Brett Favre

In case you're curious, yes, in fact, this DOES mean that Brett Favre is dead to me. Not permanently dead -- I'm sure once Favre finally retires I can safely go back to liking him and appreciating all he's done for my beloved Packers. If that list of exploits includes throwing up eight interceptions in Minnesota's two games against Green Bay this year, all the better. But it's basically like when Roberto Alomar spit his way out of Toronto. For a few years, I hated his guts. But now that he's retired, he went back to being good ol' Robbie Alomar, the guy who led the Jays to two World Series titles and will be wearing a Jays cap into the Hall of Fame. Besides, Favre's beef isn't with Green Bay per se, it's with Packers GM Ted Thompson. Once Thompson is gone (which might be after this season, if the Pack doesn't make the playoffs again), I'm sure Favre will gladly agree to sign one of those ceremonial one-day summer contracts so he can 'retire as a Packer.' But as long as he's wearing the Minnesota purple, Brett Favre can kiss my ass. I'll be cheering loudly when Aaron Kampman and A.J. Hawk gang-tackle him into oblivion.

Favre becoming a Viking impacts me not as a football fan, per se, but rather as a wearer of football attire. For several years now, my game-day routine has been to wear my trusted Favre jersey (with an option on a cheesehead) when the Packers have been playing. I could justify it when Favre was a Jet because there isn't any animosity between Green Bay and New York, and besides, Favre's Jets tenure was pretty sad. But now that Favre is playing for the hated Vikings....well, that's a horse of a different color. I can no longer wear a jersey with that man's name as long as he is openly thumbing his nose at the Packers by playing for one of their top rivals. As such, my Favre jersey will remain in a drawer this season. My new gameday apparel will be a Packers sweater worn over a Packers t-shirt, plus boxer shorts that contain some type of green design. (Under pants, of course. NFL season doesn't turn me into some kind of weird exhibitionist.) I guess I could get another Green Bay jersey with a different player's name and number, but I dunno. I'm kind of cheap. And also, I would hate to waste money on a jersey of another player who might up and leave Green Bay too. So I'll just stick with the sweater for now. Or, maybe just realize that I'm a grown man who doesn't need to wear a certain piece of clothing in order to bring his favourite football team luck. Pfft, right.

N.B. This article by Peter King is pretty interesting for three reasons. Firstly, it says something about how much damage Favre has done to his reputation when even King, former president of the Brett Favre Media Fan Club, is ripping him. Secondly, I love how King is pretending that Jackson and Rosenfels didn't already have their confidence shattered just by the fact that the Vikings were going hard after Favre all summer long. Thirdly, writing a story about Brad Childress making a mistake is like writing an article about Vernon Wells hitting a pop-up with men on base, or an article about the sun rising in the morning. Childress might actually be the worst coach in the NFL, which is really saying something.