Anyone that has been exposed to a radio, a television, or the Intertubes knows that Brett Favre has been traded to the New York Jets. This is indeed a sad day for the Packer Nation.I've already stated that both Favre and the Packer management have had their fair share of the blame, but that the lion's share falls directly on Ted Thompson. (That's Ted Thompson, pictured on the right.) After all the hoopla over the past 48 hours, my opinion not only stays the same, but I feel even stronger about it.
Favre is an emotional man. We've known that for a decade and a half. That is part of the mystique, and the reason so many of us in the Packer Nation feel a bond for him. Despite all of the money he has gotten, the records he has broken, the games he has won, the games he has lost, and the times he has acted like a diva, people feel that he is just a normal, average kind of guy. People feel that they can relate to Favre, because he is human like the rest of us.
Thompson, since he has taken office, has made it clear that he is on a mission to create his own legacy, and to do that, he had to remove all vestiges of Ron Wolf's legacy. And of course, the biggest part of Wolf's legacy was the quarterback from Kiln, Mississippi. Thompson has, with each passing year, worked to make Favre feel less and less welcome.
Finally, at the end of last season, Favre, fatigued and hurting from a long season, feeling his age, still emotional from how the last game ended, caved into the subtle and not so subtle pressures applied by Thompson and announced his retirement. This opened the door for Thompson to close the door on Favre. He tried to nail the door shut by shipping off Favre's locker and announcing the retirement of Favre's jersey and setting the ceremony on the opening night of the season.
After having allowed more time to restore his drive, heal the aches, and giving him time to think, Favre started to feel buyer's remorse, and wanted to be reinstated. Thompson would not have any of that, and the epic power struggle ensued. Thompson finally won, and Favre was shipped out to New York.
It took a lot of gall for the Packers management to stand in front of reporters today and tell some tall tales. Like Thompson has no ego. Or even the most outlandish statement of wanting what was best for the team. What hogwash! If they turn away one of the best QBs in the league, and the one that would give them the best chance to win, they didn't care about the team. They only cared about their egos.
In other words, Thompson willfully failed to perform his duties, which was to put the best team he possibly could, out on the field. Murphy failed by not looking out for the franchise. Not only did he willfully agree to let the best player leave but he also allowed a heckuva lot of merchandising money go with him. Look for ticket prices to go up substantially.
Both men should be let go for purposely failing to perform their jobs. And they can take their toady, McCarthy with them. I was never overly impressed with him anyway.
With all that said, and despite the fact that Thompson, McCarthy and Murphy will all probably be around for at least the rest of this season, I will still be a Packers fan. I won't completely boycott them, as some say they will do. Nor will I fully embrace this team, as others encourage us to do. At least not until they prove themselves.
No, I will stay a Packers fan, but I will not be as enthusiastic as I have been for the past sixteen years. I just don't think that they will do very well this year. The odds makers agree with me, as well.
Heck, I suffered through the long famine of the 70s and the 80s. I can survive this as well. I don't think the team will recover this year, nor do I think they will improve until the third year after Thompson gets shipped out.
And with my birthday coming up, anyone wanting to buy me a New York Jets/Favre jersey, I'll be more than glad to accept it.
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