Brett Favre: Will The Pack Turn Their Back On Him?

A few months ago, Brett Favre announced his retirement from pro football amid much fanfare and a sea of tears. All of Green Bay Packer Nation was in mourning, team flags lowered at half staff, and Favre was being nominated to their version of Mount Rushmore with Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr and Curly Lambeau.

There were a few skeptics out there (most of them working for ESPN) who weren't buying Favre's act, and they had reason not to. Every year, it seemed, Favre took his sweet time in deciding whether or not he should suit up for another season. Retirement rumors were taking on Shakespearean connotations. Will he or won't he? That is the question. Then Favre reported to camp, and the world was turning on its axis again.

Now it is mid-July, days before training camp opens for the Packers and the other National Football League teams. Brett Favre is crying again, this time to Greta Van Susteren of Fox News Channel (BREAKING NEWS! Is Favre a Republican?). He was bawling about those meanies in the Packers organization who won't let him play football again, and was rebuffed in his attempt to get a release so he could play somewhere else.

The Packers management assumed, like most everyone else, that Favre was done playing. They've committed themselves to Aaron Rodgers, who has been Favre's understudy, as the new starting quarterback But they've also gone as far as to accuse the Minnesota Vikings--their biggest NFC North division rival--of tampering, alleging that Favre has had contact with quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevel, who used to work for Green Bay.

So Favre wants to play football again. We get that. What we don't get is how he put his once (and future?) team in a bind concerning his status. Do the Packers welcome him back with open arms, taking the risk of cheesing off Rodgers? Do they release Favre, knowing he might sign with either the Vikings or Chicago Bears? Or do they trade him to a team outside their division?

Favre has had a long and successful career in the NFL, leading the Packers to seven division titles and two Super Bowl appearances, and breaking nearly every record a quarterback could have. But now he is pushing 40. His body can't take as much punishment as it used to. If he comes back now, he risks becoming an old, washed up athlete who didn't know when to leave the stage. Or he could amaze us once again, like he's been doing for the last few years.

At this moment, Brett Favre is losing his hero status, even in the great state of Wisconsin. His whining has turned him into just another spoiled brat athlete, and people are tuning him out. Heck, I don't even want to see him in a Vikings uniform. There's a reason why nobody likes to see a grown man cry.