Packer fans in mourning

Good for Brett! I hope he enjoys many years of grace and peace with his wife Deanna. He will have a wonderful career to look back upon.

Aaron Rogers will do just fine. My theory on Brett coming back last year: He wanted to have a hand in training up a young Packers team before turning it over to the talented but inexperienced Rogers. The unlikely success of the team last season was a big plus, but not part of The Plan. He started out to do The Right Thing; ended up almost in overtime, a SuperBowl game on the line. Pretty sweet.

We sure will miss him.

We loved Favre so much because he loved playing so much. For me, the iconic image of Favre is not him throwing the ball or scrambling away from defenders. It is him racing downfield after a touchdown, arms in the air with both hands making a #1 sign, that joyful grin on his face. He had fun, and he made it fun to be a Packer fan.

Last night’s Favre television special ended with these words from a Green Day song: “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.”

(Sniff.)

I will admit, that I closed my office door and had a bit of a cry. Brett came of the bench in week for of the 1992 season and never sat back down. The team and its general have been a huge part of my life. I grew up North of Green Bay – Packer football is in my blood, part of my core. I have been on the season ticket waiting list since I was 12 years old. 20 years later there are still 5440 people between me and season tickets. I paid $200 for non-dividend, non-income generating stock in the team. I bought a chunk of the frozen tundra of Lambeau field. Brett will be missed, and he will be remembered fondly. I wish him well.