Salute to One of the Greatest of All Time

Until Lovie Smith took over, he beat up on my beloved Chicago Bears twice a year. He went out of his way to make sure my team didn't win conference titles. His indecision to not retire has impeded the quarterback growth of Aaron Rodgers... and as a Bears fan, I suppose I really shouldn't care. His inability to decide to retire has held the Packers hostage, because they couldn't address other needs until he made up his mind. And again, I really shouldn't care. But he had a career year in 2007. Two of his three losses this past season were to the Bears, but he played so well, that you expected him to come back and harass teams for a couple more years. You wanted him to just get off the damn field. Because of him, my hatred of the Packers went as deep as Red Sox fans who hate the Yanks... or Buckeye fans who hate the Wolverines.

But after 17 years, it's finally over. Brett Favre has officially retired.

That's right.

As much as I may dislike him on the surface, you really can feel nothing but love for this guy. Favre is the definition of a true warrior. Over the last few years, he has battled an addiction to painkillers, the death of his father, and his wife's breast cancer. It would've been easy, and pretty much expected, for anyone else to take time off to deal with their issues. Not Brett. He expressed himself on the field. And he expressed himself to 3 consecutive MVPs (I think he's the only one who ever won three in a row), two Super Bowl appearances with one victory, and nearly every QB record in the books.

As much as I hated him when he played against my team, it was a lot of fun watching him make every single person around him better. It's been great to see him not take the game too seriously and play the game as if he was playing it in his backyard with some high school buddies. You were with him (or devoutly against him) through every time he threw a touchdown, every time he threw an interception, every time he got sacked, every time he escaped a sack and made some kind of memorable improv play. Favre made the game fun to watch for those who DON'T like football, and he reminded new fans how much fun the game is through his old-school determination and grit.

On one hand, I'm glad he's done. He can't harass my Bears anymore. Aaron Rodgers finally has a chance to show the world what he's made of... or what he's lacking. It sucks that he has to do it while in Favre's shadow, but that's life. On the other hand, the game will miss his style of play. It's been a fun ride for your friends as well as your haters, Brett... even when you were making our lives miserable. Thanks for the memories. See you in the Hall of Fame. If anyone deserves to be there, it's you.

Sincerely,

A Bears Fan/Packers Hater