August 18, 2009: Brett Favre announces his comeback to professional football.
August 18, 2010: Brett Favre announces his comeback to professional football.
Deja vu, huh? The Favre versus retirement battle seems to be a little one sided. Last football season the Minnesota Vikings were one pass away from reaching the Super Bowl. The strong chance of the Vikings being able to finish atop the NFC North and advance to the Super Bowl this season is what Brett Favre says is bringing him back to the team for (at least) one more year. Favre stepped out on the field this morning with his teammates and got right to work, just like he did last year. In today’s press conference he made it clear that he could not guarantee to be healthy for the entire season… well, DUH! No athlete has a warranty on their health. But thanks for the gesture, Brett.
I know some people are sick of Favre’s yearly farce, but I can’t help but love the guy and I’m incredibly happy that he is coming back for another season. I think one reason that I’m ok with his indecisiveness is that he has made fun of himself for it! Last year’s SEARS commercial featuring Brett trying to decide if he was going to buy a TV or not… BRILLIANT. The guy is pushing 41 years old and he can still deliver a rocket threaded right down the center of the field for a TD as good, if not better, than anybody else. He gets the snot knocked out of him and somehow continues to get up time after time. Going into his 20th season, Favre holds the NFL record in: most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career pass completions, most career pass attempts, most career interceptions thrown, most consecutive starts, and most career victories as a starting quarterback. WHEW! What a track record. How can you NOT love this guy? If you are one of those people who are sick of his consistent inconclusiveness, hear me out. He is physically unbelievable, mentally as tough as nails, and one of the NFL’s all-time greats… you have to at least respect the old man and admit that you are going to tune in to as many Vikings games as you can to see if the 40-year-old version of Favre can still be “the man.”
If you think about it, Brett is actually a genius. He “retires” after the season, doesn’t have to do any of the off season work, literally gets dragged back to Minnesota by teammates and coaches, gets back in shape and into a rhythm within .2 seconds, and swoops in like Superman to be the leader of his team. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?
Could this year be THE year for the Vikings? Can Brett lead them to the Super Bowl? Can he be as good as we was last season? Will his ankle hold up? Will this really be his final season? All of these questions will be answered over the next six months. So, tune in and let the Favre saga continue. GO BRETT!
ATHLETALK 