Ex-Packers QB and all-time Bears scourge Brett Favre is playing way too many games with Wisconsin hearts, setting off a cavalcade of will-he-or-won’t-he rumors when he asked for his release from his contract last week, so that he could presumably return to the NFL and play for another team. Obviously, this sent shockwaves through sports media, as ESPN added a “Brett Favre” tab to their list of news feeds, dozens of Favre-for-______ trade rumors were posted on leading sports websites such as xXsportznewzXx and TruFootballDreamz, and God himself appeared on CNN and told America that Favre had his blessing to give it another go.
Some of that is true, some of it is not; in the midst of all the whirlwind speculation, Tribune columnist Rick Morrissey wrote a column about how Favre should come play for the Bears. He mentions how familiarity breeds respect, how Favre is “quintessential Chicago,” how he would be appreciated by Chicago fans, and so forth. And you know what?
Morrissey is completely wrong on this one.
Now, stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before: Favre should stay away from Chicago. Can he still play quarterback? Given his 95.7 QB rating last year (his highest since 1996, the year he won the Super Bowl), yes. Is he still hungry to play? Considering he’s talking about making a comeback less than six months removed from retirement (shattering Michael Jordan records), obviously yes. Would he be an upgrade at the quarterback position for the Bears? Sadly, given the carousel of incompetence we threw on the field last year, also yes. So then why shouldn’t the Bears try to go after one of the best players of all-time?
For starters, do you remember December 11th, 1994, when Favre tossed three touchdowns en route to a 40-3 Packers victory over the Bears? How about November 12th, 1995, when he threw five touchdowns? October 6th, 1996, when he beat us 37-6 at Soldier Field? I mean, I was still leaning my multiplication tables when those embarrassing displays of dominance occurred, but the numbers are there: for a decade, Favre had us beat. He routinely embarrassed the Bears, carving a role as Chicago’s most dreaded enemy in the ‘90s; more than Reggie Miller, more than Mark McGwire, more than anyone, because we could not stop losing to him. He went 22-10 against the Bears over fifteen years, and half of those Bears victories didn't come until the Lovie Smith era. It wasn't even a proper rivalry; it was a consistent lesson in humiliation.
But it’s not about the losing that makes me want to spit at Favre at the same time as I shake his hand. After all, Derrek Lee was on that goddamn 2003 Marlins team, and we traded for him the next off-season, and hey, the Cubs even signed Jim-goddamn-Edmonds this year. During his decade of domination, Favre came to represent the Packers as a whole, this mythical figure who could never be betted against. When I was a kid, I didn’t understand why Favre kept beating us. It just didn’t seem fair.
Beyond all of the stat-crunching and faux-bravado that comes with being a sports fan is the belief that sports teams are the best representatives of a city, which is why my suburban friends don’t understand why it’s heresy to root hard for both the Cubs and the White Sox, and why I feel immense pride watching Michael Jordan videos on Youtube (which I do more than I should). And Favre transcended statistics as the Packers quarterback, coming to represent their state and their franchise more than any other football player during his time.
That’s why coming to play for the Bears, the sworn enemy of the Packers, would just be a shame. Look, forget winning for a moment; I don’t care if Favre led us to a Super Bowl, because I just couldn’t root for him. I suspect a lot of Bears fans, no matter how fair-weathered they are, feel the same way. It’s nothing personal against the guy; he’s undoubtedly one of the ten best quarterbacks of all-time, but I feel a dull loathing for him akin to my hatred of The Hills. It would be like if Frank Thomas came to play for the Cubs, if Sammy Sosa played for the White Sox (for a second time, I mean), or if James Posey signed a multi-year contact with the Bulls. Some players should not play for certain teams.
Oh, sure, Bears fans don’t have to actively hate the guy, and Favre is friends with Brian Urlacher, but sending Favre out in Bears blue against the Packers next season wouldn’t feel good. It would just feel…sad. Like sports allegiances no longer mattered, that players didn’t care about their teams, and so forth.
If Favre wants to come back next year, that’s fine. He can play for the Packers, the Vikings, the Bucs, or almost any team that will start him, if he so wants to. I just hope he doesn’t come to Chicago, because I won’t be able to start cheering for him.
Photo by Jame
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Jeremy Gordon
Jeremy is a born-and-raised Chicagoan who attended Walter Payton College Prep and is now a junior studying journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
He has written for The Daily Northwestern, North By Northwestern, and Newcity Magazine. While a diehard Cubs fan, he grudgingly accepts that the White Sox World Series win in 2005 was a good thing for the city, though he still doesn't want to hear any of his friends brag about it.
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