Brett Favre: The Worst Drama On Television

It's a shame when someone just doesn't know when to hang 'em up.

No, I'm not referring to the John Daly's choice of wardrobe for tee time. I'm talking about Brett Favre. The all-time leader in touchdown passes is in the news again, allegedly deliberating a second return to the NFL. Only this time, he would be a Minnesota Viking. Boy, things with No. 4 have certainly gotten way too drama-laden.

With all the logistics aside, it's really irrelevant if he decides to play again or not. Of course, he would be a big difference maker for the quarterback-challenger Vikings. However, Favre has nothing left to prove. His legacy is cemented as arguably the most prolific passer in NFL history. His record 464 touchdown passes, not to mention his 310 interceptions, are his marks on the sport. Why would he put his legacy in jeopardy and stay too long?

I had written a column for a newspaper in praising Favre for making a comeback. Not many people get to play the great sport of professional football, and I'm sure letting go of the game was not easy. Heck, letting go of Babe Ruth baseball wasn't easy for me in my teenage years, but that's another story. Favre had a decent year with the New York Jets, almost leading them back to the playoffs for the first time in three years with an 9-7 record. Statistically, it was the same thing, as he threw 22 TDs to his team, and 22 passes to the other team. Not bad, and overall it wasn't bad, because all Favre showed us was that he could still do it, and he simply was a man who made a mistake in retiring too early. There's nothing wrong with that.

But here's where the tables turn. If Favre wants to still play despite his biceps injury, then he should still stay with the Jets, and come back ready for next season. All this indecision is getting to be frustrating to onlooking fans, not to mention a haven of gold for the media outlets. With all the coverage Favre has received thus far in his courtship with the Minnesota Vikings (as well as the similar coverage before his trade to the Jets), fans are becoming sick and tired of seeing Favre for all the wrong reasons.

As negative as it may seem, when I hear the name Brett Favre, I no longer think of him as "The greatest quarterback of all-time." I think of Brett Favre as a prima donna, and a man who craves attention like Regina George from Mean Girls (yes, I saw Mean Girls, and it was actually pretty good). And despite the moniker of a "private family man" that Favre has attained, he sure seems to love being on television due to all this hoopla and speculation.

Now, don't get me wrong. The coverage Favre has received is well-deserved. He will be a Hall-of-Famer some day, and his career resume is one for which we must stand up and take note of. Along with those stats mentioned above, he also has thrown 5,720 completions for 65,127 yards and a 85.4 quarterback rating. He has 3 MVP awards, and has a Super Bowl ring. He is a folk hero in Green Bay (or was before his flirtation with the arch rival Vikes). However, the media coverage is like a terrible reality show.

They have updated when the Vikings received Favre's shoulder X-rays, and they also reported when Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress supposedly travelled down to Mississippi to meet with Favre. They also reported when there was a deadline set for whether Favre would report to the team's mini-camp, (which to me was a huge relief when I thought this whole ordeal would end), only to find out this was not true according to Childress. Is any of this information have anything remotely to do with football? In the grand scheme of things, the answer is simply "no."

The bottom line is this: If Favre is or isn't coming back, why doesn't he just come out and say so? The reason is simply that he loves the attention paid to him. Maybe he isn't as physically sharp as he used to be, maybe he isn't as mentally sharp as he used to be, and maybe he simply isn't as good as he used to be. But Brett Favre does not want to let go. He craves that spotlight so much, and he does not want to let go of what he has worked so hard for. With his decision to not come out once publicly in discussing his future, he not only keeps the focus on him until he has to make a decision, and he also keeps his reputation intact as a private person.

Brett, please let this be your last comeback story. Quite frankly, I don't know how many summers I can take with "As Brett Favre Turns" as the primary story on my television. You still have what it takes to make it in the NFL, and if you want to come back, just do it already. But the next time you retire, make sure it's your last time, so people don't truly regard you as the man who didn't know when to hang 'em up.