F*ck Favre

Are you kidding me?

I have no problem with a guy who has trouble hanging up his cleats (my hero, after all, is Muhammad Ali who fought about five too many fights). I have no problem with someone who walks away and then changes his mind.

But Brett Favre - I've got a problem with him.

There is something terribly self-absorbed about a player who annually holds his team hostage about his own future. Am I retiring? Am I coming back? Should you find a new quarterback or prepare for another season with me under center? Each season for what seems like half his career now, Favre has held the Green Bay Packers hostage while he mulled over whether to play.

Then, once on the field, Favre plays the game like a self-absorbed prima donna who cares more about the glory of a great highlight than throwing the ball into the stands to prevent a turnover. Remember that it was "The Gunslinger" who threw away the Packers' Super Bowl hopes with a miserable pass against the NY Giants that was picked off in overtime.

Like most football fans, however, I still liked and pulled for the guy. I was bummed out that the Packers were not going to the Super Bowl and bummed out that his last pass was such a devastatingly poor one.

Not anymore.

Reports from the always reliable Chris Mortenson are that Favre wants to come back.

Fine.

That he wants to leave Green Bay.

What?

That he wants an unconditional release so he can play for any team he wants.

WHAT?!?

Who does this guy think he is, Roger Clemens? An unconditional release? So he can sign with the Vikings or Bears - both in the Packers own division? So that the Packers lose a top caliber quarterback and get zilch in return?

Rhetorical questions aside, this report is one of the most baffling and angering things I can remember from an athlete. My sports cynicism is strong, but I sat up last night and sat stunned last night as I listened to the story.

The gist is that the Packers apparently were not entirely thrilled with Favre's return to the team next year. It sounds like Favre's ego was badly bruised by the lack of parade and immediate handing of the job as soon as his initial text message was received by Packers' management. So Favre's reaction is to screw them over.

Them - the Packers' management who let him dangle his "Will I or won't I?" nonsense each year, the Packers' teammates that rally around him each season despite his skipping of off-season duties and sometimes stupid play on the field, the Packers' fans who worship Favre like a deity.

Are you kidding me?

I try to avoid writing sports-radio rants in this blog, but if ever a story deserved one, this is it. I can't remember an athlete acting so douche-like in all my life. I can't remember an athlete revealing his true colors, ones he kept hidden from most for his entire career, so swiftly.

The story feels like a wrestling storyline where the tag team partner decides to punch his partner in the mouth rather than tag into the match. It is the ultimate sports swerve - a story we knew was coming (Favre's return) with an out-of-left-field twist (but I want out of Green Bay).

Just like in wrestling, I'm pulling for the wronged partner in the relationship to get revenge. I hope Green Bay uses the title for this post as its reply to their quarterback. I hope they refuse to release him. I hope they cancel his jersey retirement ceremony set for opening week. I hope that if they trade him, they send him to Atlanta or Arizona where he wallows in mediocrity. Better yet, trade him to New England or Indianapolis where he holds a clipboard all game long. I hope that if the Packers play Favre's new team, the crowd boos him the whole game and Packers intercept him repeatedly.

The goodwill is gone, Gunslinger. May you get what you deserve.