What's your deal with Favre?

I notice that a lot of my sports posts have a grumpy, almost curmudgeonly tone. At the very least, argumentative. Hmmm. Just noting the fact, not analyzing it.

Anyway, I've come to argue with those of you who have issues with Brett Favre. You are angry. You're calling Favre names. You're impugning his character. Frankly, I don't get it.

I do get why Favre waffles.

On the one hand, when he plays, he gets the shit kicked out of his 40-year-old body every week. Every professional football player has to deal with this, but most of them are long gone by 40. It hurts. I remember how backyard football hurt the next day when I was 15, playing against guys who weighed 120 pounds. What Favre is doing hurts a lot. And it keeps hurting when the season is over. He's proven himself, and isn't that likely to get any further in football than he's already gotten. And I'm sure there are times he'd like to just kick back and forget about the NFL.

On the other hand, he gets paid 10 million dollars a year! Sure, he doesn't need it, but it's 10 million dollars a year! When do you stop providing for your family, or your descendants? Or have too much land, or too much to give to charity. There's always room for another 10 million dollars, isn't there? And he's playing in the N freaking FL! What a rush it has to be to hear those roars, to get all of that adulation, to matter to people. And while it still hurts in the offseason, it hurts somewhat less after a while.

So it's no surprise that he has mixed feelings, and has changed his mind several times. But everyone seems to think that he's changed it too many times, and that he should stop jerking everyone around, and make up his damn mind. But why, exactly? Is this really a problem for you or me? I can tell you that it hasn't affected my life one iota. My wife still loves me, I'm still employed, I have my health -- Brett Favre just isn't a problem for me. But he seems to be for you.

Are you worried about the teams that he might or might not play for? Guess what -- it's their demand for his services that's driving the whole thing! If they didn't want to employ him, and didn't keep dangling money in front of him, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Does he owe them a decision? No! It's supply and demand. If they don't want to wait around for an answer, they don't have to. They do wait around because he's good, and because he can put butts in the seats. They're waiting around to serve their best interests. So do me a favor and don't worry about the teams. They can take care of themselves.

Are you just plain tired of hearing about it? Bullshit! You click link after link about this subject, and read story after story about it, and watch segment after segment on television, and complain bitterly every time you do. Which is why they keep writing and producing all of these stories.

So it looks to me like you're complicit with the media and the teams and Favre himself for keeping this story going. As tired as you are of seeing Favre waffle, I can promise you that you're no more tired than I am of hearing you complain about it all.

Feel free to root for or against Favre this fall. But somebody has to play quarterback for the Vikings, and you can bet it will be the best guy that the Vikings can find for the job. And isn't that sort of the idea?