Why?
He's no doubt a bit of an attention lover (to put it mildly), and his aw-shucks personality definitely has more than a little phoniness to it. He is, without question, one of the most egocentric men on the planet, never hesitant to talk about how impressed he is with himself for being so gosh-darn tough. Oh yeah, and there's that little cell phone picture/voicemail fiasco with Jenn Sterger. That stuff happened.
Because of all that, and his annual "Will-I-or-won't-I" campaign, he's gone from one of the most revered athletes in the country to someone who everyone is simply sick of seeing.
Search Twitter for people's comments about rumors of yet another potential Favre comeback, and the sentiments are pretty much unanimous. Common responses include, "No!!!! NNNNOOOOO!!!" and "(bangs head against wall)" and "Dear God please shoot me now!"
Relax, people. It's just a gunslinger. He won't bite. He might text, but he definitely won't bite.
I, for one, am hoping for a Favre comeback, simply to watch it play out. He'd almost certainly be on a new team — his third in four seasons after spending 16 years with the Packers — and he'd just as certainly disrupt the team's chemistry and throw a wrench into whatever quarterback situation the coach has in mind. He'd also probably be pretty bad at football, based on his borderline-abysmal 2010 campaign. It was kind of sad to see him get knocked around so badly last year with Minnesota, but at the same time, it was kind of funny.
Here was a guy who asked us for years to please, please, please look at him, and we obliged. He got what he wanted, but he probably wished we weren't watching him throw the interception at the end of the NFC Championship Game against the Saints that cost the Vikings a trip to the Super Bowl. Likewise with the pick-six against the Jets on Monday Night Football last year. He probably wasn't too happy that his games against the Bears and Packers were televised, either, as he threw one touchdown and four interceptions in consecutive weeks in November against the division rivals, both of which were blowout losses for the Vikings.
If you're one of the millions who can't stand Favre, you can't lie and say you weren't entertained. You were. It was Brett Favre! You know you were watching.
But most of all, aside from all that, there's nothing better than sitting back in late summer and watching everyone on TV, in print and on Twitter lose their minds when Favre makes another comeback.
First, there are the rumors, which bring about the "You've got to be kidding me!" comments.
Then, there's a statement from Favre, or Favre's agent, which makes people scream, "Shut up, Brett!"
Then, boom, Brett Favre is back. People become outraged.
"He skipped training camp!"
"He lied to us!"
"Wrangler jeans aren't even all that comfortable!"
"[Curse word] [curse word] [curse word]!"
It's great theater, and it's become an annual source of entertainment for me. It's truly amazing to see how one man can make so many people become incredibly upset, simply by his own decision to step on a field and get crushed by 240-pound linebackers trying to knock his head off. Hey, you want to go out there and do that in your 40s? Knock yourself out. It won't affect me one bit.
It's really puzzling why so many people get so upset at any mention of the word "Favre." Yes, there are all those aforementioned reasons to not love the guy, but it often goes beyond that with Favre — it often goes to hatred.
The image of his face can make people shudder. His voice can raise blood pressure from coast to coast. The words "Brett Favre" and "comeback," when used together in a headline, gets more attention than most major news stories on events that have actually happened.
You can choose to get upset, or you can choose to be entertained.
So bring it on, Brett. Join the Eagles to be Michael Vick's backup. Better yet, join the Packers to be Aaron Rodgers' backup (or the backup to Rodgers' backup). Sign with anyone, really, and I'll watch. We'll all pay attention to you some more. Sure, most of that will come in the form of swears and anger, but you'll still be at the forefront of football fans' minds. Isn't that really all you want?
