And He's Back

Brett Favre is coming back for another year. When I read the headline on MSNBC Friday afternoon I actually said, out loud, "thank god." More than once in the last couple of years I have said he needed to retire. His prime years were past him, he needed to give up the salary so the Packers could rebuild the team. With the salary cap and Favre's salary, The Packer Organization can't get the players they need. But at the same time, Favre represents so much of who and what the Packers are. He looks and acts working class. He is not pretentious. He is down to earth. He claims to not care about stats and records (but we all know he does). He has had personal struggles and has been open and honest when talking about them (drinking, partying, painkiller addiction, etc.). And despite not being from Wisconsin, he seems so down to earth and so Wisconsin. So, like many fans, I've been conflicted. This article from Madison.com sums up how I (and others) feel about his return and his eventual retirement.

The Packers are a unique organization and who better to lead them than Favre? Lots of myth and mystique have been built up around both. The abovementioned things (and the article) about Favre, and legend that is the Packers. They are the only publicly-owned NFL team--the only team to not be owned by an individual or corporation. Green Bay is the smallest town (pop. 100,000) to have an NFL franchise. If the Packers were to ever leave the money made from the move/sale would go to a local American Legion. You see Packers pumping gas, driving around town, and many of their kids go to local schools. I remember reading that Favre sold his Green Bay house, but many Packers live in town year round and many former Packers retire there. That town lives and breathes the Packers.

All of these things have created a rabidly loyal fanbase--I am one of them. This fandom is tied more to the ideals behind the team and the player than the actual team and player. The performance is important, and I love to see them win. But as the article says, the populist belief still very much alive and well in Green Bay (and Wisconsin) fits perfectly with the Packer Organization and Brett Favre. That ideal is what fills every single seat of Lambeau whether the Packers are winning or losing and fills every seat for the scrimmage games played in the preseason. That ideal is what keeps us coming back every year.

So, for one more year, Favre is back. Thank god.