brett favre hanging up his cleats

even as a die-hard bears fan i'm sad to see favre go. after 17-years in the NFL (16 years with the green bay packers & 1 year with the atlanta falcons (didn't know he was drafted by atlanta in '91 did ya?)) favre officially announced today (tuesday, march 4th) that he is retiring. for three off seasons now there has been talk of favre retiring. many people, including myself, thought he was crazy for coming back again this past season. then he surprises us all & takes the packers one game shy of the super bowl.

there are not a lot of favre like athletes left in the NFL. the NFL like so many other sporting institutions is being taken over by money & marketing. you've got to have cable now just to watch a monday night game (now on ESPN) or a sunday night game (now on TNT). with the introduction of the NFL network, you'll have to pay even extra to watch your home team on TV.

players bounce from team-to-team every few years chasing the dollar signs. endorsements are out of control too. almost every player dances in the end-zone now. hell i see a guy make a basic tackle & he celebrates like he just won a million dollars (maybe he did - so many contracts are tied to player stats). i miss watching players like walter payton who could score touch down after touch down & be humble about it.

i'll miss watching favre & the class he brought to the game. he's going out on top in my book. he's healthy, he proved that he can still lead a team, & he's leaving on his own terms.