Favre ending

Well, I said the patternless area would be about more than camping, birding, the weather and cycling. Now I have takes on the Brett Favre saga.

First, full disclosure, I am a fan of No. 4. I have followed his career since the Atlanta Falcons took him in the second round and since he made his NFL debut in a Packers victory over Cincinnati. But, even as I enjoyed his resurgence last year, I had already grown tired of his year-to-year wishy-washy retirement decisions. It was too much. It didn't help the team and drew way too much attention to him individually. Finally, when he retired this year on (mostly) a high note (NFC Championship Game appearance), I thought that it might be over. I decided if he ever came back, I would change my opinion of him. And then the reports came that he was reconsidering.

But the Packers managed to botch the whole situation so badly that I again have regained sympathy for the Kiln, Miss., native. How this team could not let him back is absurd. QB-to-be Aaron Rodgers was a No. 20-something pick four years ago. He is not Steve Young. The franchise would be more damaged by refusing Favre than by accepting him back. In fact, accepting him back would only enhance the team's long-term image and short-term gains (and I was at Lambeau two months ago--the place is a shrine to Favre). Instead, the venerable franchise will be sullied by its rejection of a legend.

Sadly, everyone will forget about this in a few years. Who remembers that 49ers greats Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig ended their careers with other teams? Not many. But the marriage of Favre and Green Bay was so great that it is a shame to see it end this way.