Just under one year ago, I wrote an article on this site thanking Brett Favre for a million memories and wishing him well in retirement. I fawned over Favre and his skills and made him out to be some sort of walking incarnation of Christ. There was nothing bad that could be said about him and I would challenge any of the "Favre haters" when they would talk of his ego and how he turned into a diva.
Since that time, we all know how the saga in Green Bay played out. Favre, although voted to the Pro Bowl, had a sub-par season and broke down physically to end his year in New York.
Favre retired, again, from the NFL on Wednesday. There was no big press conference, only a teleconference in which Favre could already begin his seclusion from society. He answered questions for just over 30 minutes and seemed as relaxed as he has been in years.
Almost as quickly as the announcement of his retirement came down, the questions of if and when Favre would come back again. Many people believe that Favre will try to pull a similar stunt like he did with the Packers last year and come back once training camp begins and work for his release from the Jets and play for another team...the Vikings.
Favre shot that idea down during his meeting with the media saying that Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and Favre's retirement papers and would file them with the league. It appears, finally, that Favre is really stepping away from the game for good. There was no fanfare and there won't be any glowing tributes to old number 4.
Whether Favre or his millions of fans like it or not, he did tarnish his image by coming back and playing the past season with the Jets. By no means were the Packers innocent of any wrong-doing, but the majority of blame in the whole Packer-Favre fiasco falls on Brett's shoulders. He very easily could have been the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers in 2008 had he never retired or decided to comeback in a reasonable time before the Packers moved on with Aaron Rodgers.
Favre still holds countless records, some that may never be broken. He is arguably the greatest Green Bay Packer of all-time, one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game, and a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Sadly, he is also someone that thought he was bigger than the Green Bay Packers and even the NFL.
The luster on Favre's career has been tarnished and I really do hope that both Favre and the Packers can work together to restore the image that he had around the league for 15 years.
Favre will come back to the Packers organization someday. His number will be retired and his name will be next to other legends lining Lambeau Field. Maybe by that time I, and many other football fans, will have forgiven Favre for his actions in the last year. Until that time though, he won't be the same legend to me that he was this time last year.