When the news came through yesterday that Brett Favre had announced his retirement, I had a strange mix of regret, happiness, and nostalgia. Patriots fans, take note: some day Tom Brady will retire too, and you'll be left to ponder all the memories.
Me? I remember watching the Packers beat the Lions for their first playoff win in forever while studying in Austin. I think I was at a bowling alley with Philip, the best friend I ever had who also liked the Cowboys. (Yes, also the ONLY friend I ever had who liked the Cowboys.) I remember the fall/winter of '95-'96, living back in Tucson, driving every Sunday to watch the Packers at the Oldfather Inn on the Northwest side. I remember trying to not pay too much attention to the 1996 Packers/Cowboys NFC championship game while celebrating Adam & Yael's wedding (it was better that way).
I remember rooting for the Packers with a roomful of purple in St. Paul (I think we lost the battle, but won the war that year...). I remember being home in Tucson before leaving for Lithuania, watching the Packers win the Super Bowl over You Know Who (right, kids?).
While teaching in Lithuania that next winter, I remember listening to the '98 NFC championship game on shortwave radio (a win) and avoiding the Super Bowl altogether for some reason (a loss).
The next decade has had highs and lows, and this last season had both. The win in the snow over Seattle! The awful interception in overtime against New York. Sitting in the Bridgewater 99 bar, clutching my beer a little too hard. A sick, sad, resigned feeling. The truth is that there's a lot more of that kind of feeling than the other, come the end of the season.
And now Favre has retired. I was quietly hoping he would as early as two years ago--not because I thought he was "done," but because I wanted him to be able to walk when he's 65....On some level, I'm part of the reason why professional football players end up hobbled, or worse--sacrificing their bodies for (eye-popping) salaries. On some level, I feel responsible, and I didn't want to be responsible for a hobbled Brett Favre.
So I'm sad that he retired, because this year was so much better than expected, the best in years. Yet I'm glad that he's getting out on his terms, rather than in Aikman-like agony.
Everyone should have their favorite team win it all once--everything else is just gravy (Pats fans needed a reminder of this on their not-so-inevitable march to a perfect record and a fourth championship this decade). In '97, that's exactly what Packers fans got. It was gloriously brilliant--the memory of watching the game with my Dad (who was in Wisconsin for the Lombardi years) is something we'll always have.
I never got to see Favre play in person, but I got to enjoy his play on TV for over a dozen years. All those "did-you-see-that?!" moments, like this one, in his last win at Lambeau:
At the risk of getting really sappy, thank you Brett.
Now get in there, Aaron Rodgers!
