The End of an Era

If you are not a football fan then there is no way on earth I, or anyone else, will be able to convey to you how huge today's news is that Brett Favre is retiring. Brett Favre is a football icon, and for Packer fans he is even greater than that.

Watching Favre sloppily toss off a precise spiral pass eighty yards down field is so much cooler than watching, say, Peyton Manning, execute his perfect, textbook passes. Quarterbacks with good form are supposed to make big plays; quarterbacks with bad form are supposed to be mediocre, not great.

But Brett Favre was great. Maybe even a football legend. Sure, he had his moments of mediocrity and all Packer fans know that feeling of watching Favre getting rushed in the pocket and the hope that, just once, he would do the smart thing and throw it away, but knowing that he wouldn't and that there would either be a thrown pass worthy of the highlight reel or a heartbreaking interception. The safe route was never Favre's route but it was because of that quality that he played like a legend and made some of the most amazing plays in the NFL.

I am still excited about football season next fall but, I must admit, I will be pretty sad not seeing number four in the huddle.