There are great players, and then there are pantheon players. In every sport, there is a very select group of men that transcends the unwritten rules of the game. In football, Brett Favre is undoubtedly one of these extremely special and respected athletes. As fantastic a player he is on the field, there is one opponent that he cannot evade or defeat: age. All athletes grow older and with each year, their skills deteriorate. Certainly, Brett Favre is at the end of his career; his skills have faded enough that, often, he is more of a liability than an attribute for the Green Bay Packers.

However, he has earned the right to retire whenever his heart desires. He owes nothing to the city of Green Bay; they owe him everything. If he is not the greatest quarterback in the Pack’s history-never mind in NFL history-he is at least on par with the legendary Bart Starr. Favre led the Packers to a Super Bowl championship, back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and the greatest success the franchise has experienced since the days of iconic coach Vince Lombardi. He has started every Packers game since Sept. 20, 1992, for crying out loud.

Could anyone imagine the Chicago Bulls asking Michael Jordan to retire from their team? Had The Great One stayed, would the fans of the Edmonton Oilers ever have demanded Wayne Gretzky leave the team? Of course not! Brett Favre is Green Bay and the Packers are Brett Favre. Despite his struggles, Favre is still one of the top NFL quarterbacks in history; he has every right to leave Green Bay whenever he desires. For this simple fact alone, he can do what he pleases.

-Aaron Sigal

As Marcellus Wallace said in Pulp Fiction, “Thing is Butch, right now you have ability. But painful as it may be, ability don’t last”. Now substitute the name Butch for Brett.

Green Bay Packers quarterback and future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre always has had a raw talent for the game of football. But whether it’s the concussions, the more evolved defensive schemes or just age, clearly his time has passed. It seems in Favre’s case that while the flesh is still willing, it’s the mind that is now weak.

Last year Favre led the league in interceptions with 29, 12 more then any of his colleagues. However, I’m not going to talk about Favre’s legacy and how it will be affected by him hanging on and accumulating interceptions. What troubles me more is that he’s holding his team back.

The Packers are not going to challenge for the Super Bowl this year, or even next year for that matter. So why is Favre hanging on? Clearly the Pack is in the midst of a rebuilding process, a central component of which is moving from the Brett Favre era to the Aaron Rogers one, the Golden Brett’s heir apparent. That process isn’t going to move ahead any quicker with Favre under centre.

Brett always has been a team player. It’s time he assumes that role once more and put his team’s interests before his own. -Charlie Blore