The Wisconsin Sports Rant

Yep…I admit it.  One definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome.  By that rational I truly am nuts.  Again I actually believed this Brewers team was different; that they would be a playoff team and play like one against the division leading Chicago Cubs this week.  Instead, this entire homestand has become an outright disaster.  I encourage you to re-read this post from last season:  I am continually fooled by this pathetic franchise.  I can’t believe this is the same team that won 8 in a row to grab a share of first place in the NL Central.  What a difference a week makes.  This group of players along with Neddy Yost should feel embarrassed, and realize that they are far less of a team than they thought they were last Friday morning.  I appreciate Melvin making the huge trade to get a bona fide Cy Young pitcher in to help push for the playoffs.  It is the first sign management has shown that they believe this team can win now.  But when this Brewers club falters as they have this week, they turn believers back into the skeptics.  To treat the nearly 300,000 fans that will have passed through the turnstiles this week to this kind of baseball borders on criminal.  I just don’t understand how a supposedly good team can fall apart so horribly in front of the fans that are buying their tickets in record numbers.  I know there are still 2 months left in the season, but a week like this simply terminates any belief I harbored that the Brewers would be in the playoffs.  I have been ranting about this for two years now.  I’ll believe it when I see it.  Until then, this franchise is and always has been, a LOSER.

I haven’t posted much, if anything, about Brett Favre since that day in March that he “retired”.  This has been purposeful because I had made peace with the idea of the Packers sans Favre, and, much like the organization’s line right now, felt like I had moved on as a Packers fan.  Still, things change, and now that the Packers (specifically Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy ) are faced with the unenviable task of pissing off no less than one of their QB’s and any number of fans, it’s time to think about what is absolutely the best thing for the team and organization.  My take on this has changed a great deal since the reports started surfacing that number 4 was not ready to hang up the helmet just yet.  Initially I took Favre at his text message…thinking it was all just a non-story that got blown way out of proportion because he mentioned to one guy somewhere that he kinda missed playing.  Seems that it was more than a rumor Brett (so I guess Thompson isn’t the only one saying one thing to the public but another behind closed doors).  My feeling then became that the Packers should just do what they were doing at the time…don’t trade him, don’t cut him, let him either come back and sit, or just retire gracefully.  This would prevent the unthinkable…seeing Brett starting on Monday Night Football on September 8th in a hideous purple uniform (or other similar scenario).  I was more on the “side” of the Packers.  As the situations continued to spiral towards a pit of ugliness not seen in Green Bay since…well…2005 I guess, I felt more and more like Favre was tarnishing both his legacy, and the Packers image by doing what he was doing.

But then, last night, I really had a change of mind.  The thing that keeps going through my head is what Ted Thompson has said repeatedly…that he must do what is in the best interest of the team.  When I really considered this, I came to the conclusion that there is only one choice that is best for the team…

Let Favre Play.  In Green Bay.  As the starting Quarterback.

Now this may sound like it is coming from some crazed Favre fanatic that can’t let go, or some stupid fan that is not considering anything past his own nostalgia for 1996.  While the latter point may be somewhat true (well all but the stupid part), I can honestly say that these are not factors in my opinion.  Let’s take a look at what we are talking about when we say “what is best for the Green Bay Packers”.

There are two points of view from which you must approach this problem.  The first is on the field.  How do you build the best team?  What pieces do you need to reach the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl?  The second is with regards to the integrity and legacy of your franchise, especially in regards to the fan base (which in this case are your shareholders and paying customers rolled into one).  I don’t want to dwell on the latter piece here because I would surmise that anyone reading this blog has a pretty good understanding of this portion.  Favre is a legend.  To see him play for another franchise would be painful, but if it were a division rival, it may even border on intolerable.  The thought that someone as revered as Brett Favre can make the statement that he doesn’t feel wanted by a franchise for which he was the face for the last 16 years is frustrating to say the least.  From the perspective of what I would guess would be a majority of the fans (I am sure there are plenty that would disagree), I would say that this is not true.  There is a difference between not wanting Favre back and having moved on since Favre had stated that his services would no longer be available.  In any case, if you asked any fan what their ideal scenario would be for this whole situation, it would almost certainly end with Favre retiring a Green Bay Packer (whether it be this year, next year, in five years, whenever) never having donned another team’s uniform.

It is the part about assembling the best team possible that really caused me to change my mind about this whole mess.  First of all, just for a moment, forget that this is Brett Favre, and forget all the non-football related stuff that surrounds this circus.  You are the general manager of a football team that was very nearly a Super Bowl participant the preceding season.  Were it not for an other-worldly performance by one other guy in the league, your quarterback would have been the MVP.  You have the guy still under contract, despite the fact that he had already announced his retirement.  On the other hand, you have a possible rising talent who very well could be an all-pro at some point in his career, but is totally unproven over any length of time, and even has shown signs of being injury-prone.  When you look at it from this perspective, I just don’t really see how you can make any other choice than but to go with the perennially proven talent.  MVP or unproven yet promising player?  Ok, now we can bring back into the picture who we are talking about here.  I have heard all the talk about shattering Aaron Rodgers’ confidence if you allow Favre to return as a starter, and frankly, I think that is absurd.  The man is a professional football player.  He should be of the toughest mental mold.  I realize how frustrating this may feel…to have a huge opportunity given to you, and then to have it instantly thrown into jeopardy.  Still, it’s not like he won’t have a chance at some point (if not in 2008, he is a free agent and can sign anywhere he likes).  The Packers have let a good number of better than average quarterbacks leave during Favre’s tenure, and may have some waiting in the wings again.  The point is, when you were a play away from being in the Super Bowl (yes, I know the irony is that it was a Favre play away), you must seize the opportunity that is present, because you are never guaranteed the ability to reach that point again.  You have an MVP caliber quarterback that wants to play.  You have a roster very much unchanged from the 14-4 season of a year ago.  To me, the decision is clear.  You take the proven talent and go for it.  Now.

I am not of the illusion that there are dozens of other arguments and positions to take on this saga.  I also understand that there are several factors at play here that may make some of my points less black and white, and more shades of gray.  Still, my biggest desire as a fan is to see the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl, and I feel that Brett Favre gives them the best chance to accomplish that feat in 2008.

I know, I know…long time no post. Well, today seemed as good a day as any to make a comeback (right Brett?). After seeing that Corey Hart made the All-Star team today, I took a moment to sit back and realize what this says about baseball in Milwaukee. Through all the years of futility we have endured as Brewers fans, we are a tremendously forgiving and enthusiastic bunch.  We have the distinction of having used incredible grass-roots campaigning to get not one, but TWO players voted onto the NL team.  In the week before Ryan Braun made the team as a starter, and this partial week of Final Vote voting, Brewers fans turned out in massive numbers. This is a huge accomplishment for the organization, which did a great job of using creative methods to get people to vote, and the fans, who sat in front of computer screens at home, at work, on their mobile phone, and even at Summerfest to ensure their guys got in. When you think about “small market” Milwaukee, and how we are going to put over 3,000,000 butts in the seats this year, and how we can out-vote the fans of MUCH larger markets such as New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, you have to say we have some of the best fans in the league. While I didn’t post about it last week, the statement management made by acquiring CC Sebathia shows that this franchise now means business, and they are going to do what it takes to put a playoff team out on the field. It truly is a great time for Brewers fans, and hopefully we will all be rewarded with the first whiff of October baseball (outside of the first three days) since 1982.

Roll Out The Barrel!