Mars, Venus, and Favre

It was essentially another home game for Brett Favre. Four more touchdown passes in a stadium he called home for 16 years. It was the 21st time he threw four TD passes, tying Dan Marino’s record.

But in a purple uniform with horns on his helmet?

I was born and raised in the Fox Valley, and have been a Packers fan all my life. My wife and I are Packers shareholders. So, when Brett departed, I was sad - but, that’s the way it works in sports. The days are pretty much gone when a truly outstanding athlete plays an entire career for one team. It’s obvious Brett is not ready to be put out to pasture, and that was evident long before yesterday’s game.

Most of the guys I know were pretty disgusted with Brett’s soap opera, that became regular fare the past few years when he was deciding, in a very public way, about whether he’d come back for another year. So after his year with the Jets, when he maneuvered things to skip training camp (which he always hated) and became a Vikings player, I was more than moderately annoyed.

Even my wife, a reconstructed Bears fan from Chicago, informed me she was DONE with Brett when he went to work in Minnesota. She’d proudly worn her Packers #4 home jersey to New York City a year ago when she was there for a week on business, and enjoyed all the “Hey - thanks for Brett!” comments on the streets and subway of the Big Apple.

This year, when she was in New York City for a week in October, she took her Packers gear, but NOT the Favre Jersey. Apparently, when Favre was a Jets player, he was OK. But when he became a Vikings player - that’s IT.

As I checked the Facebook posts this morning, I noticed a lot of my female friends seem to hold a different position on Brett. There were the posts on the News Feed, made before kickoff yesterday afternoon, that said essentially “I hope Brett plays well but I want the Packers to win”; there were the ones that said “I don’t know who to cheer for”; and similar posts.

There was not much ambiguity whatsoever among my male Facebook friends. They wanted him to taste that frozen tundra in a very personal way.

One post, from a lady who’s been a friend a long time, clarified the issue for me. She put up a post during the game saying “Why does my family get mad at me when I cheer for Brett Favre?”. And there were comments on the post, from other women, who said essentially they like Brett but don’t like the Vikings.

The snarky Tim joined the thread by posting “Because your family are PACKERS fans”. I couldn’t resist.

The thing is, it seems clear to me and my male friends, that we can still appreciate Brett’s skill, but we can’t cheer for him. He’s a member of the team we like the least and hate the most, an NFC North rival. Just as Brewers fans can, if they want, cheer for C C Sabathia. He’s with the Yankees, and they’re in the American League. If he ever signs with the Cubs - or the Cards - no more cheering for the big guy.

It’s really very simple. We can’t cheer for Brett because now he’s using his skills against us. Can’t you ladies see that? We may be from different planets, but it's all so......tribal.