Favre's Decision: Fighting through the B.S.

Say, did you by any chance hear the news? Brett Favre retired yesterday. I was just checking, because I'm not sure if it's really gotten enough coverage yet. I'm sure there are plenty of people still unaware. For instance, someone who might be in a mountain cave somewhere in the Andes, with their head down in their lap and their fingers in their ears.

That little bit of opening sarcasm aside, I'm actually quite pleased about this development. That pleasure comes not from any feelings about Favre's decision itself. Rather, I'm pumped, because it's been a little while since I really tore into the media about something, and if I go more than a few days without doing that, I begin to question my reason for being. Now, the reality is that there is generally something that I run across in the media that bugs me everyday, but I try to keep most of that stuff out of this blog, for fear of being revealed as the petty, condescending, self-righteous jerk that I am.

As I often do, let me state something clearly upfront - I like Brett Favre. The guy is a clear first ballot Hall of Fame quarterback, and as athletes go, an rather compelling personality on top of that. I do not share the kind of torrid man-crush for Favre that much of the media, led by the increasingly senile and erratic John Madden, clearly has, but I appreciate his talent and have a great deal of respect for him. I'm about to rant about a variety of issues regarding reaction to his retirement, but that says nothing of my attitude towards him.

The first thing I have to react to is the sheer volume of coverage that we've been subjected to over the last 24-36 hours. Now, this is not to equate Favre's retirement with an overblown non-story. Given Favre's status, his retirement clearly merits a significant amount of attention. It was unquestionably the story of the day yesterday, certainly the story of the week, and very likely the story of the year thus far. It is not, however, the story of the century, or of the millennium, or of all time. As one caller to the Jim Rome show suggested today, you might think that Favre was murdered or suffered a similarly tragic death, given the all-Favre, all the time coverage. Just because one story is clearly the most important doesn't make it a cardinal sin to mention others. Now, I've had similar rants before, so I certainly expected this. We all know that the media tends to pump up stories that aren't actual stories, and to beat us across the head with the real stories until we're bloodied, bruised and broken. So, while it bears mentioning, the sheer volume of the coverage isn't my primary concern, and I probably would have found something else to write about tonight if that was the only thing going on.

More frustrating, however, is the media's obsession with unearthing Favre's "real" motives for retiring. To date, Favre's explanation has been that he's just mentally tired and not willing or interested in starting it all up again and putting himself through training camp, weekly preparation, and the like for another season. He's also mentioned that, given the success of this year's team, it would be difficult for next year to be anything but a disappointment. The media, led by the timing of his announcement and some statements made by his agent and brother, have pushing one of two alternate reason for Favre's decision. The first one suggests that Favre was irked by the team's refusal, for the second year in a row, to pursue wide receiver Randy Moss. Most people espousing this idea soften it to some degree by suggesting that Favre didn't quit just because of that, but that if Moss had gone to Green Bay, Favre probably would have found the willingness to continue playing. This is, of course, a pointless hypothetical, since there's no way that Moss would have come to Green Bay short of receiving assurances that Favre would continue to play. The second theory is that Favre did want to return for another season, but that Green Bay was cool to the idea of his return, wanting to instead hand the ball over to his successor, Aaron Rodgers.

As I've paid more close attention to the media in recent months, one of the major lessons I've learned is that if you want the sports media on your case, the best thing to do is to make a decision that goes against the prevailing media opinion of what you will do. I'm going to let you in on a little secret: Sportswriters and other media figures, in general, aren't really more intelligent or more sports savvy than you and I are, nor do most of them have any particular insight into how a given athlete is thinking. However, they prefer to keep that little bit of information as quiet as they possibly can. So, when they completely misread an athlete's intentions, as most of the media did in Favre's case, they have to find a reason for it that goes beyond "I was just wrong." If Favre wanted to come back but was in someway put off by the team, they can let themselves off the hook, which I suppose works out well for them.

Here's the problem with that, specifically as it relates to this case. First of all, if there's an athlete who has earned the right to be taken at his word, in absence of compelling evidence to the contrary, it's Brett Favre. Secondly, if there's an athlete who has earned the right to leave his sport on his own terms, regardless of the particulars of those terms, it's Brett Favre. Thirdly, and most importantly, who in the hell cares WHY Brett Favre retired? Aside from the nation of Packers fans who might be a bit pissed to know that their team showed their hero the door, does the story really change for anyone if Favre was willing to play another year, but walked away due to other circumstances? From my perspective, it doesn't, and I have a hard time believing the average fan feels much differently. The calls I heard to sports radio today seem to agree with me. While many people had an opinion, very few people seemed to have any genuine concern as to whether their opinions were true or not.

Lastly, I'm appalled at articles I've seen like this one, in which Jeffri Chadiha proclaims without hesitation that Favre made a huge mistake by stepping away now, and that he will regret it this fall. You know what, he may be right. In fact, I have little doubt that Favre will miss the games themselves. Favre's made it clear for a while that were it just about deciding to play the games, he'd play until he physically couldn't do it anymore. However, I find it ridiculously arrogant for a writer like this (who, by the way, has never been through an NFL season as a player, and thus has zero concept of what Favre would be signing up for) to suggest that he knows better than Favre himself what Favre should have done. I mean, seriously, are you kidding me? Now, I understand it's an easy trap to fall into. We as fans, and even the media to a large extent, saw Favre on gameday this past season playing at a high level, and having a blast doing it. As people who would kill for a chance to play sports for a living, we can sit back and say "Why the heck would you give that up before you have to?" However, we only see the glamour of the games, we don't see the trainer's room, and the grind of camp, and the weeks between games - things that Favre has been subjecting himself to week in and week out for the last 17 seasons, without missing a single start. No one knows better than Favre whether he is up to doing that for another season. And furthermore, people talk about this as if it's a foregone conclusion that the Packers will be contenders again next year. Yes, they had the youngest team in the league this year, but so much changes in the NFL from year to year these days, because there are some many variables. To put things in perspective, it's been 3 years since the losing team in the NFC championship even made the playoffs the following year, and the losing team in the NFC title game has only gone to the Super Bowl the following year once in the last decade. So, while on paper it seems like a safe bet for the team to be able to repeat or improve on this year's success, the reality is that the odds aren't as favorable as you might think.

To say "I wish he would keep playing" or "I think he could keep playing successfully" or even "I think he'll end up wishing he had kept playing" is one thing. To proclaim the decision a colossal mistake within hours of it becoming public, without allowing the slightest possibility that Favre might know what is best for him is just absurd. And yet, this is just the most prominent example, from a guy who in all likelihood wouldn't have hesitated to question Favre's decision to return if he had done so and he and/or the team had struggled next year.