Farewell

This time it seems like it's real.

Brett Favre will retire.

At least as of the time I'm writing the post, only AP/Yahoo!, the Sporting News and Fox Sports are running the story, and neither the Packers' official site nor the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel have confirmed it. Favre's retirement antics have been captivating spring-and-summer sports audiences for several years now, but we've all known for a while now that eventually, he will actually do it.

But this time it seems real. Favre put in a great last season and would be retiring on a high note. Seventeen years is a long career and he holds just about every meaningful record he could hold. He's leaving his team in good shape to go on. It'll be five years until he's enrolled in Canton and number four will be retired and his name will go up on the wall at Lambeau Field. He's got all the money he needs. He's got all the fame and admiration -- he's everyone's hero, even of his archrivals. Simply put, there's nothing else for him to achieve other than taking another shot at another Super Bowl, and he does already have one of those, too.

So it makes sense that he would think that it's about time to make room for the next generation. He's been playing against players who looked up to him as their hero when they were in high school. "Grizzled veteran" is a label you can only wear for so long because NFL football is a physically punishing sport, even for well-protected quarterbacks. Welcome to the Aaron Rodgers era, and based on what we've seen of him so far, it won't be so bad (much like I thought when they drafted him).

Thanks for all the great games, Brett. No one deserves it more than you. You were the best ever.

Update: It's confirmed.