Brett Favre, clearly jealous of the praise his successor Aaron Rodgers is receiving, came out recently and said that he was “really kind of surprised it took [Aaron Rodgers] so long” to win a Super Bowl. Understandably, Favre is getting a lot of backlash for this. He sounds like the big brother who can’t stand the newborn baby receiving all the attention.
Yesterday, FoxSports columnist Bill Reiter wrote an article explicitly telling Favre to “shut the hell up.” I think I can assume without making an ass out of myself that he isn’t the only one thinking that. I get it, you’re all tired of Favre’s “destructive need for attention and adulation,” as Mr. Reiter so callously puts it.
Yeah, that’s probably right. Favre is a publicity hogging, insecure, selfish, egomaniacal, son of a bitch in many ways.
What bothers me about Reiter’s story isn’t his hatred for Favre (although that does bother me a lot) so much as it is his absolute adoration for Aaron Rodgers. He says that “Right now, Rodgers is as fun a competitor to watch and cheer for as you can find in sports.” He kills two birds with one stone in that statement, implying that cheering for Rodgers is better than cheering for Favre.
Please. Stop.
Sure, Aaron Rodgers is a good dude. Sure, Aaron Rodgers is a first class, maybe even the best, quarterback in the NFL right now. Sure, Aaron Rodgers is a great competitor.
But there is no way that Aaron Rodgers is as fun a competitor to watch and cheer for in sports at this point in time. Aaron Rodgers is boring. He isn’t and will never be close to the legend that Brett Favre was.
Aaron Rodgers plays the game. That’s it.
He isn’t an exciting guy. That’s the bottom line. He’s a relaxed guy and that’s why he wasn’t bothered by the whole Brett Favre saga in Green Bay. He has that surfer, “chill out dude” kind of attitude. It’s why he, predictably, took the high road to Brett Favre’s most recent jealousy induced comments. He doesn’t rub people the wrong way, largely because he doesn’t have a big personality.
Brett Favre was worshipped by most everyone up until Ted Thompson began to screw him over. In hindsight, it’s clear that Ted Thompson made the right decision to start building around Aaron Rodgers when he did. However, it’s also clear with hindsight that he wasn’t fair to Brett Favre. Brett Favre wanted to play but Ted Thompson wanted to make him a backup. He should have just let him go play elsewhere. Instead, Favre becomes the bad guy.
Unbelievably, I’m reading the comments section of Mr. Reiter’s article and people are questioning if Brett Favre should go into the Hall of Fame as a Packer?
Does America have the memory of a 4th grade classroom’s gerbil?
Simply because a man wants to keep playing doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care for your franchise anymore.
Brett Favre’s insecure, egomaniacal, and selfish personality may have transformed him into one of the most loathed sports figures in all of North America but it also made him one of the most loved sports figures in North America.
Brett Favre’s infectious child-like passion for the game, gun-slinging carelessness and Hollywood charisma would not be possible without those other less attractive characteristics.
His ego allowed him to take risks that no other human being could fathom. His immaturity allowed him to play like a 12-year-old. His selfish nature allowed him to insist on giving us those extra years of greatness.
Who else could make fun of himself the way Favre did in this Hyundai commercial?
Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, has about as much character as the keys on my laptop computer. Aaron Rodgers may be liked by most everyone except Brett Favre, but he will never be adored for more than his playing ability contrary to what Mr. Reiter seems to so naively believe.
I just wish Favre would stop giving everyone a reason to hate on him because he doesn’t deserve the degree of hatred that he receives every instance his name seeps its way into the headlines. I mean, it’s not fair, that’s my favourite quarterback.
When it is all said and done, Aaron Rodgers may end up being the better quarterback but he will never be able to measure up to the magnificence that is Brett Favre.
Agree? Disagree? If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, please feel free to reply in the comments section below. Or you can e-mail me at [email protected]. Also, follow me on twitter @paintstheblack and I will happily return the favour.
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