[Wizard of Os]

Cheers, all!

I should probably merely respond to Lefty Noob's "Brett Favre Retire?" in this thread, but i think slaughtering this sacred cow deserves a new one altogether (of course i do).

While writing for another source, i looked into the "question" of Favre's potential performance in 2006. The longer version of this peace can be found (shameless plug) in my blog. A bit shorter opinion runs below. (And here's the shortest of all on the matter: Hang it up, Brett. Please?)

All of us must, at one time or another in our lives, force someone to face an unpleasant fact. That time has come, Green Bay fans: Brett Favre is done. In fact, he’s probably been living on borrowed time since Michael Vick and the Falcons tarnished Favre’s sheen of invincibility by smoking the Pack at home back in the 2003 wild-card game.

I could quote stats here, but any observer of a Packer game from the last, say, three seasons doesn’t need to know that Favre went from throwing 36 touchdowns versus 19 interceptions in 2004 to 20 and 30 a year later. Joe Armchair Quarterback needn’t be informed that Favre’s rating was a scary 70.9. Heck, watching the man perform indicates that the glory days are long gone and Mr. Favre, to put it completely undiplomatically, is washed up.

Now, don’t get me wrong. No disrespect is meant here. The fact that he’s built a Hall of Fame career out of an utterly unorthodox style shows how brilliant Favre was. For fourteen years, Favre was listed near the top of the statistical charts by consistently throwing off one foot or no feet and brought a Lombardi Trophy home on a string of seemingly impossible passes. And leading his team to consecutive 10-6 seasons in 2003 and 2004 while running on fumes is admirable in itself. Favre’s talent was never a question. His longevity is.

While fans in 31 other locations take a wait-and-see toward Favre’s retirement, cheeseheads are no doubt pained either way. Personally, I hope that Favre retires, leaving us with a maximum of good memories, and a minimum of marring to his immortal image.