Favre was a great player but he is no hero

[tyke1doe]

A person doesn't have to be flawless to be a hero. In fact, that's what makes heroes inspirational to many, the fact that despite flaws, he still rose to greatness and inspired people.

All human heroes are flawed. And guess what? You are too.

So just take a number, join the crowd and get busy being a hero to somebody, and let your critics worry about whether you're worthy of being a "hero."

 

[Doomsday101]

Good post, but...

Most athletes aren't heroes. The media makes them that way. You could say this about hundreds of athletes.

Fans do as well. Roger Staubach was considered a hero by many Cowboy fans. Right or wrong

 

[YosemiteSam]

A man is a man. Why people feel the need to publically bash someone I don't know. Farve was a great QB. That is what he was. Was he a perfect QB? No. Was he a perfect human being? No. Are you? I seriously doubt it.

You want to judge someone. Vote in the next election. Let the man stand on his own merit. He owns tons of NFL records and he has a Superbowl ring. I don't care if he played 35 years in the NFL to get it. If you got the record, damnit you earned it.

You don't consider him a hero, fine. Thats your choice. Heros are in the eye of the beholder. I don't consider any player in the NFL a hero because of what he did on the field. It takes a little bit more than that for me.

On a last note, Farve was still one of the best QBs in the league last year. Considering that fact and the fact that he had a goal to break a few records. How does that make him selfish? He took the Packers to a 13-3 record and got them to the NFC Championship game. How was he being selfish? Did he want the record? Yes, Was him going after it hurting the team as a whole? No. Nothing selfish about it.

 

[Doomsday101]

A man is a man. Why people feel the need to publically bash someone I don't know. Farve was a great QB. That is what he was. Was he a perfect QB? No. Was he a perfect human being? No. Are you? I seriously doubt it.

You want to judge someone. Vote in the next election. Let the man stand on his own merit. He owns tons of NFL records and he has a Superbowl ring. I don't care if he played 35 years in the NFL to get it. If you got the record, damnit you earned it.

You don't consider him a hero, fine. Thats your choice. Heros are in the eye of the beholder. I don't consider any player in the NFL a hero because of what he did on the field. It takes a little bit more than that for me.

On a last note, Farve was still one of the best QBs in the league last year. Considering that fact and the fact that he had a goal to break a few records. How does that make him selfish? He took the Packers to a 13-3 record and got them to the NFC Championship game. How was he being selfish? Did he want the record? Yes, Was him going after it hurting the team as a whole? No. Nothing selfish about it.

I agree. I don't think of players as hero but I respect what Brett has done and even more amazing is how many game he played without missing a start.

 

[iceberg]

One could argue that Favre is the greatest QB of all time. When Favre was at his prime, I thought he was the best ever because he could improvise, run, stand in the pocket and just single-handedly take over games.

What bothers me about Favre is this hero worship he gets. Favre called Randy Moss and asked him to join the Packers. When Moss refused, Favre decided to retire because he knew he couldn't win a championship. The media likes to suggest that Favre played these last 3 years because he has this "child-like" enthusiasm about the game. Give me a break, he kept playing because he wanted to surpass the passing records. Funny that Favre decides to retire now after he has already surpassed the passing records despite his team being more competitive than ever. If it was his love for the game and his "childlike enthusiasm" for the game, he would have kept playing. I also like how he asked former WR Javon Walker to show up in camp when he was holding out. Yes, that sounds like a great teammate to me.

I just think it's funny how Favre was praised for being a competitor and loving the game when he was just being selfish and trying to surpass Marino's records at his teams' expense. Yes, he had several lackluster seasons but he didn't care about his teams' fate because he wanted to play and break Marino's records. When he finally played well and helped his team compete, he decides to quit...gee, I wonder why?

I'm going to remember Favre as a great competitor and one of the best QB's of all time. However, he is not a hero in my opinion. He is not this selfless person who put his team above himself. Sorry, Favre was just another selfish competitor who looked out for himself but was treated like a hero because of his personality.

i suppose it depends on what you need in a hero. there's a reason we've got so many of them around it seems.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

One could argue that Favre is the greatest QB of all time. When Favre was at his prime, I thought he was the best ever because he could improvise, run, stand in the pocket and just single-handedly take over games.

What bothers me about Favre is this hero worship he gets. Favre called Randy Moss and asked him to join the Packers. When Moss refused, Favre decided to retire because he knew he couldn't win a championship. The media likes to suggest that Favre played these last 3 years because he has this "child-like" enthusiasm about the game. Give me a break, he kept playing because he wanted to surpass the passing records. Funny that Favre decides to retire now after he has already surpassed the passing records despite his team being more competitive than ever. If it was his love for the game and his "childlike enthusiasm" for the game, he would have kept playing. I also like how he asked former WR Javon Walker to show up in camp when he was holding out. Yes, that sounds like a great teammate to me.

I just think it's funny how Favre was praised for being a competitor and loving the game when he was just being selfish and trying to surpass Marino's records at his teams' expense. Yes, he had several lackluster seasons but he didn't care about his teams' fate because he wanted to play and break Marino's records. When he finally played well and helped his team compete, he decides to quit...gee, I wonder why?

I'm going to remember Favre as a great competitor and one of the best QB's of all time. However, he is not a hero in my opinion. He is not this selfless person who put his team above himself. Sorry, Favre was just another selfish competitor who looked out for himself but was treated like a hero because of his personality.

Oh yeah. What a terrible dude. How DARE he want to accomplish those individual records.

I guess Emmitt Smith was probably a selfish dude who was holding those really crappy Cowboys teams back by continuing to play so he could break Walters record.

How dare them!

Pfft.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Clarification, he's not a hero to you. Who are you to say he's can't be a hero to a kid in Wisconsin or Mississippi? For that matter who are you to say he can't be a hero to a kid in Minnesota, Illinois, or Michigan, the homes of his biggest rivals? I think it's entirely possible that his personality is what makes him a hero to some of the people who do see him as a hero. Sort of the same way I see Roger Staubach as a hero. A hero is anyone whom you look up to, who inspires you. I see no reason why anyone should say Favre is not a hero, and think that because they say so, that is that. Even if I didn't put a premium on competitiveness I could see why Favre could be someone's hero.

Exactly. Nicely done.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Yeah, okay what's your point?

If I was 12 (and a Packer fan) I would be crushed he retired...He probably would have be my hero. And frankly that's what all sports hero's are or should be. Hero's in the hearts and minds of kids. None of what you said would make a hill of beans difference to me.

Now, being a 41 year old man, well, it still doesn't mean squat. Sports is a business and how, when and why he chose now to retire is up to him alone. You think he was selfish, I just enjoyed watching him play. I'm a football fan and he was a great football player.

And by the way, take the money out of the game and lets see who would really play for free.

It's kinda funny you mention the 12 year old kid angle. My son is only 6. This last football season was the first one that he actually heavily got into (As much as a 6 year old can and can understand anyway) and watched games with me almost every sunday. He LOVES the Packers. They're his favorite team and he just thought Brett was the be all end all of QBs.

He actually cried yesturday afternoon when he saw the news report that Favre was retiring. It might seem silly to the adults here but I thought it was cool and I couldn't help but feel like I shared a pretty special moment with my little boy yesturday during that.

Brett was my sons football hero.

 

[TheCount]

i suppose it depends on what you need in a hero. there's a reason we've got so many of them around it seems.

I was raised not to look at sports figures as heroes. There are too many true heroes in the world to get caught up in idolizing someone for what they do on a court or field.

While I certainly consider Favre a sports legend, I'd never call him or any athlete a hero.

 

[superpunk]

On a last note, Farve was still one of the best QBs in the league last year. Considering that fact and the fact that he had a goal to break a few records. How does that make him selfish? He took the Packers to a 13-3 record and got them to the NFC Championship game. How was he being selfish? Did he want the record? Yes, Was him going after it hurting the team as a whole? No. Nothing selfish about it.

When you factor in how his annual no-decision must have affected the Packers, and how unbelievably terrible he was in the two seasons preceding this one, I think you can pretty easily say that he was at least being a little selfish hanging on that long, with the team not having the balls to part ways with him.

 

[YosemiteSam]

When you factor in how his annual no-decision must have affected the Packers, and how unbelievably terrible he was in the two seasons preceding this one, I think you can pretty easily say that he was at least being a little selfish hanging on that long, with the team not having the balls to part ways with him.

I disagree to a point. Football is a team game and the talent level of the Packers wasn't quite what it is today.

Even Joe Montana, John Elway, Johnny Unitas, etc wouldn't have performed very well on the '89 Cowboys.

Farve played at almost the same level as Romo did last year. An over-the-hill QB that has no business in the game wouldn't have done that. Lets not blanket the blame of the prior bad years in Green Bay as Farve's fault.

 

[superpunk]

I disagree to a point. Football is a team game and the talent level of the Packers wasn't quite what it is today.

Even Joe Montana, John Elway, Johnny Unitas, etc wouldn't have performed very well on the '89 Cowboys.

Farve played at almost the same level as Romo did last year. An over-the-hill QB that has no business in the game wouldn't have done that. Lets not blanket the blame of the prior bad years in Green Bay as Farve's fault.

Why would we? His mid-6 ypa and 47 interceptions couldn't have had much to do with the atrocity in Green Bay for those two years.

He hung on, even when he was awful, in a pretty transparent attempt to reach certain records. Which is his choice, and right. But that doesn't make it less selfish.

 

[iceberg]

I was raised not to look at sports figures as heroes. There are too many true heroes in the world to get caught up in idolizing someone for what they do on a court or field.

While I certainly consider Favre a sports legend, I'd never call him or any athlete a hero.

great. but that's you. what if someone *was* raised on sports and athletics and chose that road? it's not just favre playing a game that should disqualify him from being a "hero" but he's also faced adversity in his chosen profession, self-induced or not *and* pulled himself out and kept a very illustrious career alive and well.

if your goal is to play in the NFL, a great hero.
if your goal is to be the first man on mars, then maybe you can find others.

but a hero is an inspiration to get us through our own lives for our own reasons. "real" is just a way for people to say "my hero is better than your hero" and get caught up into can hulk beat up superman convos or would the silver surfer wipe them both out?

SHA-ZAM!

like i said, a lot of 'em out there for a reason.

 

[TheCount]

great. but that's you. what if someone *was* raised on sports and athletics and chose that road? it's not just favre playing a game that should disqualify him from being a "hero" but he's also faced adversity in his chosen profession, self-induced or not *and* pulled himself out and kept a very illustrious career alive and well.

if your goal is to play in the NFL, a great hero.
if your goal is to be the first man on mars, then maybe you can find others.

but a hero is an inspiration to get us through our own lives for our own reasons. "real" is just a way for people to say "my hero is better than your hero" and get caught up into can hulk beat up superman convos or would the silver surfer wipe them both out?

SHA-ZAM!

like i said, a lot of 'em out there for a reason.

I idolized a lot of basketball players, especially Jordan, like everyone else. I spent hours on a court trying to emulate him, and a couple of other guys growing up.

But even then, I would have considered my father more of a hero than Michael. Which was lucky for me so when things came out about his personal life, I wasn't heart broken. Same thing with Kobe and Jason Kidd, two other players I loved as a kid. (Still like all three, actually)

It's not a matter of saying my hero is better. I'm trying to explain why some people don't see Favre as a hero to those that find it incredulous that someone would suggest he's not.

 

[iceberg]

I idolized a lot of basketball players, especially Jordan, like everyone else. I spent hours on a court trying to emulate him, and a couple of other guys growing up.

But even then, I would have considered my father more of a hero than Michael. Which was lucky for me so when things came out about his personal life, I wasn't heart broken. Same thing with Kobe and Jason Kidd, two other players I loved as a kid. (Still like all three, actually)

It's not a matter of saying my hero is better. I'm trying to explain why some people don't see Favre as a hero to those that find it incredulous that someone would suggest he's not.

gotcha. i would agree that in time (sometimes sooner than others) we gravitate to better / more realistic heros but that usually takes experience. unfortunately that experience is often wrapped up in a young persons dis-illusionment of the system and the person they put on that pedastal who turned out in the end to be a person.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Dennis Byrd is one of my heros. That is all.

 

[FloridaRob]

...He hung on, even when he was awful, in a pretty transparent attempt to reach certain records. Which is his choice, and right. But that doesn't make it less selfish.

that is just your opinion and you are surely in the minority even as transparent as you think that it is. I guess the fact that he loved the game more than anything and was so competive that he just wanted to play is something that escapes you. The only record that meant anything to FAvre was the consecutive game streak and he passed that about 10 yrs ago. I know it is hard to believe ballplayers when they say something but there is one thing that FAvre has never been questioned on and that is his honesty. He has been honest to the media almost to a fault and time and time again, he has said the passing records are not what drives him, winning, the love of the game and competing is. But for the FAvre bashers they will always spin something that wasn't. It helps their argument no matter how inaccurate it is. And to do that you have to call FAvre a liar and a fake, two adjectives that have NEVER been assigned to him, except by those that really don't like him.

 

[superpunk]

that is just your opinion and you are surely in the minority even as transparent as you think that it is. I guess the fact that he loved the game more than anything and was so competive that he just wanted to play is something that escapes you. The only record that meant anything to FAvre was the consecutive game streak and he passed that about 10 yrs ago. I know it is hard to believe ballplayers when they say something but there is one thing that FAvre has never been questioned on and that is his honesty. He has been honest to the media almost to a fault and time and time again, he has said the passing records are not what drives him, winning, the love of the game and competing is. But for the FAvre bashers they will always spin something that wasn't. It helps their argument no matter how inaccurate it is. And to do that you have to call FAvre a liar and a fake, two adjectives that have NEVER been assigned to him, except by those that really don't like him.

You can be as naive as you want to be.

Just don't expect the rest of the world to believe it.

 

[FloridaRob]

You can be as naive as you want to be.

Just don't expect the rest of the world to believe it.

I don't need the rest of the world to believe. ONly you and a few others believe what you wrote. he played for the love of the game. He played for the competition. Nobody but the people that don't like him spin it the way you see it. Just because you believe it does not make it true. If it was as transparent as you said, then many in the media would have picked up on it. Still waiting to see it.

So you must believe that FAvre is a liar and a fake. Is that your belief?

 

[superpunk]

I don't need the rest of the world to believe. ONly you and a few others believe what you wrote. he played for the love of the game. He played for the competition. Nobody but the people that don't like him spin it the way you see it. Just because you believe it does not make it true. If it was as transparent as you said, then many in the media would have picked up on it. Still waiting to see it.

So you must believe that FAvre is a liar and a fake. Is that your belief?

Please. Favre could say he played for the love of Xenu, and the media would think it was great. They've been bowing to Favre for years.

He came back year after year for the records. The love of the game would have motivated him to come back on a playoff team this season, when he trudged his way through his and the Packers suckiness for 2 years and 47 interceptions.

Be as naive as you want to be. You know why he came back over and over, and you know why he retired. He got the records he was after. It was for selfish reasons. That's not a knock on him, he's earned the right to be as selfish as he wants to be, and the Packers certainly never had the stones to stand up to him, since he was bigger than the team. I don't think it's a knock against him, nor do I see the need to saint him with "he just kept playing for love of the game, the records didn't matter". Stow it. That's nonsense, and you know it, whether your Brett Favre man love will allow you to admit it or not.