We All Know He's Coming Back, Right? Right?

I'm sure many of you have already seen this picture in a forwarded e-mail in the last week or so. Favre still our quarterback in 2035. At that time he'll be around 65 years old, and I guess that's the retirement age for normal people. Although not with this upcoming recession! (Ba da bing)

We've literally been having the Favre retirement talk for five years. I still remember five years ago sitting in the car on the way to the casino in Escanaba, Michigan (I won't get into how much that place owns me until another day), but as we were driving up there was a Packers press conference in which half the group of guys going were convinced it was going to be about Favre retiring. Five years ago! Then there was the game against Seattle at home when we were 4-12, which I attended thinking it would be the last ride for number 4. And who could forget the New Year's Eve game on NBC where we thought a four game win streak would be fitting enough for our hero. Well now, it's 2008, Favre is 38 years old, and you're barely hearing anything about Favre retiring.

Most people expect him to tell the world he's coming back within the next couple of weeks. Frankly, I don't see how he doesn't. And it's not because he doesn't want his last pass to be an interception (because let's face it, it most likely will be). But, as he's been saying all along, he is going to play for as long as he can play. And even though I said before the beginning of this season that "we will never win another Super Bowl with Favre", you gotta admit we don't make it as far as we did without him this season.

When I watched the replay of Super Bowl XXXI the other day, the thing that got me, and the thing that always does, is how young Favre looked back then. I'm nearly that age now, and there's no way I'm going to be doing anything close to winning Super Bowls in my mid-20s. (I still am hanging on to saying I'm in my young 20s). Now, we have grey haired, short cut, trim bearded Favre running the show. He's gone from being the young kid supported by a group of veterans, to the old man leading the way for all the rookies. The receivers he had when he started are now 20 years older than the receivers he had last year.

I've actually called for Favre to retire in the past, that's something I cant shy away from. I wasn't on board with Aaron Rodgers when we drafted him (you all know I'm a Craig Nall fan), but I figured if we were going to field one of the younger teams in the league, we might as well give them Aaron Rodgers so the team can mature together and be good in three years, instead of continue to be held hostage by Brett, as we so affectionately call him. Well, for the most part, I was wrong.


Rodgers is still under contract for two more years, and part of my worry about Favre staying was that we would have spent five years grooming this kid (who I believe could start for us, and at least one-third of the teams in this league, easy), only to have him bolt out the door. And I've heard the rumor that Favre's only mission is to play until Rodgers leaves because he hates him, and I don't believe that one for one second. Well, maybe one second, but that's it.

But Favre can still play (unless its cold, I'm sticking by that one. Snow, yes. Cold, no.), and I believe he'll come back. I want him to come back. And I think most of us in Packerland would go into this year believing it's his final season if he did come back, and we could accept that. And with the taste of an NFC Championship loss on their home turf, I think Favre is exactly what this young team needs to rally them back to the playoffs, and hopefully to the Super Bowl. Expect him to make an announcement soon, and then the only question heading into the 2008 Packers season will be: Why are Aaron Rodgers headphones so god damn huge?