Brett the Jet
Okay, so it’s not the most original headline ever.
And, you may be thinking, do we really need another column about the cataclysmic events of the last few months that resulted in Brett Favre starting today as the quarterback of the New York Jets?
Well bare with me because this time, it’s personal.
For, you see, I grew up in Queens, practically under the shadow of Shea Stadium, where the Jets played during my formative years.
I first began paying attention to sports the year of Brett’s birth (that would be 1969).
It was the same year when the Amazin’ Mets came from more than ten games behind the Cubs in August to win the East division, the National League and, most incredibly of all, the World Series 4-1. (Brewer fans take note.)
And then May of 1970 was when the New York Knicks of Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley took the NBA championship by beating the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers.
So my allegiance to those three teams was imprinted on my psyche at a tender age and I have enjoyed the highs and agonized over the lows common to most sports fans.
Since moving to Wisconsin nine years ago I have developed a strong affection for our local teams, especially the Green Bay Packers. How could you not appreciate the incredible history of this storied franchise? Besides, Vince Lombardi was also a New York transplant and Brett Favre himself and I share a birthday (October 10th, as if you didn’t know).
How could any football fan not love and admire Brett Favre? Sure the records are impressive but to simply watch him on the field epitomizes the thrill of competitive sports. The guy just loves to play and seems to give 100 percent every single minute he’s on the field.
I learned early on that most Wisconsin sports fans care little about the teams that play elsewhere. I was still acclimating myself to the ways of the Dairy State when the Mets and the Yankees ended up in the first Subway Series of my life in 2000. Did anyone around here give a damn? Are you kidding me, it was Packer season for Chrissakes!
Honestly, I didn’t want Brett Favre to leave the Packers. I didn’t believe it would happen. Sure the guy has jerked the team and its fans around every offseason this century. Weirdly, I loved how he seemed to be mentally and physically exhausted each year and needed time to recover before shaking off doubt and once again recommitting totally and completely to the gruelling regimen the game requires.
I understand that the team wanted to avoid another offseason without knowing who its quarterback would be. The press conference when Favre announced his retirement was dramatic and painful. The season had been spectacular but had ended in disappointment. Obviously, he was still able to play but, if he had to choose, he couldn’t see himself back, not yet anyway.
In the meantime the team had moved on and made other plans. But surely if Favre left no doubt that he was serious about returning, the team would realize it was foolhardy to let him go. This was unlike any of the other aging superstar stories of the past since he is obviously still at the top of his game and the team’s other choices are so unproven.
I don’t know how this season will unfold but I am looking forward to it. I will root for the Packers and I wish Aaron Rodgers well. But I will also root for the Jets and I am insanely excited every time I see him in that Jets uniform. Who knew that two shades of green could be so different?
Today’s game between the Jets and the Dolphins was tremendously entertaining. Favre threw a couple of his patented “Oh My God, How Did He Do That?” passes and lead the Jets to a 20-14 victory. The fact that Chad Pennington, who has been the Jets starter until he was displaced by the legend, is now leading the Dolphins added some drama to the game. Pennington played well but the win went to his former team.
Obviously, there are more important things in the world then football. But in a world where Milwaukee is heralded as the Nation’s Sexiest City and Brooklyn-born Henry Winkler is welcomed as the city’s greatest celebrity, is it so impossible to dream that the Packers and Jets might meet in this season’s Super Bowl?
Do you believe in miracles?
