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Posted 03/10/2008 at 07:18 PM
We’re a little tardy to respond to last week’s big NFL news about Brett Favre retiring but it certainly is worth discussing. It may be difficult to understand how important Favre has been to the Packers and the state of Wisconsin outside of the Midwest but he truly is larger than life. He is almost solely responsible for making the Packers into the institution that they are today. Although Green Bay is a legendary franchise with a historic history, times were tough in the late 1980s and the early 1990s and Favre was the great player, the character, and the leader that the Packers needed to bring a championship and bring the loyalty and tradition back to Green Bay fans.
In recent years he became somewhat of a polarizing figure with the mounting interceptions and a few too many gunslinger moments gone wrong. The Packers have struggled in recent seasons and went through a great deal of player turnover which led to some poor results but it was enjoyable to watch Favre this season and the success of the Packers captivated the entire country of NFL fans. The timing is probably right to move on even though Favre leaves a very competitive team that was ever so close to the Super Bowl and will be the favorites to win the NFC North next season.
Those that say the Packers will be better next season without Favre are forgetting a lot. Many are perhaps still bitter over the final interception in the NFC Championship game but Favre was incredible for most of the season with career best numbers in several categories. Aaron Rodgers did play well in relief against Dallas this season but he has so little real game experience and has proven to be injury prone. He won’t have the command and respect of his teammates that Favre carried. Green Bay can still be a playoff team next season but don’t be surprised to see a drop in the record next year and also a drop in enthusiasm from Packers fans as something will certainly be missing.
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