Brett Favre--Quarterback Without a Team?

What an agonizing time it is in mid-July for Brett Favre, his family, the Green Bay Packers, and the Packer fans. Favre, after a number of seasons suggesting he was considering retirement from the game he loved-and the game who loved him-held a press conference in March '08, saying he had made his decision to leave the game because he felt he could no longer commit 100% to football. Now, in July '08, Favre has re-stated his total commitment to football and wants Green Bay to either play him or release him.

Anyone who knows anything about the quarterback who lead his team to two Super Bowl victories in his career with Green Bay-a career of seventeen seasons, started every game from 1993-2006, and threw for over 3,000 yards and eighteen touchdowns every season-knows that Brett Favre played with talent and with heart. As Gene Hackman's character in the movie "The Replacements" said, "You've gotta have heart."

Favre embraced Green Bay and the team and fans embraced him right back. Stats aside, because they only tell part of the story of Favre and Green Bay, there can be fewer fans in any sport as committed to their quarterback as the Cheeseheads of Green Bay.

What a dilemma for the management of the Packers. General manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy report they've been in ongoing communication with Favre since his decision to leave football. Favre began having second thoughts about his decision and told the team that within a few weeks of his retirement announcement. What Favre didn't say at that time was that he wanted to play for the Packers or that he had re-thought his inability to make a 100% commitment to the game.

As Packer management reports, it wasn't until a July 8 conversation with the beloved quarterback that Favre re-affirmed his total commitment to the game. This was after a June 20^th conversation with the football star where he told Packer management clearly to give him his helmet or give him his release.

In the interim of his March retirement conference and the soon-after waffling on Favre's part, Thompson visited Favre at his Mississippi home, where Favre indicated to Thompson that he was going to stay with his decision to retire.

It's easy to see that Packer management has had no small dilemma on their hands; they state they always wanted Favre back, but they had to go on what the quarterback communicated with them. The fans clearly want Favre back in the team line-up; two brothers are staging a rally July 13 at Lambeau Field to pressure the team to do just that. They've also started a website: www.bringbackbrettfavre.com.

The Packers, at this point, are refusing to release Favre and he can remain with the team as the back-up quarterback to starter, Aaron Rodgers. Favre has never been a backseat sort of guy and the decision to make him second string isn't sitting well with many Packer fans.

In the end, football is a business. Favre put management in a position with his ongoing second-guessing of himself where management had to make a decision for the good of the team. Just because Favre wouldn't begin the season as the starting quarterback doesn't mean he couldn't earn that position back.

If Favre's real commitment is to football and not to his ego, he will come to the realization that management acted in the team's best interest with their decision at this time.