Yes, Brett Favre Is Finished -- and No One Was Better

On the first day of the rest of his life -- and I dare say, the rest of his life -- Brett Favre got on his bulldozer and did some Mississippi-style man things. "I pushed up some downed trees and stuff,'' he said Wednesday night, sounding quite content about it. "I was doing a little bit of yardwork, too. I had my phone on me, but I didn't talk, even though it was non-stop buzzing all day.''

And what might he do today, on the second day of the rest of his life? "Well, deer season is about to wrap up,'' he said. "I'll put all my energy into that.''

At last, I am convinced, the longest-running annual vigil in professional sports has ended. The process has been as maddening as a three-foot pothole, the way Favre hijacked a nation's attention span and dragged us through his emotional taffy pulls the last few offseasons. Had he taken one more plunge into limboville and made the New York Jets and the football world wait many more days, weeks and months, he would have placed a permanent stain on his legacy. Know how ridiculous the mind game was becoming? Flip-flopping in this country was known as "pulling a Favre.'' The most fun, entertaining football player of our generation was turning into an insufferable diva.

But the tone of his voice on a conference call, relaxed and polite, tells me this retirement isn't phony like the others. This is it, America, the definitive goodbye, and it comes with the good timing and grace we've always wanted from the legends. Maybe he waited a year too long, given his struggles with an injured right shoulder that led to his interception-filled demise and the Jets' ugly collapse the final five weeks. But understand that the great ones must leave on their own terms -- not possible if Favre had retired after being pushed out of Green Bay by his nemesis, general manager Ted Thompson. Michael Jordan retired from basketball prematurely because he didn't hear the right answers from the Chicago Bulls about his own front-office nemesis, Jerry Krause.

Favre was too proud and played too massive a role in Packers history to quit simply because management wanted it. So he accepted a trade to the Jets, played reasonably well for two-thirds of a season, then flashed the ghastly images of a broken-down, 39-year-old quarterback who needed to retire.

Know why I think he's finally resigned to a new life, why he won't change his mind as so many people think in two or three months? Because Favre was asked, point-blank, if he'll regret leaving after a 22-interception season in which: (a) he threw two touchdown passes and nine picks during a concluding 1-4 freefall; and (b) he incurred the wrath of certain Jets leaders, including Thomas Jones and Kerry Rhodes, who questioned whether he was a solid team player. If he was going to drop his guard and have second thoughts, a competitive cuss like Favre would do so when confronting failure. I loved his answer.

"Honestly, I think my career in general will overshadow anything negative,'' he said. "It's probably human nature to think about what could have been or what I could have done better, but honestly, I believe I did everything I thought I could mentally and physically. With that, I'm satisfied. I'm proud of everything I have done in my career, and I'll leave it at that. You name it in professional football, I've done it. Very few people can say that. I've had more honors than I ever deserved, and I've made my mistakes, too.

"But I wouldn't trade my career for anything.''

Perfect.



Unlike last year, when he was plotting how to trump Thompson, Favre now is grasping the entirety of his career. And he's right: He arguably has produced the greatest career of any football player ever, departing as the all-time ironman -- 269 consecutive starts -- and the owner of virtually every meaningful NFL passing record. He won a Super Bowl in Green Bay back when you weren't supposed to win in the league's smallest market. We watched him enter the sport as reckless and immature, grow up through battles with Vicodin and alcohol. And he became a sympathetic graybeard while dealing with tragedy, delivering a memorable Monday night performance after his father died of a heart attack and persevering the last several years while his wife, Deanna, fought breast cancer. We dearly want to remember Brett Favre for his joy, his guts and his arm, the way he'd throw a 60-yard bomb and then sprint madly so he could leap in the arms of a lineman.

By retiring now, those images remain most vivid.

What convinced him was the condition of his golden arm, which was weakened by a torn biceps muscle that required a cortisone shot after a Week 14 loss in San Francisco. "I started noticing that more passes were wobbly. I started altering my throwing motion, but on almost every throw, I felt (pain),'' Favre said. "It was a matter of time, I guess, before something broke down in my career, and for a quarterback, the most important thing is your throwing shoulder.

"I just felt it was time. To me, it was a wakeup call more than anything. If I felt better physically, we might not be having this conversation. But that was the writing on the wall for me.''

The questions persisted anyway on the conference call. And why not, after all his mood swings and mind changes of the past. Might you reconsider when the itch returns before training camp? "No,'' he said, pausing. "No. No, I wouldn't. It obviously will be tempting. I think the team will fare well and do better than we did this year. But no, it's nothing I will second-guess, no.''

Are you sure, Brett?

"I have no reason to wonder why you would be so skeptical,'' he shot back, laughing lightly. "Because I have family and friends who are like, 'All right, Brett. Is this the real deal?' To me, it is. It is. Believe me, it has been a wonderful career. I couldn't ask for anything more. It was worth a shot for me to go to New York. I wish I could've played better down the stretch. I didn't. It's time to leave.

"The former players I've talked to, they say you really never let the game go. You just move on. I'm not gonna tell you I'll be able to flick it on and off. I'm once a football player, always a football player. Unlike other professions, you can't do it forever. But I've done it a long time. And emotionally, I'm OK with it now. I really felt it was time. The circumstances last year were a lot different.''

This time, he's thinking with a clear head, not a bruised ego. When the Packers chose to divorce Favre and go with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, it sparked an obvious competition: Which team and quarterback would fare better in 2008? In the end, neither the Packers nor Jets made the playoffs, and considering how Favre eroded physically, Thompson was better off allowing Rodgers to gain a year of starting experience. That said, Packers fans still regard Favre with the highest of reverence and want to know when he'll be honored by the team. They should know it might take a while for his wounds to heal, even though the Packers issued a statement congratulating Favre "on a remarkable career" and assuring that they "remain committed to retiring his number at an appropriate time.'' If they are smart people in Green Bay, that day will be soon, complete with apologies and free cheese for life.

"For the teammates I played with in Green Bay and the fans, nothing has changed from Day One. It's just a shame what has unfolded throughout this whole thing,'' Favre said. "I don't have an answer for (when he might like to be honored). Maybe five years. Maybe the first game (next season). I haven't even thought about it. (Thompson) had his reasonings, and I had mine. Who's to say who's right or wrong? He has a plan. I'm not mad at him for that. Other people may be. It's a touchy situation. I know my stay in Green Bay was unbelievable, and nothing can take that away, not one person. It is what it is, unfortunately. At some point, it will be dealt with.''

Until then, we'll savor the man who never stopped playing like a little boy. The Jets, contrary to rumors, wanted him back next season; for one reason, they have no immediate answer at quarterback, with Kellen Clemens not necessarily ready for the job. Maybe they'll sign Jeff Garcia or Byron Leftwich, but when Favre was healthy earlier last season, neither was his match. "It would've been fantastic to be coaching Brett," said Rex Ryan, the new head coach. "It's a sad day to see him leave, to see him retiring."

"With Brett, there was always the possibility that he wouldn't play the second year," Jets owner Woody Johnson said. "We were hoping to get one good year out of Brett Favre. We picked him based on, in our opinion, his giving us the best chance to win last season. We were disappointed not to have made the Super Bowl, but we did some very good things with Brett. He is a Hall of Fame player and, better, a Hall of Fame person.''

Favre denied reports that he wanted the Jets to release him so he could sign with the Minnesota Vikings, who showed interest last season. The Vikings are the biggest rivals of the Packers, which would create an entirely new and juicy story line. But Favre insists there's no chance of another flip-flop. "I'm human, just like everyone else. Maybe part of me was fueled to keep playing for maybe the wrong reasons,'' he said. "I went to New York with every intention of leading the team to victory, but I think I got my answer as the season progressed.

"OK, I can't throw the ball like I once threw it. That's what my body was telling me.''

Finally, he's listening. And finally, I believe he's retiring to a life of bulldozing and hunting, firmly entrenched among the most memorable performers in sports history. To the very end, even when he drove us crazy, No. 4 kept it entertaining. Replacing him as a man-crush won't be easy.