Brett Favre , possibly one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, may be getting his number retired by the Packers.
The Viking Age reports that Lori Nickel, who covers Packers and other sports for Milwaukee Sentinel and JSOnline.com, posted this tweet:
“Mark Murphy siad #packers want to retire Favre’s number in a year or two when it is meaningful to 4.”
Brett Favre, who began his career with the Packers in 1992, played 16 seasons for Green Bay as a Packer. During which, Favre became the first NFL player to win three consecutive AP MVP awards, helped the Packers appear in two Super Bowls (winning Super Bowl XXXI), and started in every Green Bay game up to his separation from the team in 2008.
Favre’s split from the team left a bit of a sour taste in the mouths of many fans as he later went on to sign on with the New York Jets and finally with the Minnesota Vikings before retiring from the game in 2011.
Some feel that the retirement of Favre’s number is deserving, but that it may require some time. Riley Schmidt, writer for RantSports writes:
“As a long time fan of the franchise (and part owner), I am very wary about this move happening in the next year or two. The wound is still too fresh. I, like many other fans, felt betrayed by Favre going to the Vikings. It felt like Favre was trying to get back at the team and the fans. This is what led to the widespread angry that fans felt in 2010.”
He goes on to say:
“I would probably be okay with this move in like five years or so. Let the wound heal a little more. We can not forget how great Brett Favre was. He basically rescued the team from obscurity, he won three MVPs, and he also won a Super Bowl. He was a great player, but his exit was not what we all had in mind.”
Dan Zinski of The Viking Age had this to say of those Packer fans who still have that feeling of betrayal toward the player:
“Obviously there are a lot of Packer fans who for whatever reason refuse to let the whole Favre thing go, even though the organization was fully vindicated by Aaron Rodgers’ Super Bowl win. If Packer fans were big people they would now forgive Favre for whatever they think he did and allow him to have his moment in the sun.”
Would you say Brett Favre’s number should be retired by the Packers?