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Brett Favre: Why He’s Losing the Fans
Published: June 8, 2009
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Brett Favre has always been one of the NFL’s most popular players.
Tough, talented and always willing to throw his team on his back to win a game, he was easy to pull for.
Early in his career it was near impossible to find a football fan who wasn’t a fan of or had the utmost respect for what Favre did on the football field and who he was off of it.
On the field, Favre was the country-boy who won over the hearts of fans, players and the NFL for over a decade. He represented an NFL player who, unlike a vast majority of NFL players, loved what he did and showed it on his face week after week throughout his entire career.
He never missed a game, starting in a NFL-record 275 consecutive games. He owns basically every passing record in the book. And somehow managed to look like an underdog that you felt compelled to root for the entire way.
Off the field, Favre has always portrayed himself as the average Joe.
The kind of guy you might run into at a local department store picking up his very own set of Wrangler blue jeans.
The kind of guy who would sit next to you at a corner bar in Wisconsin and buy you a Coors light and talk sports for hours as he poked fun at himself.
He fit perfectly in the blue collar sports town of Green Bay because he was genuinely blue collar. Fans never imagined Favre hitting the weight room in the offseason or intensely training to improve himself.
Instead, fans imagined Favre working in the fields of his farm, or sleeping the day away with a fishing pole in his hand like a scene out of a Mark Twain novel.
Fans were happy with who they thought Brett Favre was. There was genuine sense of Americana in the aura surrounding him, something about him that fans could truly love, and love him they did.
The perception of Favre has changed in recent years, however.
Favre is no longer the reclusive superstar who fans daydreamed about in the offseason as one of the few athletes who didn’t need or want the spotlight on him at all times. He was just a regular guy who loved to play the game.
Now, Favre resembles an aging hero in an old western film who refuses to take his bow and ride off into the sunset due to fear that everyone will forget just how great he was.
Each offseason, NFL fans have grown more and more tired of the never-ending Brett Favre saga.
He may retire. He may not.
He is retired. He’s unretiring.
He’s retired again. He’s unretiring again if he doesn’t need surgery. He’s may still be unretiring even if he does need surgery.
Fans are fed up and want an answer either way. It doesn’t matter which way it is really. He may not have many fans left no matter which one he chooses.
NFL fans feel duped by Favres’ recent actions. Being fooled into thinking he was the one true team-oriented player in the NFL, only to find it he may be just another face in the long line of athletes who only feel best when their ego is satisfied.
Packers fans can forgive Favre for the impulse move of signing with the Jets to get back at Packers front office that said they no longer needed his services. But, I don’t think they can forgive Favre for signing with the rival Vikings.
It would be a slap in the face to his most loyal fans.
Vikings fans may already hate Favre for the calluses they are getting on their behinds from being left on the edge of their seat for weeks now.
The only way to salvage fans for Brett Favre is simple: retire.
The sun has been setting on this saga for some time now. It’s time to turn the horse around, pop on some shades and enjoy the ride Brett.
Tra Thomas Goes Back to Philadelphia
Published: June 6, 2009
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Former Eagle Tra Thomas spent 11 seasons protecting Donovan McNabb’s blindside before signing a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason.
That didn’t stop Thomas from visiting his former team’s locker room yesterday at the Eagles’ organized team activities at the Novacare complex in Philadelphia.
The Eagles replaced both of their longtime starting tackles this offseason by trading for Jason Peters and signing Stacy Andrews. Thomas moved on to Jacksonville, while former Eagle Jon Runyan remains a free agent.
James Thrash To Retire? Freddie Mitchell Eyes Return?
Published: June 6, 2009
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Washington Redskin wide receiver and former Philadelphia Eagle James Thrash may be forced to retire due a lingering neck injury that may require surgery, according to the Washington Times.
This is what Thrash had to say, according to the Times’ article.
“Right now I’m just trying to get it back to where I feel comfortable,” said the 34-year-old Thrash. “If they tell me that I have to have surgery [to be able to play a 13th season], then I’ll have to decide what I’m going to do.
“Right now, I’m not looking that far ahead. I’ve trained so hard my whole life. This is a different challenge. I haven’t set [a deadline]. I try to keep open communication with coach [Jim Zorn] so we’re on the same page.”
Thrash, who was part of a wide receiving corps that still haunts Eagles fans to this day, has hopped around the NFC East for over a decade, enjoying his best seasons as a member of the Eagles. His best season came in 2001, his first season with the Eagles, when he had 63 receptions for 833 yards and 8 touchdowns.
This caused the Eagles to hold onto Thrash for two more seasons, with his numbers gradually decreasing in each.
Thrashs’ potential retirement has started a wildfire of rumors (mainly stemming from this writer, with absolutely no verifiable source to back this up) about the potential return of the man, myth and legend himself, “Downtown” Freddie Mitchell.
Jim Zorn is rumored to be backpacking in the Midwest in a search for Mitchell, who was last seen drifting along the open roads, taking random jobs in small towns, and absolutely destroying the local eighth-grade competition in the games after school.
Is Brian Westbrook Running Out of Time With the Eagles?
Published: June 5, 2009
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It seems to have happened in the blink of an eye.
It always does in the NFL.
Two years ago, Brian Westbrook was breaking Eagles rushing records and Dallas Cowboys game plans with an ease that looked like Neo in the first Matrix movie when he rose from being shot by Agent Smith and realized that he was “The One.”
He was effortlessly countering opposing defensive adjustments while constantly on the attack—and looking like he could stop for a coffee and a danish at the 40-yard line in the process.
I loved watching it. You could sense at any moment that he could break a big one, that there was going to be the reward at the end of the running-game rainbow. At that time you believed that you would have something to show for the too often hit-or-miss Eagles running attack.
Fast forward to today.
Westbrook no longer seems to carry the aura of the untouchable superstar. Instead, this off-season has shown Eagles fans just how fragile Westbrook can be.
He’s coming off a season where each week Eagles fans heard about a new Westbrook injury that would keep him listed as questionable until game-time each week. A season where he was certainly above average, but not the same weapon that he had been the previous year.
The decline could be the start of a continuing trend for Westbrook. Running backs are always on the up or the down. There is no in-between. And while it sometimes may take a while for a running-back in the NFL to reach the apex of his talent, the decline in talent can happen in practically no time at all.
It’s been well-documented that with the punishment that running-backs take in the game today, the wear and tear can often take their toll around the age that Westbrook is now approaching. And with the multitude of injuries that Westbrook has been piling up lately, it’s safe to say that his body may be wearing down.
It’s also been well-documented how cut-throat the Eagles organization has been when it comes to the decline of the older players on their roster.
With both of those things coming clear into focus this off-season, could this potentially be the last season with Brian Westbrook on the roster?
The Eagles (and myself) certainly hope not. I think they are hoping to get two more seasons out of Westbrook before they hope to hand over the reigns to LeSean McCoy, the rookie out of Pittsburgh.
While it’s nice to think that McCoy would be able to step in this season and replace Westbrook in case of a long-term injury, rookie running backs have never had much success in their first season in Andy Reid’s offense. And Lorenzo Booker did not instill much faith in me last year with his 53 yards on 20 carries.
So while the timeline may be ending soon for Westbrook, his window still remains open slightly. And the success of the Eagles season largely depends on that window remaining open.
