by W.H.

As of November 1 circa 6:30 CST the truth will set Brett Favre free. America knows now, Ted Thompson is a dirty, stubborn old fool who forced a legend out of a city where he was beloved. A crooked bastard in the ilk of AIG scumsuckers who thought he could remake a legendary franchise and receive all the credit for it's revival. Problem is that the franchise Ted Thompson was trying to remake in his own vision had enjoyed it's longest run of success in the prior 30 years under the legend he attempted to sandblast with Rupert Murdoch style press clippings.

Under Brett Favre the Green Bay Packers only had 1 losing season in 16 years. In the 24 years between Favre and Lombardi the Pack had only 4 winning seasons. They went to the playoffs 11 times during Favre's tenure, went to 2 Super Bowls, and brought home a championship. Could they have won more under the all-time passing king? There is a possibility, but unlike the Cowboys of the 90's or the Steelers of the 70's they never had an elite running back or wide receiver to accompany their Hall of Fame passer. Not to mention truckloads of pot, cocaine, and whatever Terry Bradshaw took to get ate up.

The last time someone stood that close to Rodgers without sacking him

Ted Thompson ushered Brett Favre out the door in order to make his second mark on the Green Bay Packers franchise, the first being the hiring of Mike McCarthy. Aaron Rodgers, the fallen 1st round pick who plummeted into Ted's lap like a stripper at a bachelor party, was the keystone building block in Thompson's Packers vision. After 3 seasons behind the Hall of Fame gunslinger, Rodgers was thrust in front of the Packer faithful and introduced as the coming of the new guard. Had Green Bay struggled the previous season this would have easier to swallow than bratwurst for Packer Nation. However, the Pack finished 13-3 in 2007 and lost the NFC Championship game in overtime. Suddenly the were a rebuilding team due to their inexperience at quarterback after coming within a game of the Super Bowl, what would have been the 3rd Super Bowl of their now retired legend's storied career.

From the beginning being the starter in Green Bay wasn't easy for Rodgers. After his wife kicked his moping ass out of the house Favre got tired of riding a tractor in the sweltering Mississippi heat and called Thompson declaring he wanted out of retirement. Thompson was feeling rather Machiavellian and sent aman with a briefcase full of money and a lifetime promotional contract to Favre's door like he was the cancer ridden Marlboro Man. But after tasting competitive playoff football for the first time in 4 years and finishing so close to another Super Bowl, the future Hall of Famer couldn't believe the organization he saved from mediocrity would shut its doors to him in favor of an unproven Jeff Tedford project from Cal (see Kyle Boller). So Brett Favre called Thompson's bluff and in order for the GM to preserve his prized 1st round quarterback, the Packers were forced to trade Brett Favre.

"I'm not sure if I wanted to play again THIS bad"

No one will ever really know who was at fault in the break up between Packer Nation and Brett Favre. What we do know is that Aaron Rodgers was a decent quarterback in his first starting season. Although the team's 6-10 record in 2008 could give the impression that they stunk like overfried cheddar nuggets dipped in Milwaukee's Best, 7 of their 10 losses were by 4 points or less. Rodgers threw for over 4,000 yards and had 28 TD's against 13 INT's. He even had 4 rushing touchdowns which tied him for the team lead but also illustrates some of that team's struggles.

Favre almost took his new Jets team to the playoffs which would have stung Thompson like an AIDS infested herion needle but Brett suffered a Amy Winehouse style breakdown and seemingly vindicated the Packers' GM. Since Rodgers was in his first year the close proximity of Green Bay's losses were never really called into question. Neither was the fact that he took 34 sacks: 7th highest in the NFL, lost 231 yards with those sacks: 6th highest in the league, and lost 10 fumbles: 8th in the league. It was Rodgers first season as an NFL starter so luckily for himself and Thompson nothing was examined under a microscope. But in 2009 all of their actions would be looked at closer than Lindsey Lohan's firecrotch with a paparazzi cam...

PART II is coming soon

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