Views on News • July 15th, 2008

The fight over 4

by Chris Lato

Ah, Brett Favre. There was a bit of buzz from a couple co-workers when I mentioned I might take on this whole Favre flap.

First, some caveats: I am by no means an obsessive follower of professional sports. This column may offer a fresh perspective, or you may take it as a load of hooey from someone who doesn’t know any better. All I can do is process what I’ve observed.

Second: Brett Favre is an outstanding athlete – without question, one of the best pro quarterbacks of all time. His spot in history is assured.

But for crying out loud, how much more of this do we have to endure?

From a PR perspective, Favre has built up an outrageous amount of goodwill in Wisconsin. We’ve been willing to overlook a lot – the tantrum-like off-season ‘will he or won’t he return’ stuff in particular – because we love watching the guy play his heart out on behalf of the Pack.

But Favre is spending a lot of that goodwill now with a divisive and very public battle with the Packers brass. The worm is turning. I’m starting to think fans wouldn’t mind seeing Favre in another jersey (as long as it’s not the Bears or Vikings).

The team has to do what is best for the Packers, not what is best for the ever-changing whims of Brett Favre. As painful as it may be to admit, Favre announced his retirement and the team moved on. The Pack is rebuilding with a new quarterback in place. The preseason is right around the corner.

Could the team have a winning season with Favre? How about without him? That is up to the Packers brass to determine - and fans and management cannot let their judgment be clouded by nostalgia or sentimentality. Favre gave the Pack 100% but times change and the team cannot just sit idly by while Favre works out his personal conflict over whether or not to keep playing.

I’m sure it’s tough for a guy like Favre, who has known nothing but football for decades, to walk away from the sport. But that doesn’t mean the whole franchise has to suffer as a result of his inner turmoil.

For the Packers’ part, it appears GM Ted Thompson isn’t blameless, either, if you believe some of Favre’s allegations. But again, how much of this is petulance and sour grapes on Favre’s part?

This is a no-win situation for the Pack, whose best hope at this point in battling back on the PR front is to aggressively take ownership of its position and articulate it to anyone and everyone who will listen. Explain why the team is doing what it is doing with Favre, and come clean with your own clear statements in response to Favre’s allegations of mistreatment or slighting.

One other thing: the Journal Sentinel wrote about the Greta Van Susteren interview with Favre on Fox. Favre mentioned three personnel decisions he pushed for with Thompson that didn’t go Favre’s way.

Favre is still a player. Favre’s opinion should be respected and considered, but he’s paid to be the quarterback, not the manager. If it didn’t go his way - for whatever reason - too bad.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 12:22 pm and is filed under Views on News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.