Why Brett???

Last August and then again in December I stated that I expected Brett Favre to “Retire” once again and if the reports are correct that is exactly what the Vikings will be hearing soon enough. Strangely enough most reports that I have seen are saying that Favre has notified the Vikings that he will not be returning for a second season in purple, but we all know what that means… another team, another year, another implosion and then once again his favorite saying of “I retire”. As with the Packers, Jets and now the Vikings there seems to be a repetition to his actions.

I will admit that he had an amazing season. I am not putting him down for his play, I am displeased with him because of what he does to the teams he has held hostage each year. This is unfair and while the Packers and Jets seem to have come out of it in a decent position the Vikings may not fair so well on the QB front with only mediocre Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels fighting for the starting role and 6th round draft pick Joe Webb holding the clip board. It is apparent that the Vikings were either expecting Favre to return or where completely in denial that he would once again retire otherwise they would have tried to make a trade for McNabb or drafted a QB higher then the 6th round.

Should we expect to see Favre in a new uniform come September?

Why Brett?

I hate to say it considering I have rooted for and respected the guy most of his career, but is Brett Favre blazing his legacy (in a bad way) as he continues to play the way he has over the past 3 seasons? Following the 2007 season Green Bay tanked in the NFC Championship Game at home and then Brett retired in to the sunset but then decided to un-retire and hold the Packers hostage. In New York he started off like a rocket again but then the team lost 4 of the last 5 games and missed the playoffs all together, again Brett scattered out of town on the first bus and left the Jets to rebuild. Now Minnesota has lost 3 of the last 4 games and they went from a Super Bowl lock to being tossed in to the jumble of hopefuls. You wonder if Brett Favre is slowly adding the letter “I” in to the word “Team”.

Favre is at odds with his coach, he is at odds with many of his teammates and he is isolating the fans. Where we once saw a true player sitting there contemplating retirement in Green Bay we now see an egotistical shell of the man wearing Purple for the season, you wonder what team he is going to implode next season.

UD Begins Shipping Favre Letterman Card

Upper Deck has announced that they have finally completed manufacturing the letter patches for the Brett Favre NFL Icons redemption and they are ready to begin shipping. As a bonus, collectors who have been waiting patiently for these Favre Letterman cards will receive 1 of 6 special edition cards featuring Favre in a Vikings uniform.

OK, now that is out of the way, you have to wonder what has taken UD so long to release the cards? The patches are manufactured; there is no reason that collectors should have waited this long to receive the card. Adding to the humor of the entire fiasco is that the Letterman cards feature Favre as a Jet. This really turned out to be an ugly situation for the company. If they delayed the cards this long they should have just redesigned the entire card it to show Favre as a Viking and manufactured the letters accordingly.

Insane for Favre

Now that product including Favre as a Viking has gone live you figured it would not be to long before the cards started showing up for auction. Amongst the handful of custom created Favre cards comes the opening shot, a 2009 Donruss Threads Brett Favre SP for a starting bid of $9.99 or a BIN of $39.99. The card may be limited to 4,444 (Limited… really?) but this Short Print will even be showing up in Target Blaster Boxes. It should not be to long before we see a tidal wave of Favre Viking cards showing up for auction.

I know collectors want players in their most up to date uniform, but $10 for a base card of Favre? Wait until Week 8 or 9 when his arm starts to fail and his numbers drop dramatically and you will see this card at a buck or two or better yet, wait until February or March when he announces his retirement again and you will probably find neighborhood kids putting the card in to their spokes.

Why Brett?

Brett Favre is back… again! It seems that Favre is going to continue this path to completely destroy his legacy and reputation when he signed a $12 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings this morning. His contract is pending a physical but that is just a formality.

I am sorry but Favre forced the Packers to deal with his yearly retirement talk and when he got called on it he had a fit and forced a trade. Then he started strong for the Jets but ultimately caused their collapse when he insisted on playing injured and once again played the retirement game. Now he had the Vikings on edge until July 28th when he said he was staying retired. But once again he changed his mind after the Vikings had already moved on with their plans at QB.

Don’t get me wrong, I put Favre up there as one of the elite QBs with Marino, Montana, Elway and Young but he is ruining his placement in that echelon with his behavior. Gone are the days of his 3 MVPs and 2 Super Bowls, in their place sits the shell of a man who seems to feel compelled to continue playing even though he is a mere shadow of his former self.

I like Favre, I always saw him as the down-home good guy who played hard but still had a good heart. His appearance in “Something About Mary” seemed to solidify him in that persona. I just wish he would have taken his own cue and retired as a Packer, that just seemed to define who he was but these past few years show a different side of the guy we all loved, a more concerning person who looks to only care about himself. It is like he is trying to prove that he can still play and he will force that on to any team that is willing to sign him. Come January will the retirement talks begin again, maybe next season he will be signing with the Rams, 49ers or even the Texans?