Nonstopdrivel
14 years ago

Angry Packers fans, it's time to let go of Favre 

By Tom Powers

Updated: 09/05/2009 11:39:06 PM CDT

Memo to Packers fans: Brett Favre is no longer your concern. Get over it.

This is getting ridiculous to the point of almost being degrading. All the name-calling and filthy language, all the baiting of Vikings fans, who are quick to swallow the hook. It's like a bunch of 8-year-olds calling each other names. "Oh, yeah? Well, double poo on you!" Except that the lingo would make former coach Jerry Burns blush.

It's normal to yap at fans of other teams. To say, "My guy is better than your guy." To trash talk and to taunt. This is particularly true in football, where it's considered fine form to get drunk and then throw up right after the game, especially if you make it out of the parking lot first. It's all good, not-so-clean fun.

But Favre's leaving clearly has left deep emotional scars on the citizens of Titletown. They are handling it very badly. They've gone over the top and currently lead the league in spewing hate.

Someone sent me a list of Vikings-related messages boards, or whatever you call those places where people get together and squawk online, and suggested I check them out. They're supposed to be for Vikings chat, but they are full of Favre hate, presumably from still-chapped Packer backers. A typical posting thread goes like this:

"Our O-line needs to turn it up a notch."

"Favre is a *^%."

"A.P. is in midseason form."

"Favre ^%$#."

"Did you see that tackle by Winfield?"

"Favre *^% and the Vikings ^%$ and your momma
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^%$#."

Welcome to the Information Age. That stuff eventually degenerates into one big, profane, name-calling mess. At first, I thought it was kind of interesting. But after a while it was just so predictable. However, it is amazing the number of obscenities that can be created by using bad word play to alter "Vikings" and "Packers." If these people had put as much effort into their high school English classes, they might have passed.

There are, of course, thousands of Packers fans in the Twin Cities. I've probably run into or heard from, oh, all of them. Not one can let go of the Favre thing. They are obsessed with his decisions to retire and then not to retire.

Apparently, the Packers brass was, too. Fine, but either you want him or you don't. The problem is that they didn't want him but they didn't want anyone else to have him, either. In my mind, Favre changed his mind only once after leaving the Packers. He admitted he wanted to play right after parting ways with Green Bay and ended up with the Jets.

This summer, he really and truly planned to stay retired until the Vikings talked him out of it. They kept calling and sweetening the pot. Finally, they cajoled him into town. And I don't blame them. Favre is a perfect fit. He knows it, too. It's not that he's playing in Minnesota to spite Green Bay. It's that he's playing in Minnesota because it represents his best chance to win. Strictly business.

But apparently this is what happens when a local icon leaves Green Bay. Being so young at the time, I can't recall if people uttered endless strings of filth when Vince Lombardi came back and coached the Washington Redskins. That was a simpler time, though. There were no such things as Internet connections and idiots with computers.

Besides, we don't see much of this in football because of the labor agreement. Superstars leave town in baseball all the time. Big-time ballplayers leave their teams via free agency and never look back. Granted, Favre was something extra special in Wisconsin. But to a lesser extent, so were Torii Hunter and Johan Santana in Minnesota. One left via free agency and the other was traded before he went to free agency. It hurt, but people got over it. Hunter got a standing ovation when he came back as an opponent. I'm sure Santana would get the same "thanks for your efforts" roar of approval.

Being a football fan means you get to blow off steam, go crazy and have a good time. But do people have to act like, what's the term I want ... disgusting animals? There might be shootings when the teams meet this season. And where does the next generation go from here? After all, every bit of bad language already has been used up.

Tom Powers can be reached at tpowers@pioneerpress.com.


The Pioneer Press is happy to host community conversations about news and life in the Twin Cities. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary.

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UserPostedImage
Porforis
14 years ago
I wonder how many people are going to spam Tom's inbox with derogatory Favre comments...
Zero2Cool
14 years ago
lol STOP TALKING ABOUT BRETT AND TO MAKE YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT BRETT IM GOING TO WRITE AND ARTICLE ON WHY YOU SHOULD STOP TALKING ABOUT BRETT!!
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The_Green_Ninja
14 years ago
It seems he just rants on people complaining in general near the end.
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IronMan
14 years ago
Favre!
dhazer
14 years ago

Apparently, the Packers brass was, too. Fine, but either you want him or you don't. The problem is that they didn't want him but they didn't want anyone else to have him, either. In my mind, Favre changed his mind only once after leaving the Packers. He admitted he wanted to play right after parting ways with Green Bay and ended up with the Jets.

This summer, he really and truly planned to stay retired until the Vikings talked him out of it. They kept calling and sweetening the pot. Finally, they cajoled him into town. And I don't blame them. Favre is a perfect fit. He knows it, too. It's not that he's playing in Minnesota to spite Green Bay. It's that he's playing in Minnesota because it represents his best chance to win. Strictly business.

But apparently this is what happens when a local icon leaves Green Bay. Being so young at the time, I can't recall if people uttered endless strings of filth when Vince Lombardi came back and coached the Washington Redskins. That was a simpler time, though. There were no such things as Internet connections and idiots with computers.

Besides, we don't see much of this in football because of the labor agreement. Superstars leave town in baseball all the time. Big-time ballplayers leave their teams via free agency and never look back. Granted, Favre was something extra special in Wisconsin. But to a lesser extent, so were Torii Hunter and Johan Santana in Minnesota. One left via free agency and the other was traded before he went to free agency. It hurt, but people got over it. Hunter got a standing ovation when he came back as an opponent. I'm sure Santana would get the same "thanks for your efforts" roar of approval.




Thats the part i found very interesting, the Packers didn't want him and they didn't want anyone else to have him (thus the poison pill) that is fact.



and the part about the fans giving a standing ovation for former players because of the effort they gave for their team, thats what i think we should do when Favre comes to Green Bay, but since all this crap happened the Packer fans have lost all of that glamor of being great fans.








but now here is the part where i am going to fit in with the posters on here.

Favre retired from the Packers and it was all his fault and now he is in Minny because he wants to stick it to our team and to us fans.
Just Imagine this for the next 6-9 years. What a ride it will be 🙂 (PS, Zero should charge for this)
UserPostedImage
Rockmolder
14 years ago

Apparently, the Packers brass was, too. Fine, but either you want him or you don't. The problem is that they didn't want him but they didn't want anyone else to have him, either. In my mind, Favre changed his mind only once after leaving the Packers. He admitted he wanted to play right after parting ways with Green Bay and ended up with the Jets.

This summer, he really and truly planned to stay retired until the Vikings talked him out of it. They kept calling and sweetening the pot. Finally, they cajoled him into town. And I don't blame them. Favre is a perfect fit. He knows it, too. It's not that he's playing in Minnesota to spite Green Bay. It's that he's playing in Minnesota because it represents his best chance to win. Strictly business.

But apparently this is what happens when a local icon leaves Green Bay. Being so young at the time, I can't recall if people uttered endless strings of filth when Vince Lombardi came back and coached the Washington Redskins. That was a simpler time, though. There were no such things as Internet connections and idiots with computers.

Besides, we don't see much of this in football because of the labor agreement. Superstars leave town in baseball all the time. Big-time ballplayers leave their teams via free agency and never look back. Granted, Favre was something extra special in Wisconsin. But to a lesser extent, so were Torii Hunter and Johan Santana in Minnesota. One left via free agency and the other was traded before he went to free agency. It hurt, but people got over it. Hunter got a standing ovation when he came back as an opponent. I'm sure Santana would get the same "thanks for your efforts" roar of approval.

"dhazer" wrote:




Thats the part i found very interesting, the Packers didn't want him and they didn't want anyone else to have him (thus the poison pill) that is fact.



and the part about the fans giving a standing ovation for former players because of the effort they gave for their team, thats what i think we should do when Favre comes to Green Bay, but since all this crap happened the Packer fans have lost all of that glamor of being great fans.








but now here is the part where i am going to fit in with the posters on here.

Favre retired from the Packers and it was all his fault and now he is in Minny because he wants to stick it to our team and to us fans.



Do you know what the difference between mentioned players and Favre is? The two points you talked about yourself (and I highlighted).

If he came back in with the Jets, he would've gotten a standing ovation. There was some stuff with the front office, but a lot of fans still had his back. Or where just neutral.
14 years ago

Apparently, the Packers brass was, too. Fine, but either you want him or you don't. The problem is that they didn't want him but they didn't want anyone else to have him, either. In my mind, Favre changed his mind only once after leaving the Packers. He admitted he wanted to play right after parting ways with Green Bay and ended up with the Jets.

This summer, he really and truly planned to stay retired until the Vikings talked him out of it. They kept calling and sweetening the pot. Finally, they cajoled him into town. And I don't blame them. Favre is a perfect fit. He knows it, too. It's not that he's playing in Minnesota to spite Green Bay. It's that he's playing in Minnesota because it represents his best chance to win. Strictly business.

But apparently this is what happens when a local icon leaves Green Bay. Being so young at the time, I can't recall if people uttered endless strings of filth when Vince Lombardi came back and coached the Washington Redskins. That was a simpler time, though. There were no such things as Internet connections and idiots with computers.

Besides, we don't see much of this in football because of the labor agreement. Superstars leave town in baseball all the time. Big-time ballplayers leave their teams via free agency and never look back. Granted, Favre was something extra special in Wisconsin. But to a lesser extent, so were Torii Hunter and Johan Santana in Minnesota. One left via free agency and the other was traded before he went to free agency. It hurt, but people got over it. Hunter got a standing ovation when he came back as an opponent. I'm sure Santana would get the same "thanks for your efforts" roar of approval.

"dhazer" wrote:




Thats the part i found very interesting, the Packers didn't want him and they didn't want anyone else to have him (thus the poison pill) that is fact.



That isn't fact. He was traded to the NY Jets. THAT is fact. The Jets = someone else, so your statement is proven false.

What's funny is that there are a lot of ways to spin reality without outright lying, and a writer from Minneapolis is the one person I've seen you agree with lately. I wonder why that is, that you see the situation from the eyes of a Vikings writer.
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Nonstopdrivel
14 years ago

There are, of course, thousands of Packers fans in the Twin Cities. I've probably run into or heard from, oh, all of them. Not one can let go of the Favre thing. They are obsessed with his decisions to retire and then not to retire.

"Nonstopdrivel" wrote:



What irks me about this opinion piece is not that it's inflammatory (opinion pieces often are) but that it's irrational, which a trained journalist should not be. Leaving aside the obvious hyperbole in the statement quoted above, it's still irrational. He's "run into or heard from" every one of the thousands of Packers fans in his area? "Not one can let go" of the fact Favre no longer plays for the Packers? Really? Even without regard to the fact that he fails utterly to differentiate between Packers fans and Favre fans, his argument completely ignores the obvious fact that only those Packers/Favre fans who actually care about this situation would bother to contact him. People like me, who couldn't care less, would not take the time to write him, and therefore would not be represented. His sample is therefore not only not representative, it's entirely biased.
UserPostedImage
14 years ago
I think the only pleasure Minnesota Vikings fans/writers can get out of this thing is irrational. He is playing GREAT. Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy are saying "uh oh" to each other. Packers fans can't let him go. blah blah blah.

It's really sad, actually. I almost feel sorry for them.
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