Brett Favre

by von

If you don't like American Football, skip this post.  I'll return to insulting your refined political senses -- and disagreeing with Eric's well-intentioned foreign policy gaffes -- in a future post.

Brett Favre.  Brett effing Favre.  I used to hate that guy.  I still kinda hate that guy. Some of it came from being too close, familial close, to Green Bay fans.  Some came from those worshippers in the media (you know who you are).  And some of it was honestly earned, because Favre was, at heart, a gunslinger; a brawler; a guy who survived on his talent and not his skill.

Anyone can luck out with talent, after all.  You get born with it.  It's no work. Skill is what's special.

Heck, I bet you a beer that I can drink you under the table.  You gonna give me a prize for the alcoholic gene?  (And if you're gonna give me a prize, could you make it a shot of Maker's next to a cucumber and cream-cheese sandwich?  'Cause such a thing is like springtime in December.)

Anyhoo. 

We were talking about Farve.  (At least I was.)  And my hatred of him ... former.  Because the bile isn't with me any more.  I don't look on him with disgust.  I don't look on him like one of the nouveau riche; a Gaudi home; a too-talented prick.  The rage that Peyton Manning used to give to you, before you learned, Favre used to dispense for me.

And I don't think that I was wrong. I think that Farve was a prick.  A gunslinger.  A guy with a better arm than brain.

It's just that he isn't any more.  Turning forty did more for Favre's standing in my eyes than every other accomplishment.  He's a player, now.  It took a while, but the seasoning set.  And I'm loving watching him.  Even stranger, I'm starting to like him. 

I'm watching Monday Night Football in a hotel bar, and I'm rooting for the Bears.  But something else, disconcerting, is stirring.  The love that dare not speaks its name: 

Favre. 

Perish, forsooth!

UPDATE:  Maybe it's easier because he's losing.  Down 13-0, and expect no further updates 'cause I'm going to bed.

UPDATE 2:  Just returned to the blog, and noticed that I managed to both spell and misspell Favre's name in various places.  Thanks to all for the corrections:  This is what happens when you post on a little-bitty keyboard and don't proofread.

Comments

[rea]

Gaudi was an amazing architect, but I don't think he did all that many houses--does Favre own a villa in Spain?

[Marty]

Thats how I feel about Tom Brady, some talent, great coach, too much credit, so I don't like him. Oh well, maybe when he gets old.

[von]

Gaudi was an amazing architect, but I don't think he did all that many houses--does Favre own a villa in Spain?

First, I'm glad that you got the reference. Too many would have though that I misspelt gaudy.

Second, I love Gaudi. Or, more generally, I love Barcelona. I like a city where a Gaudi could exist. But the Sangra Familia (for instance)? Stupid. Sorry. Love to look at it, glad I saw it, and Spain is better for it. The Spanish people? Not so much.

Or so it seemed to me. Others may differ.

[von]

Marty -

FWIW (not much) - I hate Brady for a whole bunch of reasons that probably say more about me than they do him.

[RepubAnon]

When you talk about hating him, you spell his name right (Favre). When you talk about starting to like him, you spell it Farve... I guess it averages out?

[kmdfv]

Please, look at this amazon storefront: www.amazon.com/shops/tablebooksinc

This is a collection of books that you can list on your account.
First: Sell the book on Amazon.
Next: Once you sold the book, Buy it from Barnes & Noble stores, and ship it to your customer.

You can make up to $30 a book.

[David Schraub]

Maybe it's easier because he's losing. Down 13-0, and expect no further updates 'cause I'm going to bed.

Wrong move -- that game had one of the more dramatic second halves and OTs I've seen this season.

[Badger3k]

I'm the opposite - I used to like Favre, but after his childish antics the last few years, I lost respect for him as a human being. He can still play, but I am glad to see him sacked and losing. Good riddance. Maybe it was his mid-life crisis? Whiny little bitch.

What do you mean, "learned" about Payton Manning. Guy is still a a-hole media whore who can play the game well. Good QB, shitty human. Brady is another one who deserves scorn in my book. And Michael "let's just kill and maim all these dogs" Vick can suck it big time. Scumbag shouldn't be in a jersey, period.

It's all moot - once the remove the salary caps and all the rest that's being talked about, we'll see the NFL go further downhill, and if the talk is true and players do a walkout, as some have speculated, there won't be a next year (or is it two?).

[rea]

But the Sangra Familia (for instance)? Stupid. Sorry. Love to look at it, glad I saw it, and Spain is better for it. The Spanish people? Not so much.

Gaudi would tell you indignantly that the cathedral isn't in Spain, but in Catalonia.

[brent]

You spelled his name right in the title and a couple of other places but you often spell it as "Farve" instead of correctly as "Favre."

[phastphil]

The media, ESPN in particular has made Bret very tiring.
Na Na Na Bears Win!

[hairshirthedonist]

I've always liked Brett Favre. Still do. Since most of the people who comment here are smart enough to know that such things are subjective, I'm not going to bother defending that. Sometimes arguing that sort of thing is fun, if otherwise pointless, but I'm not in the mood today.

That said, I'm glad he lost last night because I'm an Eagles fan (another thing I'm not going to defend - it's really a matter of accident of birth, anyway, and I've gone too far along that path to change unless the Eagles murder my family or something). Now they have a shot at the 2 seed.

[Eric Martin]

FWIW (not much) - I hate Brady for a whole bunch of reasons that probably say more about me than they do him.

I will always harbor a deep loathing for him ever since the tuck rule call against the Raiders - the single worst call in a professional sports game ever (only because they actually reviewed the replay and still screwed the pooch so mercilessly).

[Curtis]

I am in the camp that used to cheer for him - my perspective on the NFC is that I hate the Cowboys, and he was often the best chance to shut Jerry Jones up in the mid-90's. So I found myself liking him quite a bit. I loved Montana, but the willingness to chuck it all over the field was pretty exciting after the surgery of the west coast offense.

But the media blitz has soured me entirely, to the point that I think I would be cheering against the Cowboys opponent should they meet up in the post-season. Anything to spare me from another week of the fawning.

[wj]

I'm with David (above). The first half was nice for Bears fans. But the second half was definitely better football overall. On both sides of the ball.

[russell]

Brett who?

[Mike Schilling]

I've always liked Favre, and the blitz of stupid media criticism ("How dare he force us to write about him when there's nothing new to report!") only solidified that.

[dr ngo]

- Parts of last night's game were vintage Favre (as a FB player, not a person), which is exciting stuff;

BUT still

- I'd take one Gaudi over 1,000 Favres.

PS: It's "Sagrada Familia" and it's brilliant, though not my favorite of Gaudi's works. And what Gaudi did for the people of Barcelona is (inter alia) to employ some of them directly and - indirectly and fortuitously - to draw thousands upon thousands of future tourists to the city, all spending their money there. Quite rightly. Not to mention the uplift he gave to their spirits, as also to all of us who are open to genius.

[Hogan]

Brett who?

I think he's in the cast of Mad Men.

[hairshirthedonist]

I think he's in the cast of Mad Men.

Oh, yeah. Isn't he the one who drinks and smokes a lot?

[tgirsch]

Eric:

The infamous "tuck rule" play was worse than you remember. You say:

they actually reviewed the replay and still screwed the pooch so mercilessly

That's not a fair characterization. In fact, the ruling on the field was the correct one -- fumble -- and it was the very act of reviewing the play that screwed the pooch. Absent replay, the Raiders go to the Super Bowl.

Anywho, on the subject of Favre, I'm a Packers fan through and through, but I still like Favre. The "will he or won't he" drama drove me nuts, but that was as much the media's making as his. That said, he committed a terrible sin by going to the Vikings, so I root against him every week. Had he gone to any team not named "Bears," "Vikings," or "Cowboys," I'd be rooting for him. But you don't go to the arch-enemy the way he did.

Finally, if you watched AFTER the end of the game last night, you saw him behave with true class in defeat. So as much as I hate the team he now plays for (come on, real men play OUTDOORS, and they most certainly DO NOT wear purple, which everyone knows is a girl color), I still like HIM. I just wish he had retired (for real) more gracefully.

OK, so one more thing: a few people above expressed an irrational hatred for Peyton Manning, and I confess to sharing that irrational hatred. If you can throw for 5,000 yards a season, is it also too much to ask that you be able to breathe through your nose?

[Eric Martin]

That's not a fair characterization. In fact, the ruling on the field was the correct one -- fumble -- and it was the very act of reviewing the play that screwed the pooch. Absent replay, the Raiders go to the Super Bowl.

This is true, but only stokes the flames of my hatred.

[GoodOleBoy]

You may as well spell his name the way everyone pronounces it, as that is easier on the sensibilities of all!