This blog is mostly to let those of you that know me personally that I am alive and ok. The state of Wisconsin has not shut down, there is still running water, and the cities are not burning. However that could change as the reality of Brett Favre’s retirement sinks in. To say the people of this state are loyal to the #1 player on their #1 team would be insulting to them. They actually like it when you call them fanatical, crazy, obsessed, or deranged (of course most of them might be a bit tipsy so you could call them anything you want). When I first heard the news about an hour ago, I expected an announcement to come over the loud speakers of my office telling me the company was shutting down for the day. Seriously these folks take their Packers and their Favre that seriously. As someone who’s split their adult life between Wisconsin and Minnesota I’ve been privy to the fair weather fanaticism of Minnesota and the delusional fanaticism of Wisconsin and I think I’ve been lucky enough to find a nice balance. Of course that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate both aspects. Favre not only resurrected the Packer franchise but he legitimately resurrected an entire state’s sporting scene. Wisconsin had not seen many high notes in the sports world since the hey day of the 60’s Packer’s squads other than an occasional college hockey title or Brewer playoff run. The Packer’s resurgence sparked a statewide resurgence in sport that led to a new ballpark for the Brewers, renewed enthusiasm and competiveness from the UW in major college sports, and most importantly a switch in viewing everything sports from a “back in the day” perspective to a “wait til next year” perspective. In other words, Favre helped bring back hope to the Wisconsin sports scene. While that hope and the ensuing mind boggling devotion to number 4 has been an annoyance to myself for the most part I must acknowledge that Favre did mean something special to this state. Of course for the most part he made me sick. I can sometimes pass here as a local as I’m a UW grad and have plenty of Bucky wear to spare, but truth is when it comes to pro sports, particularly football…(checking over shoulder as I type this)…I’m all Minnesota especially the purple and gold. While I can admit Favre’s importance to the Packers and the state of Wisconsin and can respect his above average abilities, I truly truly hate this man. Today is a celebration for all of us that have been annoyed by the way he takes his chin strap off after every snap, or the way the media has blindly adored him for the past 15 years. Today is a celebration for all of us that ever had to listen for the 860th time about how great Favre was to play for his dad the night he died. Today is a celebration for all of us that were sickened by the way Favre gave Michael Strahan the sack record by taking a dive. Today is a celebration for all of us that are fans of teams who Favre miraculously beat in the final seconds of the game. I have doing a quiet dance of joy all day and due to safety concerns will probably only express my joy on the blog today but best believe this coming Friday when casual day roles around, the old purple and gold will be making an appearance while I’m guessing the land of green and gold will be decidedly donned in black.
Where were you when Brett Farve through his last pass and it cost his team a chance to go the Super Bowl?
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