THE BOY who cried wolf lost his sheep. The man who cried retirement lost his team.
Brett Favre's trade from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets this week showed that even the National Football League's most beloved figure was not above his own words. He was renowned for bringing a title back to the smallest city in pro sports, revered for a record 275 consecutive starts at quarterback, and respected for struggling through addiction and family crisis. But the 38-year-old Favre also kept Wisconsin on edge for many seasons by openly dallying with retirement.
In March, after just missing the Super Bowl, he said he was truly done. "It was never my accomplishments, it was our accomplishments," he said then. "It was never about me, it was about everybody else. . . . I hope that this organization and the fans appreciate me as much as I appreciate them."
The Packers believed him and moved on to heir-apparent Aaron Rodgers. But because Favre waited until this summer to say he still wanted to play, the mutual appreciation melted down into a messy divorce. Many fans feel the Packers should have accommodated their legend, as the basketball Chicago Bulls did for Michael Jordan. They might get support from the New England Patriots, who now have to face Favre twice a season.
Beyond football, there is a more universal lesson.
Even a sure Hall of Famer, whose popularity in the Harris Poll is third only to Tiger Woods and Jordan, found that if you quit your job, the boss might give your desk away. Favre had it right in March.
It was too late to make it about him.
