Letters to the Editor
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Meh on Favre
I agree -- weird choice. His story this year has been entertaining, but mostly to Packers' fans. Ya gotta hand it to him for coming back from a couple of lousy years. But who knows where this will lead him and the Pack? I know that nothing is certain in sports, and far stranger things have happened, but does any serious football fan really believe that Favre and the Pack can really beat Brady and the Pats, who refuse to lose even when they ought to?! Or Manning and the Colts, if it comes to that? Or even Romo and the Boys? Before this year, I felt very sorry for Packers fans, worshipping this QB who, as a couple of LWs have pointed out, strung together some pretty bad seasons as the King of Throwing Interceptions, to the point where he was dubbed "Old Yeller" on the coldhhardfootballfacts.com site. He was always moaning about not having a good enough team around him, always threatening to retire, throwing fellow players under the bus when there was blame to be taken for yet another loss, etc. etc. while the football punditocracy always mooned over him, endlessly citing his "love of the game" the way he "has fun out there". And Packers fans remained so starry-eyed, terrified he would retire even though he kept losing. Blech. It seemed like he needed to save the Packers and their fans from themselves, and retire already. But it's nice for them all that he's having a good season. And nice for football in general, cuz it's been a nice story. But SISOY? Nah. Dumb choice.
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A "Nice" season? Really?
"Around here we look for someone who dominates his or her sport,..."
Check. Favre has done this. It's been more than a "nice" season. Brady arguably has been better, but no one expected this of Favre and his very young team.
"...and sports that Americans watch carry more weight than those we ignore
Check.
"... If that dominant performer also separates from the pack, becomes a hot topic around the water cooler, so much the better."
Check. Again, Brady is arguably better, but again, the Patriots have a great offensive line and guys like Randy Moss. Favre has separated himself from the pack, standing only with two or three others; at 38, this is quite an accomplishment. As for the water cooler, I hear no baseball talk at all around our figurative water cooler. I do hear about Favre, and Adrian Peterson, and some others.
So, what's the problem?
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"Brady arguably has been better"
No, there is no argument at all. Only a nerd would argue that.
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Brady
Is currently seeking the highest season QB rating of all time. All of Favre's years and everybody else's.
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Just say no
Barry Bonds should have just said that he was addicted to steroids and HGH as a result of surgery he underwent in the past. Then the award would have been his.
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What...
No Michael Vick love from SI?
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Not just the game
I think SI was pretty clear that his performance (this year and over his career) was only part of the reason they chose Favre; they spent a lot of time in the article talking about his charitable work and his interactions with teammates and fans.
Sounds like a better example of "sportsmanship" than most athletes out there.
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You know it's the holidays
because it's also Favre Love Fest season. Starting Thanksgiving and lasting to the end of the Packer season in a tearful montage.
I love Favre. I love the annual Favre Love Fest. He will be the mascot of the Festivus party this year.
What happened to any of the rookies that started the same year as Favre?
Mr. Notorious W.E.S.:
The pancakes hold together better if you smear a half stick of butter between them before pouring on the syrup. For the perfect cavity treat, add fruit and powdered sugar. Then go out throw andthe ball around in the middle of the boulevard and don't take a pill or a drink when you get home no matter how many cars hit you.
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No to Favre
He's having a very good year (I lucked into him in my fantasy draft, so I should know). Statistically he hasn't been as dominant as Brady or perhaps even Tony Romo. What else about his story really qualifies him though? Cause he's old? Cause he turned things around? Blah.
Roger Federer would have been a good choice, since he's the most dominant player in his sport. But he probably won't sell as many mags.
My pick, however, would havea been a threesome--Jo Noah, Al Horford, and Cory Brewer. Given the chance to leave school after winning an NCAA championship and make millions, they decided to come back for one more try and try and go back-to-back (a much more rare feat than what Favre is doing this year)...and they did. They're winners and their story actually embodies something good, while being unqiue.
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Brett is great...
but my vote goes to Jeremy N. Foley, AD at the University of Florida.
A close second-place finish: Brandon Phillips. 30/30 talks.
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teaparty
I kinda like you. Let's co-author a cookbook for the nerds.
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no mention of the gazillion dollars he's given to charity?
It's their award, they can give it to whomever they wish, for whatever reasons. It doesn't have to be the person who makes the biggest difference in their sport, in terms of championships, or titles won. Tiger and Federer are remarkable, but you don't see anyone decorating their car in their colors with a "TIGRFAN" license plate. Every fifth car in Wisconsin has a number 4 on it, for chrissakes.
One thing that seems to be overlooked by King and a number of the posters is the fact that he's given piles of money to charity, and not just sick kids, but getting a bunch of GB fans to pack up and do charitable works in Mississippi, for crying out loud. There are plenty of churches that probably can't convince their members to cross the street to look after people like that.
I remember after Hurricane Katrina there was a headline in the Onion about nominate Brett Favre to be the new head of FEMA, on account of the fact that he arranged for 50 trailerloads of supplies, and FEMA couldn't get clean water down there.
For the record, I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool Packer fan, but I respect him as an athlete as a person. The superstars of sport these days haggle for $20+ million dollar contracts without a championship notch on their belts. They run out and buy gold plated Hummers and mansions with their signing bonuses. They are bought and sold by billionaires that whine over having to provide long term health care for athletes they have destroyed and discarded.
So what if he hasn't won a championship lately, and there's a cult of personality about him? Being a "sportsman" is about more than titles.