Aug 18, 2009

Brett Favre is Back

I guess I'll join everyone else in the sports world and acknowledge that Brett Favre has unretired again. Favre signed today with the Minnesota Vikings after months of build up and then "staying retired" to now signing with the team. What a roller coaster? But do fans outside Minnesota even care anymore?

The 24-hour news cycle has killed Brett Favre's reputation because media outlets like ESPN and NFLNetwork were staked out outside his Mississippi home for weeks trying to get any bit of scoop. Then it all died down, only to have the tents brought back out to become the circus all over again today. Football fans are tired of it, and the once fan-favorite Brett Favre has now joined the likes of Michael Vick, T.O., Pacman Jones, the Dallas Cowboys and Plaxico Burris as NFL figures who get way too much airtime on ESPN and when fans see them coming up, they'd rather change the channel.

With that said, I loved watching Favre in his prime. He's from the South and the "gunslinger" mentality made him enjoyable to watch when he was flinging the ball all over the field. He was the Packers when I was growing up. Many never thought they'd see him wear another uniform, but there was the ugly breakup in Green Bay and he was shipped to New York.

After a pretty good year with the Jets, before breaking down toward the end of the season, fans were ready to see him ride off in the sunset again. Then all the flirting with the Vikings started ... the team he really wanted to play for last year.

Does Favre have anything left in the tank? Is this really a move just to stick it to the Packers? Can Favre lead the Vikings to a deep playoff run and will that rebuild his legacy?

Do fans even care anymore? The media sure does, so look out for ESPN, Sports Illustrated, the NFL Network, any preseason game this weekend, etc. The only person who is really happy about this is Michael Vick, since he's gets to go on the backburner for a while and his first game with the Eagles won't be the top story ... especially if Favre is starting for the Vikings this weekend, as ESPN is already reporting.

No comments: