But Favre wasn't like that. Can you think of a person who could have enjoyed being Brett Favre any more than Brett Favre has? It became a cliché over the years to say that Favre acted like a big kid out there on the field, but that's because he did, for so long. What other quarterback ever celebrated a touchdown by throwing a snowball or lifting his receiver onto his shoulders and carrying him around like a toddler?
It surely helped that he played in Green Bay, that NFL Mayberry where the populace owns the team and local kids still walk the players over to the practice field. But while Favre began his career with a year of carousing as a backup in Atlanta, you get the idea that he'd have been Brett Favre anywhere. Had he gone to New York, he wouldn't have become Broadway Brett. He'd have been McCloud.
He wasn't above criticism. He was knocked for being a diva over each of the last few springs and summers as he wrung his hands over the decision to come back or retire. But he always came back, and he was seemingly rejuvenated in the last two years as the Packers built a solid, defense-first team around him.
On the field he sometimes drew pans for his gunslinger ways. He never saw an opening -- or a triple team -- he didn't think he could fit a pass through, and while that thinking sometimes led to his most spectacular plays, it also sometimes made him an interception machine. But that mentality was also a key element in his charm and popularity. How could you not love his "It's only a game, why not just fling it downfield?" attitude?
Even more impressive was the way he changed his game toward the end, curbing the recklessness that had almost gotten out of hand as the Packers hit a down cycle and becoming, on the improving team, a ball-control quarterback. A good one. One who led the Packers to within -- well, to within one Favre interception of the Super Bowl last season.
The late-career bounce-back to effectiveness, the strong outlook for the Packers, and Favre's habit of playing Hamlet as the days got warmer made his sudden, early announcement Tuesday surprising and not entirely believable.
As various typists and chatterers noted in the hours after the story broke Tuesday, Favre didn't call a press conference. He just called his coach and let word leak out. Significant? He left a for-publication voice message for ESPN's Chris Mortensen in which he said he was fine physically but "I'm just tired mentally. I'm just tired."
But all NFL players are mentally tired right after the season. Will he feel different as training camp approaches? And was it a coincidence that Favre's sudden announcement came a day after the New England Patriots re-signed Randy Moss, whom Favre has been trying to get the Packers to sign for two years? Is he just frustrated?
It looked and sounded like wishful thinking. Those of us writing and talking about the machine-like NFL need guys like Brett Favre, guys with a little personality, a little sand. Guys who play better when it's snowing, who look like they're having fun out there. He hasn't been the only one of those, only the greatest of them.
Maybe he'll change his mind but I think the announcement coming so early signals decisiveness, at long last. That's the more Favre-like trait than the indecision of the last few offseasons, isn't it? Make a decision and live with it. How better to describe Favre's style, which led to bullet-like touchdowns and crazy scramble and shovel-pass plays, and also to slap-your-forehead picks. But almost always it led to the highlight reel.
He leaves with a longer highlight reel than just about anyone and just about every significant passing record, including, of course, interceptions. As he mentioned to Mortensen, there's not a whole lot more for him to do.
He already became Brett Favre. How does a guy top that?
Previous column: NBA do-over
- - - - - - - - - - - -
About the writer
King Kaufman is a senior writer for Salon. You can e-mail him at king at salon dot com or visit his Facebook page.
Story finder (3 ways to search Salon)
Salon Directory (browse by topic)