Packers vs. Vikings/Bret Favre

Okay, anyone who knows me knows I don't take sports seriously. Whether it is the Olympics, a high school basketball game, a pro baseball game, or the badminton game I'm playing, it is a game. After the game I merrily go on my way and don't give the event any more thought.

Oh, how I wish Packer fans had my attitude. Actually, how I wish all sport fans had my attitude. Tonight's Packer vs. Viking game has reached a fever pitch. Apparently the grand rivalry between these two teams is legend (as is the Bear/Packer rivalry). Now that Bret Favre (the diva who used to wear green and gold) plays for the Vikings, the drama surrounding the game has invaded all media venues and local discussions.

I have married friends, one a Viking fan and one a Packer fan, who have fought so fiercely over such games that one ended up sleeping on the couch after a game. I know other people who dislike anything Minnesotan simply because the Vikings are from Minnesota. This is why the saying, "Get a life" was invented.

I find it amusing and irritating at the same time. Since I think professional athletes are paid too much money in relation to their social relevance, I find Bret Favre an overpaid pathetic attention monger. I hope he gets his clock cleaned in tonight's game simply because I'm hoping he can have some of his arrogance knocked out. (Just like I'd like to see Dick Cheney get his clock cleaned -- arrogance just isn't becoming) I find it amusing how wound up fans get over such games. I find it irritating that Packer games are placed on newspapers' front pages when so many more important issues face us.

Whatever the outcome tonight, I will go to bed and sleep well, happily awake tomorrow and worry about health care, Afghanistan, and the economy. But, I will not give the match up another thought.

He's Not the Messiah

By now everyone who does or doesn't care knows that Bret Favre has retired from the NFL....or more specifically, from the Green Bay Packers. This announcement was made yesterday morning. Central Wisconsin news stations ran, reran, reran the reruns of BF for hours. I do admit it was interesting to watch him age on screen....going from the down South hick to the saavy player he was/is/has been.

But enough already. He is/was a football player -- a $10 million a year quarterback. I knew this was all going to be over the top when a fan visiting Lambeau Field was interviewed after the announcement. The man stated, "Bret Favre is a messiah and Lambeau Field is hallowed ground. Now the messiah is gone." Uh, sorry to repeat an overused cliche but GET A LIFE!!!! We make fun of Trekkies who run around at Star Trek conventions dressed as their favorite character but find it totally acceptable when people gather round in their Packer-wear, complete with cheeseheads. I'm not even a religious person and find it obnoxious to refer to BF as the messiah!

The game will go on people. The green and gold will win some and lose some. Aaron Rogers will be the scapegoat whose mistakes will allow you to reverently breathe the sacred name of Bret Favre and to pray to him for miracles.

Apparantly Governor Doyle has commented on the retirement, and I'm waiting for him to agree to fly the flags at half mast. It will only be a matter of time before President Bush weighs in on it all.