Huck Finn's Last Ride (Brett Favre feature), SI, Dec. 4

Oh hell, people are mad at Brett Favre because he ain't so hot anymore. I think more people want him to go than want him to stay. He's the one with the existential crisis, not his fans.

 

Hard to say.

There's still plenty of people who want him to stay. I'm one of them (as long as it's with the Packers, anyway. Don't want a "Unitas 19" Chargers jersey floating around for him.)

But I don't think it's his existential crisis at all -- he just wants to play football, or he doesn't. Sometimes, it wavers. That's it.

 

Sounds like an existential crisis to me. Anyhoo, the article is definitely a throwback to an era when the actually quite prosaic was usually rendered mythic.

 

Yeah, why should anyone count Favre's prime when making comparisons?

 

Very forced to me -- as if it will give the story some gravitas.

 

The Bipolar Romantic Disorder gripping Wisconsin could be described thusly: We love Brett. But we love him in inverse proportion to the number of INTs he throws. We love him, but not at the expense of rebuilding the program. We love Brett, but not at the risk of another 4-12 season. We love him, but this is Titletown, U.S.A., after all....[/quote]
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macgregor is a good writer - i loved his nascar book - but one small quibble - the use of "we" - it assumes a lot - that the writer is speaking for all of us - when obviously he's not - it's a hokey device

 

Favre's in his 16th season, 15th as a starter. Are you saying he was past his prime by 1997?

 

What should he have done instead? Listed every fan who feels that way in order to leave out the ones who don't?

Based on what I hear, I think it's a fair generalization. I have no problem with it.

 

Gary Smith uses the "we" device all the time and he's universally adored here. I have no problem with it either. I'd give just about anything to write this well.

 

Actually Smith uses the "you" device. And, to me, it's probably his most cloying tool.