Monday, April 17, 2006

Some Fans are Turning on Brett

Who'da thunk it? Did we ever think we'd see the day that some fans would start to turn on Brett Favre and actually favor trading him?

That's apparently how frustrated some fans have become with Brett's retirement melodrama. For them, it has come to this: trade him.

Wow.

In a poll conducted in the online Milwaukee Journal Sentinel beginning on April 14, approximately 84 percent of nearly 11,000 participants (as of the time of this writing) responded "Yes" when asked if the Packers should trade Brett. Here's that number again: 84 percent!

The tide of good feeling for all the good years and loyalty Brett has shown to the Packers has apparently been washed away in this one off-season of indecision.

Sports talk shows are rife with discussions about the reasons why trading Brett might make sense: if the Pack is clearly beginning a rebuilding phase -- transitioning from the Brett Favre era to the whomever era -- they should trade him and get something for him...although those fans who think the Pack would get a first-rounder for him are bordering on the delusional; some say that they'd rather see Favre play one more year with a chance to win on another team than for him to retire (oh yeah, that makes sense); if Brett can't decide by now whether he wants to play for the Packers again, then he shouldn't -- trade him; Brett's indecision is affecting the team -- even teammate Nick Barnett in an interview last week said it would be nice to "know who your guy is."

So the reasons -- or rationalizing? -- as to why Brett should be traded are starting to flow. On one level, perhaps the bottom line level, is that fans' frustrations are turning to anger. When talking about these poll results this morning on WTMJ-620 radio in Milwaukee, the "Voice of the Packers," Wayne Larivee, said he was astounded by the results. Then he added that he was sure Brett had no idea as to how fans' frustrations with his indecision were basically making many turn against him.

Some great quarterbacks associated forever with one team finished their careers with another: Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, to name a few. But for Brett to finish his illustrious career in another uniform? Naaaaaaaahhhh. Brett...if you can't decide, you've decided. Retire. Get on with your life, and let the Pack move on. I want you back -- LOTS of fans want you back -- but if you aren't sure, it's time for you to move on too.

Here's the poll results:

Do you think the Packers should trade Brett Favre?
Yes (84.3%)
No (15.7%)
Total votes: 10,854