I would be lying to you if I didn’t admit to some schadenfreude watching Brett Favre limping around for a final quarter and then throwing a bush-league interception in his final pass of what will undoubtedly be a Hall of Fame career, leading to an overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Title Game last night.

But he made his point.  He could still play.  He proved it to himself, he proved it to his teammates.

He proved it to us all.

Now, for the sake of everyone who followed his every move through all his great years at the helm of the Green Bay Packers, Brett… please?

RETIRE?  For GOOD this time?

If you had done what your body and your mind were telling you when you threw that fatal interception in the 2007 NFC Championship game, your legend would be intact.

If you had hung up the cleats for good like you said you were going to do in 2007, then again after a lackluster season with the Jets in 2008, they wouldn’t be calling you a waffler.  There wouldn’t be commercials on TV where you play along as some aged goofball who can’t make up his mind.

Your stats speak for themselves.  And your stats this year were your best ever.  There’s is no question about your toughness.  You played an entire quarter yesterday on an ankle that most of us would have needed crutches just to get from a wheelchair to a recliner.

But ENOUGH!  Your decision to play for the Vikings… the VIKINGS… was seen as the ultimate insult to your legion of fans who still talk with pride about your years in Green Bay.  It was like being a John Wayne fan, then seeing him accept the role as a Nazi Death Camp Commander in a movie.  You say that bitterness over how your career in Green Bay ended had nothing to do with it, but Brett… we all recognize bullshit when we smell it.  You presented the Packers with a choice… hang onto the past for one more year, or go with the future.  Seeing how Aaron Rodgers has played this year, knowing we have him for years to come, knowing we would have lost him to to free agency if we had asked him to ride the pine for one more year just to salve your ego… I think it’s clear the Packers made the right choice.

But, you made your point.  You still had a year of football left in you.  And today, as you feel the bruising and battering you took from the Saints and the fact that you ain’t getting any younger… do the right thing.

Contact the Packers organization.  Sign a ceremonial contract, then retire as a Green Bay Packer.

Then we can all start LIKING you again!

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