I was spending time at my special lady friend’s house not all that long ago. She had family and friends in town visiting from Columbus, Ohio (yes, Gator dates Buckeye… riots ensue). While watching television, one of her younger houseguests was having difficulty recalling the name of “that heavyset guy” that used to be on Saturday Night Live way back in the day. She was in her early 20s, so I figured she couldn’t possibly be talking about John Belushi, although he was the first person that came to mind. I blurted out the other obvious answer, Chris Farley, to which she responded ‘Oh Yeah!’
Suddenly, I felt old. I thought to myself, had it been that long ago that Farley was on SNL (1990-95) and is this generation even familiar with Belushi’s humor as one the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.
I’m 40 years old now. I am from New York City and was weaned on the original Saturday Night Live. There was nothing like staying up late as a kid and watching Roseanne Rosannadanna, Belushi’s samurai, Bill Murray’s lounge singer, Chico Escuela, Mr. Bill, the land shark and of course, two wild and crazy guys. As a child, I met Gilda Radner once and was awestruck. Of course, later generations of SNL featured their own unique brand of talent too, from Eddie Murphy to the later generations of Myers, Sandler, Farley, Hartman and Rock. For me, that was a golden era of comedy. I look fondly back on those times. Without sounding like an old fuddy-duddy, today’s version can’t hold a candle. It kind of makes me long for the days of old.
Which is why I can’t fault Brett Favre for his decision to return to football. These athletes that we write about, particularly the elite, are like no creatures we’ll ever truly understand. They are the best of the best and as we’ve seen over the years, have difficulty hanging them up when their time has come. How many athletes, guys as tough as nails, have we seen break down into tears, sobbing like newborn babies at their retirement press conferences? One need only recollect a glassy-eyed Mike Schmidt or John Elway at the podium, reaching unsuccessfully for that next word with their hearts in their throats.
The most successful businessmen, scientists and doctors can practice their chosen profession until late in life. Bill Gates is 52. Mick Jagger is 65 and he’s still working. Heck, even John McCain is 71. Professional athletes aren’t afforded that luxury. The physical, psychological and emotional anguish is too demanding.
We’ve seen a bunch of them do it, the best of the best, retire then yearn to return. Montana, Namath, Jim Brown, Magic, Leonard, Foreman, Holyfield, Jordan… twice. It’s getting so that the ones who say goodbye and don’t look back a la Koufax or Barry Sanders are the exception rather than the rule. We criticize athletes for leaving in their prime as if they owe us something more, yet we also blame them for wanting to return to the game without fully understanding what’s in their hearts and minds. We may never know. The majority of us will never be as good at anything as these men were at their chosen profession. We crave a storyblog ending, but life isn’t always a fairytale.
Could Favre have handled his current situation better? Of course he could have. But think about it. There’s no conceivable way Favre could leave the Packers organization on good terms. There’s no such thing as an amicable breakup. This is about a man who rebuilt a franchise and a franchise who made the man. The two will always be inexorably linked, regardless of what uniform he dons next. It was bound to end ugly no matter how it went down. I cannot fault Favre for wanting one last shot as long as he’s prepared to deal with the consequences. Unless he suits up for either the Pats, Colts, Chargers or Cowboys, he likely will not win a Bowl and those teams are already pretty well set at the quarterback position.
Favre obviously still has his demons, something left to prove. It is likely something none of us can understand. Remember that next time someone asks you, fifteen years from now who ‘that guy’ was that used to play quarterback for Green Bay. The answer he’s looking for must might just be Aaron Brooks.
Keywords: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, NFL
