I am a big Football Outsiders fan in general, and a Mike Tanier fan in particular. His latest over at F.O. contains the best summation of how I now feel about the Favre saga. With humility, I post all of the relevant section below:
You don’t have to follow the story.
You don’t have to take the bait. You don’t have to take sides. You don’t have to get caught up in the reality television — The Legend, The Team, The Retirement, The Trade Rumors. You can still be a fan, still love football, while ignoring the breathless updates, the interpretations, the text messages, the unpublished interviews that are somehow published.
You don’t have to take the bait. This isn’t the Biggest Story Ever. It doesn’t affect anyone’s legacy. Johnny Unitas on the Chargers. Babe Ruth on the Braves. We get it. This stuff happens. It doesn’t change the balance of power in the NFL. The Legend can’t take any team to the playoffs that isn’t already 90 percent there, because he’s a legend, not a player in his prime. The Team can go very far without him, just as they were prepared to do before The Retirement.
You don’t have to take sides. You can love The Legend, appreciate his accomplishments, and still hate how he handled the last six months. You can root for The Team and still recognize their mixed feelings as they try to move on. You can respect The Team’s management while still realizing that they are making a difficult call that could go either way. You don’t have to call The Legend selfish or The Team arrogant or stupid. You can watch with detached interest, or bemusement, or not watch at all.
You can still be a fan without following the soap opera. The Trade Rumors and the soap opera are front-page news. You can read the bold type and then move on. Find the little stories. Get caught up with your season previews. Read Pro Football Prospectus 2008. Read the good annual magazines, like Pro Football Weekly’s annual. Get reacquainted with the top colleges. Brush up on your football history. The ESPN crawl will prepare you for water cooler conversation. Spend the rest of your time nurturing your football soul. When The Legend is traded or released or punched in the face and sent to the broadcast booth, the mass media howl will inform you. We promise to do our part with a link in Extra Points.
You can still love football without this story. You may love it more. You can look upon The Legend, The Team, and this whole situation with greater perspective. We live on this planet. We know how these things go. Egos get damaged, long-range plans go awry, people have changes of heart. Grown men (or women), no different or better than us despite their athletic prowess or managerial wisdom, muddle toward a solution. All the while, a nation of sports fans jeer and chant. The whole experience can only end up bittersweet for everyone involved, including us.
You don’t have to follow the story. Follow your love of football instead. It will lead you someplace better.
