Say Good Night, Brett

Perhaps this will seem like piling on so I'll keep it short.

As I have mentioned here before, I have been a Packers fan since I was a little boy. I suffered through many bad years ... and then Brett Favre came along.

Favre brought excitement to Packers games, which I seldom saw on TV until he started calling the signals. Then the Packers started winning, and that made them attractive to TV viewers.

In the 1990s, Favre took the Packers to two straight Super Bowls. He was the Most Valuable Player three straight years. The Packers, once a hapless, at times buffoonish franchise, went through 13 consecutive non–losing seasons.

It was a great time to be a Packers fan. Those truly were the days, my friend. I thought they'd never end.

Well, that's not really true. I mean, I knew they would end eventually. But, like all those other Packer fans who suffered through those dismal pre–Favre seasons, knowing it would happen someday and being ready for it when it actually happened were two different things for me.

I remember how I felt the day that Favre called it quits the first time, in March of 2008. I regretted the end of a great career.

But that regret has faded as we have gone through the annual will–he–or–won't–he retire ritual.

And today, Favre's Vikings lost to the Packers in Minnesota by four touchdowns.

Favre's successor, Aaron Rodgers, made plays like Favre used to make — and, in the process, reminded everyone that time marches on.

I hope Favre got the message.

It's time to go, Brett.