The other day I was out with some colleagues for lunch. It was a half day so we had a nice leisurely, beer included, midday meal. There were about five guys and five girls of varying ages. Because of the time of the year, the conversation among the men eventually turned to fantasy football teams. That got my boss started on her own son who is on his high school football team. That begot a conversation about players and the stories that were leading Sports Center the night before. That is when someone mentioned the name Brett Favre.
Now I am a Wisconsin girl, born and raised, and therefore am intrinsically tied to the Packers and the organization. My mother and her mother before her made sure to instill in me a deep commitment to this team when I was a very young girl. Honestly, it is the most committed relationship I have been in at this point in my life. What I mean by that is I was a fan during the Magic years. The Chris Jackie years. The years that every Chicago Cubs fan can sympathize are the worst years to love a team. The words fair weather don't exist in my vocabulary when it comes to football. You're either are a fan or you aren't, and I am.
I am not vocal about my relationship with the Packers to everyone, because I know that especially in the past few years due to my geographic location, I will be poked and prodded about my opinion. I also know that I can often times sounds like a psychotic crazed maniac that has an irrational emotional connection the team. Yes, I will admit that upfront. I also will admit that I'm not the most educated when it comes to sports or when it comes to the franchise. However, I am a passionate person when it comes to my team even if I don't know what I am talking about. You would be too after 26 years of ups and downs.
I digress. At this particular luncheon, I was asked for my opinion. I don't remember who the guilty person was, but someone asked what I thought about all this Brett Favre business. The table got quiet and everyone looked at me. My work partner mumbled under her breath "Oh here we go."
So with everyone listening I stated by opinion calmly. In summary what I said went something like this, "I think he is a jackass." Now normally if there are other Packer fans at the table I would expect a lively debate about the subject after a comment like that. However, I was with a bunch of people from Detroit and Chicago and not a single person had an investment in this man or my team. However, everyone had an opinion, even my soft spoken partner.
It's fine to have an opinion, even though you are wrong. But here is the thing. Don't compare him to Michael Jordan. Don't compare him to Joe Montana. This is different, and I made sure they knew I thought so. In what I am sure the others would describe as a 20 minute diatribe, I explained in great detail how Brett Favre broke my heart. They all made arguments that probably made complete sense, but when you are talking to someone who is blinded by their passion and anger about something, it is futile.
I digress again. I do that.
My point is. I always thought that I was one of those people who was sort of passionless when it comes to activities, events, music and a long list of other things. I mean I enjoy things, but I don't have a whole lot of conviction when it comes to specific things. I guess at the end of the lunch when I got up and walked home, I thought about what had just happened. I literally sat at a table of my peers, soap boxed the hell out of the situation and felt good about it. Having been one of those people who has filled out 26 years of surveys that included the words, list your favorite activities or things you can't live without, with a level of indifference, Brett Favre made me realize that I do have conviction. So if nothing else I can thank him for reminding me that I do have a fixed or firm belief in some things and it only just starts at the quarterback position.
