Brett Favre retires

[Zeb The Troll]

I kind of thought someone else would have brought this up somewhere, but hey.

Anyway, on March 4th, Brett Favre, longtime quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, announced that he'd be retiring after 17 years in the NFL.

Now, I think it's a given that he'll be a hall of famer as soon as he's eligible (if I remember right, that's 5 years after his last appearance) but there have been some other questions raised since the announcement.

Will he stay retired? Or will he pull a Jordan and change his mind six times before finally really calling it quits?

How will Green Bay fare without him? Can the relatively untested Aaron Rodriguez hope to fill his immense shoes?

Who, if anyone, is likely to break his record of 160 career wins? Is anyone currently playing that good? (This actually makes me wish that Elway had played one more season since he chalked up 148 in 16 seasons and could realistically have challenged this number given the same number of seasons.)

Is Favre over rated or does he deserve his legendary status as one of the best QB's ever to play the game even though he's only got one Superbowl ring?

[Skippy]

I kind of thought someone else would have brought this up somewhere, but hey.

Anyway, on March 4th, Brett Favre, longtime quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, announced that he'd be retiring after 17 years in the NFL.

Now, I think it's a given that he'll be a hall of famer as soon as he's eligible (if I remember right, that's 5 years after his last appearance) but there have been some other questions raised since the announcement.

Will he stay retired? Or will he pull a Jordan and change his mind six times before finally really calling it quits?

How will Green Bay fare without him? Can the relatively untested Aaron Rodriguez hope to fill his immense shoes?

Who, if anyone, is likely to break his record of 160 career wins? Is anyone currently playing that good? (This actually makes me wish that Elway had played one more season since he chalked up 148 in 16 seasons and could realistically have challenged this number given the same number of seasons.)

Is Favre over rated or does he deserve his legendary status as one of the best QB's ever to play the game even though he's only got one Superbowl ring?

Brett Favre is a great player. He really helped the Packers during his stay there, so his shoes are indeed immense and difficult to fill, so his retire may affect them really hard.

And maybe he will pull a Jordan. I got that feeling...

[Satyrquaze]

While the vast majority of Wisconsinites have a moment of silence for the man who returned their team to greatness and filled beer halls with the sounds of cheering cheese-heads for 15 years.

I would like to take a moment as a long-time Minnesota Vikings fan and say: It's about time.

[RandomLogic]

I was hoping he would come back for another season, but I can see what he said about their being a lot of pressure for a Superbowl or bust kind of thing.

I don't think he'll pull a Jordan and come back because a) I think football is much more demanding than basketball and once you stop I think you are pretty much done, its not something you can quit and pick back up again and b) He's really given GB his life and I'm sure he wants some time off now.

He'll be inducted into the hall of fame ASAP. 1st time, no questions asked, most wins, most td's, most consecutive starts, 2 MVP's (3?), a couple superbowls, most interceptions, a billion yards, etc etc.

What I hope he does is coach. Its fairly obvious that he loves the game so I can't see him just staying home for the rest of his life, so I hope he'd come back and coach, maybe not head coach, but offensive coordinator, qb coach, etc.

Rodgers (the backup) is actually pretty good, he'll have huge shoes to fill obviously but as long as he is health the Pack will still be a team to contend with next season.

[Thes Hunter]

OMG. Not from you too!


That's all I hear about round here!

An actual conversation I had this week:
Me: Hey! How are you today?!
Her: Sad. I am very sad today.
Me: Sad? Oh why?
Her: Brett Frave retired today.

It's crazy, it's like a state wide religion or something.

I swear in Michigan we don't talk about even the Red Wings this much!

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

All I have to say about this is two words. Good Riddance!!!!!:smallbiggrin: Man with this happening, and Good ol' Rich Rodriguez seemingly running the program into the ground at Michigan, I couldn't be more pleased.

[Trog]

OMG. Not from you too!


That's all I hear about round here!

An actual conversation I had this week:
Me: Hey! How are you today?!
Her: Sad. I am very sad today.
Me: Sad? Oh why?
Her: Brett Frave retired today.

It's crazy, it's like a state wide religion or something.

I swear in Michigan we don't talk about even the Red Wings this much!

Shush you! You go back to your mandatory Days of Farve Mourning.™ :smalltongue:

*waggles stern finger at*

[Raiser Blade]

I respect the guy and I wish him all the best in his retirement. Maybe he can go into sports broadcasting it seems to be the new "thing" for retired pro's.

[Zeb The Troll]

I was hoping he would come back for another season, but I can see what he said about their being a lot of pressure for a Superbowl or bust kind of thing.

I don't think he'll pull a Jordan and come back because a) I think football is much more demanding than basketball and once you stop I think you are pretty much done, its not something you can quit and pick back up again and b) He's really given GB his life and I'm sure he wants some time off now.

He'll be inducted into the hall of fame ASAP. 1st time, no questions asked, most wins, most td's, most consecutive starts, 2 MVP's (3?), a couple superbowls, most interceptions, a billion yards, etc etc.

What I hope he does is coach. Its fairly obvious that he loves the game so I can't see him just staying home for the rest of his life, so I hope he'd come back and coach, maybe not head coach, but offensive coordinator, qb coach, etc.

Rodgers (the backup) is actually pretty good, he'll have huge shoes to fill obviously but as long as he is health the Pack will still be a team to contend with next season.3 MVP's, actually (he's the only 3 time MVP winner) and oddly only one Superbowl win. No doubt about his creds going into the HoF though. Shoe-in. First time go, all that good stuff.

I'm not sure he'll go into coaching actually. At least not right away. At his press conference he said that part of the reason he's retiring is because he's tired of doing all of the preparation, spending all week either watching footage or running plays. Admittedly, he wouldn't be running the plays any more but he stated a mental fatigue too, and so I don't think coaching is in the immediate future. Maybe down the line a couple of years once he's had a chance to rest, though.

I can certainly see him going into broadcasting, though. He's pretty well spoken and clearly knows the game well enough to do so. I wouldn't mind watching him give the half time report. :smallcool:

[RandomLogic]

3 MVP's, actually (he's the only 3 time MVP winner) and oddly only one Superbowl win. No doubt about his creds going into the HoF though. Shoe-in. First time go, all that good stuff.

I'm not sure he'll go into coaching actually. At least not right away. At his press conference he said that part of the reason he's retiring is because he's tired of doing all of the preparation, spending all week either watching footage or running plays. Admittedly, he wouldn't be running the plays any more but he stated a mental fatigue too, and so I don't think coaching is in the immediate future. Maybe down the line a couple of years once he's had a chance to rest, though.

I can certainly see him going into broadcasting, though. He's pretty well spoken and clearly knows the game well enough to do so. I wouldn't mind watching him give the half time report. :smallcool:

Yeah thats right, it was 2 outright and 1 tied. I expect him to take a break regardless of what he does next.

I'd rather see him coach than broadcast, but either way... as long as he replaces some idiots like Joe Buck (Mr. Huge Forehead Radar Dish) I'll accept it.

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

You know what I like about Favre? The greatest controversy surrounding him is the whole "will he or won't he retire." No drugs, steroids, or legal nonsense that seems to become a common occurance with many sports celebrities.

I know a lot of television spots are designed to showcase players in a positive spotlight, but there was one that got a real kick out of. He was talking to a ball boy around age 10, and the kid handed him a football. "No, no," Favre said. "I need a left-handed football. Go get me one," and he handed the ball back to the kid. :smalltongue:

It was that kind of common silliness that made the man appeal to me. In fact, he seemed to be quite normal when placed in the spotlight. It was as though he was "the man on the street" endowed with one great talent: to play phenominal football.

He has time to change his mind, though. Time will tell.

[TRM]

You know what I like about Favre? The greatest controversy surrounding him is the whole "will he or won't he retire." No drugs, steroids, or legal nonsense that seems to become a common occurance with many sports celebrities.

I know a lot of television spots are designed to showcase players in a positive spotlight, but there was one that got a real kick out of. He was talking to a ball boy around age 10, and the kid handed him a football. "No, no," Favre said. "I need a left-handed football. Go get me one," and he handed the ball back to the kid. :smalltongue:

It was that kind of common silliness that made the man appeal to me. In fact, he seemed to be quite normal when placed in the spotlight. It was as though he was "the man on the street" endowed with one great talent: to play phenominal football.

He has time to change his mind, though. Time will tell.
I agree wholeheartedly with this.
It saddens me to see Favre go, I was hoping for a final Super Bowl ring before he retired but, alas.
I'll add that I was (we're already talking about him in the past tense :smalleek: ) also drawn to his sense of fun. He always seemed (past tense again :smalleek: ) to have fun out there; he'd celebrate touchdowns, and completions, even good plays by his teammates. I'll miss his fist pump and sprint down the field after a TD...

Anyone else remember the Bears (????) game this year when he high-fived the referee after a touchdown pass? That's having fun, and I think that it's important for the players to maintain their ability to have fun with the game: they should enjoy it too. :smallsmile:

[Ted_Stryker]

You know what I like about Favre? The greatest controversy surrounding him is the whole "will he or won't he retire." No drugs, steroids, or legal nonsense that seems to become a common occurance with many sports celebrities.
This is not quite true, Favre entered rehab in 1996 for about a month and a half to get over a Vicodin (a kind of painkiller) addiction. He won his first MVP while taking a LOT of Vicodin. To his credit, he hasn't suffered a relapse in the intervening decade-plus.

Regarding the Jordan/Favre comparison, I don't think it's very apt. Jordan was 30 when he first retired, 32 at the time of his first comeback, and 35 after his second retirement. Favre's already 38. If he takes a year off, he'd turn 40 about a month into his comeback season. I don't really see that happening.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

Since this is sports related, I thought I might mention the NCAA basketball pool I"m trying to set up here on the boards. There's a link to the thread in my sig, or you can PM me. It honestly doesn't matter if you're a basketball fan or not, I'm just trying to put something together that would be fun for people on the boards.

[smellie_hippie]

He was definitely a great player, and as Bor brought up a very decent guy.

I think I'd put him on the same shelf as Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretsky. Love of the game, generally pretty clean, time for the fans and the kids... yeah.

Good luck Favre.

[Supagoof]

My team is the Vikings.

Favre has been a nemesis of my team for a long time. For that, I have despised watching him walk on the field when we matched up. It always meant trouble.

Despite that, I salute him as one of the greatest of all times to play the game. He played because he loved it. He played in a manner where stats were secondary to his goals. Not only did he bring the title back to titletown for 1996, but he was an excellent role model for the game.

Sure, he didn't have as many rings as Joe Montana, Elway, or Aikman - but that didn't matter to him. What mattered to him was trying to get those rings for his team mates around him. He didn't play the game to feed his ego, but rather just for the enjoyment of playing the game.

He defined what playing with your heart was.

As a side note, anyone look at the QBs for the NFC north?

Bears - Rex Grossman
Vikings - Tavarius Jackson
Lions - John Kitna
Packers - Aaron Rodgers

Um....yuck?

Now looking for quarterbacks. Can offer team with good defense and decent offenses. Need someone with an accurate arm and good field management. You take your pick of which team will win the conference....25% chance of playoffs pending job performance. Like a receiver to catch a ball? Come join the Lions. Want a running back to carry the load? Come join the Vikings. Want to be on the field because the defense goes 3 and out? Join the Bears. Want a team with great ownership and fans? Join the packers. The NFC North, we have a team to fit your quaterback wants. We just want you for quaterback.

[Ganurath]

I like Grossman. He can screw up big, but he can do awesome big as well. It's like a Xanatos Gambit on every play, I think.

Also, huzzah! A long term victory for the Bears! Their morale is shot, we'll wipe the floor with them!

*goes to link Shadow to the thread*

[Supagoof]

Yeah, because Rex stepped up his game after the superbowl run....

T-Jax at least has shown improvement a little each year. Though I'm not sold that he's learning as fast as an NFL QB needs to learn.

Rodgers is my sleeper pick for the best QB in the NFC north (unless trades show signs of light otherwise). He's healthy, he's been under the tutilege of Brett (so he's learned and studied for 3 years now = good thing.) Sure, might take a few games to tell for sure if he was a good idea, but for a rookie going into a starting job, that's what I would prefer my team to do. Take the time, let them learn the ropes from the predecessor, get used to the playbook/players/organization, then step up when needed too. It's primed for his explosion onto the scene.

I guess well see how much fuel he has. Will he fold under the pressure? Was he a mistake to draft in the first place? Has he been learning or has he been enjoying getting paid to sit on a bench? Or can he fill the shoes and hopes of the Packers? If T-Jax had that chance to learn, I think we'd be a little happier with him in with our Viking ship. Alas, Culpepper leaving when he did just ran the boat into an iceberg - but I won't go into "Daunte" and "boats" in MN.....

[Trog]

Spooooooky Wisconsin now resumes our regular scheduled Packers fanaticism, sans-winning, already in progress.

*Breaks off a piece of cheese hat. Nibbles.*

[Reinboom]

I swear in Michigan we don't talk about even the Red Wings this much!

Having been raised in Michigan for most of my childhood (not counting random sparse time living in other areas), and having moved out when I was 17... I shall now state...
I did not know that the Red Wings were a Michigan team til I read this. :smalltongue:

But that's probably just me.


Eventually I shall learn how to be at least keep up in one of these conversations... eventually.

[Shadow]

Unfortunately for us, Aaron Rodgers looked GREAT when he played late last year. I really don't think the Pack will have much to worry about this year.

As a Chicagoan and a Bears' fan, I am required by local law to despise the Green Bay Packers, and I am an honest/law abiding citizen.
But every time I was at work when a game was on (or out for that matter), the moment that Favre stepped onto the field, most of the fans would Boo.
Boo.
Boo?
Really? How can you Boo this guy? Say whatever your little heart desires about the Pack, but shut up when the subject of Favre comes up.

The man is everything that is good and holy about the game of football.

Period.

[TRM]

My team is the Vikings.

Favre has been a nemesis of my team for a long time. For that, I have despised watching him walk on the field when we matched up. It always meant trouble.

*Takes knife*
*stabs Supagoof*
Viking fans are evil heretics! :smalltongue:


As a side note, anyone look at the QBs for the NFC north?

Bears - Rex Grossman
Vikings - Tavarius Jackson
Lions - John Kitna
Packers - Aaron Rodgers

Um....yuck?
And that is why the NFC North had only 1 team with a record better than .500 :smallfrown:

[Renegade Paladin]

Who?

:smalltongue:

[Argent]

Unfortunately for us, Aaron Rodgers looked GREAT when he played late last year. I really don't think the Pack will have much to worry about this year.

As a Chicagoan and a Bears' fan, I am required by local law to despise the Green Bay Packers, and I am an honest/law abiding citizen.
But every time I was at work when a game was on (or out for that matter), the moment that Favre stepped onto the field, most of the fans would Boo.
Boo.
Boo?
Really? How can you Boo this guy? Say whatever your little heart desires about the Pack, but shut up when the subject of Favre comes up.

The man is everything that is good and holy about the game of football.

Period.

Much the same sentiment here. I bleed Bears blue-and-orange, but I can't hate Favre as a player. I groaned every time he stepped onto the field to play the Bears (because I knew we'd be in for a rough ride) but you have to respect his toughness, his genuine love for the game, and his mentality. He's very much the archetype and I think the Pack will have a much tougher time without him.

That being said, I'm glad he at least gave his team enough notice this year whether he'd be staying or going. The last season (if not the last two), he couldn't make up his mind till after the draft, and that put the Pack in a tough position, not knowing whether they'd have a star QB that season or not.