...and this is as close as I ever want to get.

        Watching the Packers and Brett Favre go their separate ways felt like a combo platter of gout, piles and sciatica (I've had 'em all, so I know of what I speak).        With Favre safely in New York getting fitted for his finest green and white finery, I offer up a few reflections.

        Brett Favre is now living with the consequences of his indecisiveness.      Getting to this point, though, meant a journey to places many of us didn't want to go (Greta Van Susteren's couch, for one) and listening to things we didn't want to hear.     

        Things like...Favre trying to explain his side of the story.     As much as I wanted him to address the issues that got us to this point, I've been left wanting with each of his infrequent utterances.      He has yet to detail his grievances with the Packers in clear, concise terms.      Instead of doing a vigorous q-and-a where he'd be accountable for his allegations, he opts instead to text select national media "reporters" who act as his megaphone.      If nothing else came of the Affair Le Favre, it brought us a new oxymoron: sports journalism, at least as practiced by those who confuse familiarity with the subject with objective reporting.      And to think: Erin Andrews gets grief about what she wears to Miller Park.      At least she asks questions.

        I'm disappointed in Favre, who I held to a higher level.     Remember the days of "just rumors" and "nothing to it"?     That's how Favre handled the first reports of his potential NFL return.      The facts would later prove those words to be lies....that Favre had been talking about a return for weeks before he cracked off those texts to a favored reporter.     He speaks now of planted stories and lies perpetrated by the Packers organization.      If he has any proof, he isn't sharing it with anyone.      Instead, he let his wife, his mom, his brother and his agent do his talking for him, at least until he decided to tell something-less-than-all to Fox News.       Is this how my gutty QB handles such things?       The guy who wasn't afraid to man-up and challenge hold-out teammates can't go up to the podium and back up his own thoughts?        A guy who expects loyalty from the Packers organization while he chats up his buddies with the Minnesota Vikings?    

       What then of his tear-rinsed retirement news conference, during which he absolved the Packers and Ted Thompson of all guilt--saying that the decision to leave was his and his alone?         And Randy Moss?     He said that wasn't an issue, either.     Until a few weeks later, when he pretty much took it all back amid claims that the team didn't want him.       So, when DO we buy what this guy has to say?       Good luck with that approach in New York where the press is a little more, oh, what shall we say, antagonistic?     Does a guy who says he doesn't want to be a distraction show up at the Family Night scrimmage and wave down to the assembled fans from a luxury box as his successor toils away on the field?

       I'm disappointed as well in Packers fans who boo Aaron Rodgers, who chant Favre's name during practices, who swear they'll never watch another Green Bay game or purchase another ticket as long as Ted Thompson is around.      Anyone out there who wants to surrender  their season seats because of what's happened, I'll be more than glad to talk to you at mueller@620wtmj.com.       If you're giving up on the Packers because of this, you're not a fan.     Same for you chuckleheads who wish a 20 year long pox on the team, like the one Green Bay fans suffered through after Super Bowl II.       Don't snap your ankles hopping off the bandwagon.     

       Aaron Rodgers did nothing to foster this impasse--his only crime is that he happens to be "next".      It would've been an unpleansant task had things worked out perfectly--instead, they couldn't have gone worse, and through it all Rodgers showed a wisdom and maturity beyond his years.      Those who write Rodgers off without seeing him play are as dim of those who say he'll toss 40 TD passes in his first full season as starter.     The bottom line is that we simply don't know what kind of quarterback he'll be.       We didn't know much about a kid named Favre, either, when he came on in '92.     "Fans" forget the lengthy gestation period Favre needed before growing into the quarterback we remember.       Remember Mike Holmgren's frustration with Favre's "rocket balls"?        Were you among those calling for the insertion of backup QB Mark Brunnell into the starting lineup?     Favre BECAME a Hall of Fame quarterback, he wasn't born one.   It's unfair to expect any more of Rodgers who, if nothing else is showing wisdom beyond his years as he's dealt with the circus that swirled around him.

       Brett Favre retired March 6th, making the decision after the Packers asked him for a verdict before the draft.      He changed his mind a few weeks later, from all accounts, and the Packers were willing to take him back--until Favre changed his mind again and chose to stay on the rocking chair.      The Packers moved on, drafting two quarterbacks as Mike McCarthy claimed control of the team (at least, if one is to believe Journal/Sentinel beat writer Bob McGinn, who adds that the front office was convinced that Favre could no longer win the big game).       When he opted for re-in statement, Thompson said "thanks but no" to a Green Bay return.      McCarthy, too, had told the club that Favre was gone and that it was time to move on.       Favre's inability--at the age of 38--to make a mature decision and stick with it led to this mess.     What cred would McCarthy have had with the team if he allowed Favre back, no questions asked?      [Players would've wondered just who was calling the shots, and would've rightly concluded that it wasn't the head coach.   You might as well have peeled the "G" off the side of the helmet and replaced it with an "F",     

       I'm still waiting for this alleged monster that is Thompson's ego to show itself.          He was the most unpopular man in Wisconsin a year ago this summer, sitting on his pile of cap money while Moss went to the Patriots.     The Packers promptly went out and went 13-3, coming within an errant overtime throw of going to the Super Bowl.     I don't see Thompson doing the Jerry Jones thing on the sidelines, basking in the reflected glory of his players and coaches as Green Bay wins.      In fact, you don't see much of this guy at all.       He is to the microphone what Paris Hilton is to the Burka.       Do fans honestly think he's giving up on Fare just to inflict his own evil plan for the franchise upon us?          He may have the public persona of oatmeal with eyes, but the guy seems to have had more hits than misses.      Thompson must see SOMETHING in Rodgers that encourages such enthusiasm.      

        Good luck in New York, Brett.    I hope you find the respect you say you didn't get in Green Bay.    And, I hope you find success with the Jets, because it'll only make the draft choice the Packers got in exchange for you all the sweeter.       I thought you were something special--and you are, at least on the field.     Off it, you're just another jock who doesn't know how to leave and blames others when things don't go your way.      Your performance on the field will get you into Canton and plant your number on the Lambeau Field wall, but the way you carried yourself the last month or so reminds me to keep my expectations low when it comes to athletes.     As is the case with so much in life, if something seems too good to be true, chances are it isn't.