Detroit Lions Weblog

Lions Fans Breathe Sigh Of Relief After Favre Announces Retirement

Upon Brett Favre’s announcement of his retirement, a collective exhalation of relief was briefly palpable throughout the entire midwest. To say that Favre has owned the Lions (he has thoroughly dominated them, in fact), especially inside of the frozen tundra at Lambeau Field, would be a HUGE understatement.

I have often lamented the overwhelming, Cal Ripken-like fixation the media has regaled Favre with. The hushed, reverential, and barely-concealed adoration that most media types have gushed for Favre’s well-documented attributes and accomplishments, have been largely sickening to me as a Lions fan. Their inherent lack of bias never seemed to matter where Favre was concerned, in their eyes.

That doesn’t mean I don’t respect Favre, or that I don’t regard his consecutive games started at quarterback streak as anything short of phenomenal.

I do believe that the media has allowed themselves to get a little carried away with the Favre legend for two reasons: He has repeatedly overcome the many, heavily-publicized obstacles which have obstructed his career path.

Favre also appears completely different from the rest of the current sports milieu. Sportswriters project their archetypal image of the quintessential post-WWII, square-jawed, flat-topped, and rugged mold onto Favre’s eager countenance.

Favre is a “man’s man” and his freewheeling, gambling on-field demeanor allows the observer to live vicariously, since we often aren’t allowed the liberty necessary to take the same approach in our own personal lives, let alone inside of our seemingly, ever-constricting, work environment which we all suffocate through from day-to-day.

Recently, there was a media report in regards to another, recently deceased, ex-Packer, the infamous Max McGee. McGee was an old school, “man’s man” who was awarded the MVP of Super Bowl I, which he surprisingly earned, after not sleeping the night before the big game. McGee, as legend has it, was engaged in a rumored-to-be, all night drinking binge with some friendly stewardesses, which understandably prevented him from finding the time to get some rest the night before the inaugural Super Bowl. Boys will be boys, you know.

At any rate, McGee was eventually investigated due to his gambling proclivities, and the associations that are often formed with someone who features heavy gambling as an extra-curricular pursuit. McGee was an unconventional, free spirit, whose presence, during a very different era, marked him as the type of individual the CIA figured ultimately might be worth keeping an eye on.

As much as Favre’s story is a redemption story, McGee was just as equally unrepentant about his good times, he was a truly an original character when compared to Favre.

A “McGee” would have a very difficult time thriving in the current sports environment for a number of reasons, but conversely, Americans truly love a good, against all odds, uplifting type of story. Which they have conveniently found in the exceptional, and redemptive career of a Huck Finn-like quarterback from Kiln, Mississippi (aw shucks).

Favre definitely is quite different from your garden variety, politically correct, modern day athlete, though. Most athletes who are on par with Favre public relations-wise, are political beasts in nature, whose blandness is their strongest attribute.

In most cases, their rough edges have been buffed off, presenting a cleaner, smoothed out, hipper than thou image which plays well on Madison Ave.–allowing athletes to merge themselves seamlessly with the ever present “brand” concept–and ultimately serves them well as a convenient platform for future marketing purposes.

Favre has never shied from self-promotion, either. He loves attention. He could, in fact, be popular enough to be able to publicly annex the states of Wisconsin and Mississippi without much resistance. His overwhelming popularity stems from the fact that he has always appeared genuine in the process of his own aggrandizement. His image just doesn’t seem as calculated as his counterparts, right or wrong.

Which makes it only fitting, that rather than his career ending on a high note, it ended with him throwing an awful, game-deciding interception. The conspiracist in me still sees Favre returning to the game, within the year, in an attempt to overcome whichever challenge he currently faces in life, and ultimately re-write the non-storybook ending of his career, one last time.

That’s as calculated as it comes, baby.  I still fully expect Favre to be able to retain his bullet-proof credibility, within the current sports landscape unquestioned, just because he’s Brett Favre. Just for that fact alone, and his considerable guile, Favre deserves a slight tip of the hat from Lions fans.

That being said, I am exceedingly glad that the Lions may find their chances at gaining a road victory against the Packers next year to be exponentially higher today than they were just one day ago.