Free Write Friday: Will They Still Love Me In Green Bay?

Adam Jackson steps in and gives us a Free Write for today. One of my favorite people in Eau Claire to talk sports with, and he does a great job with a look at Favre's legacy in Green Bay. Enjoy

A little over a week has passed since the Green Bay Packer’s Super Bowl XLV victory. I feel that enough time has passed from celebrating for a discussion about the reigning Super Bowl champs and that one guy who used to be the Packer’s quarterback. I really want to know how Brett Favre will be viewed from now on among Packers fans and the organization. The reason I bring this up is that the Packers just won the Super Bowl, three seasons removed from the “Favre Saga”, quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers, in Favre’s last season, and just a season removed from a Favre interception in the NFC Championship game and a potential game winning kick by Ryan Longwell from playing in a Super Bowl.

Brett Favre was considered almost godlike among Packers fans for the better half of almost two decades. It seemed like pretty much everyone in the great state of Wisconsin owned a number four jersey. Even when on vacation or out of the state a person would ask you where you are from and reply Wisconsin, the next thing mentioned from that inquiring person would be a statement that included his name. An example would be “Oh, you must be a huge Packers fan. That Brett Favre is a hell of a quarterback.” The man was synonymous with the state and its citizens. Over his tenure as the Pack’s qb, he became Wisconsin’s adopted son.

Then on March 4, 2008, Favre said he was done with football for good and held a tear-filled retirement speech a few days later in the Lambeau Field Atrium. The rest is history. His first unretirement created a rift among Packers fans and “Favre fans.” It even caused people to tell Aaron Rodgers during training camp that they hated him, he sucks, and things of that nature. Favre was quickly traded to the New York Jets ending his time with the Packers organization. The Jets had a collapse at the end of the season that cost them a playoff berth and the Packers missed the playoffs. During that first season A.F. (after Favre) fans at Lambeau still wore Packers and Jets Favre jersey’s. The state even bought broadcasting rights with the Jets so people in Wisconsin could still watch “their favorite quarterback.” Then the second retirement came. Again, this lasted only a few short months. He came back and signed with the hated Minnesota Vikings.

This time though it was becoming quite obvious what Favre’s true motivations and colors were. A me-first and a my way or the highway kind of guy. This turned people against him and revealed to everyone that maybe this guy actually is just a jackass. Signing with the Vikings also didn’t help, but that’s an obvious point to anyone who follows the NFL. Playing for the Jets, we Packer fans could handle, but the Vikings!? It was all sorts of wrong on so many levels. Anyway, his legacy in Green Bay took a major blow during this time. However, Favre somehow managed to pull a “He did WHAT!!??” type of season, which was by some standards his best statistically and brought the Vikes within a game of going to a Super Bowl and ol’ Brett could ride out into the sunset like he always wanted too (finishing with a Super Bowl win was something Favre became obsessed with after losing Super Bowl XXXII to John Elway and the Denver Broncos). His performance for that season kept him in the good graces of some faithful remaining Favre fans/Packers fans, even though he was playing for the fucking VIKINGS! (Which we all knew was a total “F-YOU” directed towards Ted Thompson and some Packers fans interpreted it as an “F-YOU” to them as well). But hey, the Vikings didn’t go to the Super Bowl so life was good, and we could stick it to Vikings fans again about not winning when it matters the most, plus a Favre interception joke was warranted.

This last season was quite different though. Favre took a huge hit in the eyes of Packers fans both figuratively and literally. This season was full of bad news of Favre that Packers fans knew of, but liked to keep in the dark; such as the “sexting” and voicemails left to Jenn Sterger (Favre’s womanizing in the Green Bay-Appleton area was no secret among fans for most of the 1990’s), the accusations from two Jets massage therapists, and the terrible showing that was Favre’s performance this year. He took hard hitting hits and for once was not able to shake them off. During this time, Favre’s successor, Aaron Rodgers (who was still being booed during this summer’s Family Night scrimmage mind you) and the Packers were struggling to make a push to make the playoffs after talks of the Super Bowl earlier in the summer. Well, A-Rodg proved that he is one of the elite quarterbacks in this league, the Packers made the playoffs and WON THE WHOLE FREAKING THNG! Who would ever think that Favre’s last season in the league the Packer’s would win it all and he wasn’t the qb!? This Super Bowl win happened pretty soon after he left and it also puts to rest all of the Favre related questions and comparisons to Rodgers.

So, what is his legacy in Green Bay as of now? Packers President Mark Murphy said after the SB victory that Favre was welcome back and that they will have some things to discuss concerning retiring his number 4 and such. Great public relations move and now the ball is in Favre’s court. This means that he will always have a legacy among the organization, but what about the fans? Will they stand and cheer when his number four is put on the façade of Lambeau next to guys like Reggie White and Bart Starr, or will they turn their backs? It was always a question of when Favre is no longer a Packer, “what will it be like for the next qb and how long will it take to win another Super Bowl?” That question was answered, and rather quickly. Also, A-Rodg has shown through his actions and answers to the media that he is a man of class, something that was revealed to be lacking in Favre’s life this last year. Only time will tell how Brett Favre will now be remembered among Packers fans. He can only hope that it is a positive one, because in a way, he deserves it. I’m positive since February 6, Favre pondered the question “will they still love me in Green Bay?” while breaking up a beaver dam on his Mississippi property. I guess only time will tell.

-Adam 

This One Is For Ted

How many of you hated Ted Thompson?

If I had a dollar for every time I saw a negative Facebook status, or WisSports post about Ted Thompson in the last five years, I would probably have near 2000 dollars or even more who knows.  People were not ready for a  new boss in town who had different ideas than the others before him. I hope everyone who despised him sent Teddy a nice fruit basket telling him you are sorry.  

I liked being a part of a minority who trusted Thompson for the most part. I never once questioned getting rid of Brett Favre in 2008, and always told people 'there is a reason he has a job, and we do not.'  Thompson knew the future was bright for Aaron Rodgers and also started building a team around him.  On offense drafting guys like Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley, Jordy Nelson, and James Jones started the movement. On defense, Thompson started over by signing guys like Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett then drafting A.J. Hawk, Clay Matthews, B.J. Raji, and Nick Collins.  Almost all of the key contributors to the Super Bowl team, Thompson had his hand in, which is not something you always hear about with general managers.

This will be always known as the team that Thompson built, and I hope he took sometime to reflect about all the decisions he made during his five years as General Manager. He never really listened to the fans, or the players because he knew there was a system to make this team successful. I hope people continue to sing his praises for years to come, but when they criticize him now, they will just go 'I know TT won us a Super Bowl BUT...'

Let's face it, he makes unpopular decisions all the time. Thompson does not care if the player is a fan favorite with the Cheesehead nation. If it doesn't make sense to keep him on the team, then he will not be on the team. I worry the first backlash might start if the Packers decide they do not need John Kuhn next year. Obviously, if it makes sense, they will keep Kuhn but I do think there is a potential that Kuhn will not be in a Packer uniform. Thompson doesn't care about making an unpopular decision, and that will always piss people off.  But you know does make those popular fan decisions?  Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones. Do they have a playoff win in the last decade by doing that?  Nope, no they don't.

As always,  in Ted I trust.

-Charlie.
        
    

Unreal.

For the last 12 hours, I have sat on the internet knowing that I need to write something for the blog. I am emotionally exhausted from today, and the weekend.  I had the biggest smile on my face after the Packers victory and just to see how happy every Packer fan was at the bars last night made me happy. No one cared that school starts today, they just cared about their love for their professional football team, the Green Bay Packers.

I got this from SI.com who did a fantastic
job capturing the game. 

I still remember having a conversation with my buddy Bails after the Dolphins lost where the injuries were mounting up higher than anyone thought was possible.  We agreed that if the Pack went 9-7 and missed the playoffs, it's still a good season with all things considered.  Three months later, the Packers are in the Super Bowl. I cannot believe it. Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy, and Dom Capers all deserve street names win or lose in two weeks in Arlington.

If there are still Ted Thompson haters out there, let me know you are, and we can have a debate on this site. Someone who got roasted over the coals by the majority of Packer fans deserves the most credit for the success of this season. Thompson picked up Erik Walden, Sam Shields, James Starks, and Howard Green off the scrap heap. Those players will all be factors in the 2011 Super Bowl.  If you mentioned those guys to me in August, I would probably say well what about Finley? Grant? Barnett?   Thompson made all the right decisions this season and stuck to his guns just like he did in 2008.  There aren't many people in professional sports that I respect more than Thompson.

McCarthy also received a ton of criticism from fans throughout the years for a variety of reasons. Most of the Brett Favre defenders blamed Mac for the 2007 NFC Championship defeat to the New York Giants. People were calling for him to get an offensive coordinator instead of calling his own plays.  Others questioned his time management skills with Bill Simmons of ESPN comparing him to MacGruber. Mac makes adjustments almost every game this season, two weeks ago with Raji in on offense and this week with the naked bootleg. There is always something up Mac's sleeve.

I remember last year when Dom Capers' defense struggled in the final part of last season because injuries hit them late, and made me hate Jarrett Bush for about 7 months (all is forgiven now). Capers just didn't have enough tools in the secondary to have the blitzing defense he wanted. Now with the addition of Shields, the play of Tramon Williams, and Charlie Peprah, Capers is a mad scientist out there.  He just throws everything at you, all the time.

The Packers are Super Bowl bound. I believed it would happen before the season started, but with the injuries plus everything else, I wasn't sure if it would actually happen.  This will be probably be the longest 2 weesk ever, but every day I wake up, I know it's one day closer to the Super Bowl. Go Pack Go.

-Charlie.