red Sox did with Buckner?
Not yet probably. But the fans can take the first step toward making this happen. They can show how big they are by letting bygones be bygones in a public way.
What sort of specific gestures can fans make? First off, they can take down all their Favre-hating websites. They can stop ripping Favre at every opportunity on Twitter and other such outlets. Most importantly, they can get rid of any and all Favre-hating paraphernalia. If fans truly want to let go of that hate, it must start with a symbolic purging. The fans however do care…far too much. I want him all to myself! They could have wished him luck. Instead, they chose to ridicule and belittle him.
Packer fans made it quite clear their relationship with perhaps the greatest quarterback of all time was all about them. Funny, the way Packer fans have acted has really driven Favre to the Vikings. In truth, he no longer owes the fans in Green Bay anything. It hurts me to know that when it came time for a hero to go, the Packer fans failed to act gracefully. Brett never saw it that way, and how could we expect him to?
From a fans perspective, what Favre has done seems unforgivable. In Green Bay, more than anywhere else, they're the ones writing checks for the players. He owed it to the fans to think with more clarity about their reaction to his decision. I can't justify his actions, but for me, there is no justification. But I understand it now. Surely the media attention was planned. This was a player who if you told him, "I bet you can't throw the ball through a tire on a moving pick up truck going 50 from across the highway" would have said, "Watch me.
The man who overcame addiction to pain killers and alcohol, not to mention unspeakable and untimely loss in his family. A man who played and often lived with reckless abandon, hoping for the best, was always both dazzling and maddeningly disappointing. That was who we saw since Brett showed up on Fox News airing his dirty laundry for the word to see.
If anyone should have seen this kind of reckless, brazen, self-aggrandizement coupled with the, "Aww shucks," of a southern boy, it was Packer fans. Minnesota fans got a taste of it in his miraculous season with them, ending on his infamous interception in the NFC Championship game. No one has had their collective hearts broken by Brett Favre more than Packer fans. His continued antics and obvious refusal to move on—while, of course, insisting that he has—are Brett Favre, through and through.
I take some solace in knowing that this team is set up for a long run with Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy. It's a relationship I feel good about. And Brett Favre, the man who made every Sunday the most incredible adventure I've ever had in sports, and who ripped my heart out more times than I'd care to mention, hasn't let it go. In this case, we've moved on.
And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't sweet to know that No. Enjoy our content? Join our newsletter to get the latest in sports news delivered straight to your inbox! Your sports.
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