Dear Tell All: It makes me sick to have to live through another year of Brett Favre with the Minnesota Vikings. Can't this 40-year-old waffler show a little class and retire already?
GoPack
Dear GoPack: Why must Wisconsin turn ugly every time our once-favorite quarterback begins a new season in his post-Packers career? Maybe we should try to show a little class ourselves the kind Favre showed last year after beating the Packers twice. His postgame comments betrayed no triumphalism. Instead, he heaped praise on Green Bay, despite the barrage of contempt from us former Brett-lovers.
Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal . Oates delighted in Favre's failure in the NFC Championship game last year, ticked off a long list of his failings in Green Bay, and predicted his failure in Minnesota this season. The article didn't dwell on the fact that, unlike Green Bay, Favre got to the NFC Championship game after a stunning season. Nor did it acknowledge how much joy Favre brought to Wisconsin over the course of 16 years.
Wouldn't it be big of us Wisconsinites to do so, rather than wishing him ill? Can't we enjoy the miracle of 40-year-old Brett hanging in there, even if he is our opponent for a couple of years? He's among the greatest figures in sports, and Green Bay has the major claim on him. Why not revel in that? Did New York Yankees fans heap derision on 40-year-old Babe Ruth when he ended his storied career with the Boston Braves? Wouldn't it have been kind of creepy if they had?
You sneer at Favre's "waffling" over to-play-or-not-to-play, GoPack. Well, Hamlet waffled too, and can't we all relate to his to-be-or-not-to-be? Shakespeare's character is indecisive (a) because the stakes for his decision are awfully high and (b) because he's human.
Reason (a) applies to Brett Favre. Will playing one more season bring glory, or will it bring injury and embarrassment? Reason (b) applies as well: Brett Favre is human. And that's an endearing quality in a superhuman athlete.
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