It Should Have Been the Birth Of Favre's Legacy

If you look at some of the old barns in the Wisconsin country side, you can still see the number '4' buried beneath a fresh coat of paint. You have to look very hard, but it's still there. The people have painted over what could have been the greatest legacy in Green Bay history right next to Lombardi himself. No matter how many coats of paint are added, the # 4 will always be slightly visible. The terrible shame of it all is that they ever had to paint over it in the first place.

Wisconsin is celebrating another Super Bowl win and loving their new future Hall of fame quarterback. Meanwhile, all the media wants to discuss how, "Wisconsin has officially moved past the Brett Favre era." The people of Wisconsin have literally painted over the number '4' they used to wear proudly on the side of their barns and in most cases they have tried to make it look like a number '12'. But did it really have to be this way? Why couldn't they say, "Thank you Brett for the memories, and we love Aaron too."

Aaron Rodgers is now an elite NFL Quarterback. He will be a Hall of Famer and he will never have to pay for drinks in the State of Wisconsin again plus he's classy. When constantly given opportunity to throw Favre under the bus, he will not do it. Although he has never said one good thing about the man, at least he won't say anything bad.

Meanwhile, Brett Favre officially had the worst year of any man in sports. He returned for one season too many. He played like complete crap, ended his consecutive start streak and tainted his name with the Jen Sterger incident. And now his former team has just won the Super Bowl without him. With his life now, I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back for another season just to get out of the house because his wife must be fuming over the picture texts he was sending to other women.

None of this is necessary. This should have been Favre's Superbowl just as much as Aarons but Favre refused to have anything to do with his younger pupil. When Rodgers was drafted in 2005 he was given an opportunity to sit behind one of the all-time greats. He could have learned the game from a veteran who has seen and done it all. It was a perfect apprentice-teacher situation except the teacher was threatened by his apprentice and instead of mentoring him, he ignored him completely. When Favre was given a chance to install his legacy to the next generation, he went out of his way to make things more difficult for the man below him. If Favre would have been the teacher he was supposed to be, he would be hoisting the trophy with his Packer teammates and congratulating his former pupil but Favre has chosen a different legacy for him self.

Legacy's are built on those who will invest in the lives of others. Can you believe that 100% of NFL head coaches today can trace their roots back to 1 of 3 coaches: Bill Parcells, Bill Walsh, or Marty Schottenheimer. This means that with every Superbowl that is won today, one of these men are given credit every year. Their legacy grows every year because of their investments on those who served under them. These men have a legacy that will last as long as the NFL.

What will the legacy of Brett Favre look like? Brett Favre has set records that will never be touched. He rescued the Packers from a garbage team into Super Bowl champions and his accomplishments are amazing. He will be in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, no question. But he has destroyed his legacy in his refusal to befriend Rodgers and the whole of Green Bay has rejected the man as a contributor to this team today.

If Brett Favre was concerned with his legacy; we would have seen Rodgers showing some love to the man and attaching Favre's name to this Super Bowl win. The Favre legacy in Green Bay wouldn't have missed a beat and Brett could have been the same hero today as he was after winning Super Bowl XXXI. Instead he drew a line in the sand and said "him or me" and Wisconsin moved on because Brett demanded it.

Rodgers wouldn't have hesitated to thank Favre for everything he did for him; except Favre never did a thing for him.

Last Sunday was going to be the birth of Brett Favre's legacy, he could have been on the side lines with his former team, offering his support after ending his season in Minnesota. He could have hoisted the Lombardi trophy once again. He could have hugged and cheered with Rodgers, his pupil, and he would have sprayed champagne with his old team mates and been part of all the festivities that come with winning the Superbowl. He even could have even been hired on a as quarter back coach in Green Bay. The Favre legacy could have been tied to every Superbowl win in Green Bay from here on out. But instead of the birth of a new legacy, the people have re-painted the barns and the people have moved on.