There's an old Vegas saying, "Nobody beats the house."
You may win once, you may win twice, hell you may have a night where nothing can go wrong and you're on top of the world. But the fatal flaw of every poor sap that gets conned in Sin City, is not knowing when to quit. You won't win forever.
Brett Favre thinks he can. Not just win, but do it on his own terms. Some call him "the old gunslinger" or just say "Brett's being Brett," and that's wrong. Favre is without question, the most narcissistic athlete in the history of professional sports.
The story of Favre's retirements and comebacks has been so overblown that I won't read it back. In short, he has hinted at retirement, tears in all, every offseason for the past four years. Brett has actually retired the last three, before returning in August on a white horse (private plane) as if he's some noble saint coming to save the day. Favre was the most popular athlete in Wisconsin history, and is now the most despised. He switched from the Packers to Vikings with a layover in New York for one year, simply to spite the management of his former team. This would be like three years from now, Derek Jeter turning down offers from every other team in baseball to join the Red Sox, just to piss Brian Cashman off.
The abuse that LeBron James has gotten this summer is ironic, considering Favre has done something similar, the past three Augusts, with the media slobbering at his every move.
The Vikings are equally as disgusting in this situation. This guy's been jerking them around for the past two summers. If Favre had quit, they would have been completely screwed. Still, they literally flew to his house, got down on one knee and begged him to come back. This is much worse than the LeBronathon. These guys are the heads of a franchise worth $782 million dollars, and they're begging for some unbelievably arrogant quarterback to come back and play.
The most egregious aspect of this situation is the message Brett Favre sends to all of his fans. He thinks he's bigger than the game. NFL players are a select group. Guys in the prime of their careers pour their heart and soul into the game, 365 days a year. That's what it takes to make and earn a living for yourself and family. Not only does Favre not do this, he refuses to PRACTICE with the team in the summer. Vikings all-world running back Adrian Peterson shows up for practice every day but old man Favre can't seem to find the energy. For the third year in a row, Favre has skipped training camp because he didn't feel like going. Allen Iverson was nationally embarrassed for suggesting he shouldn't have to practice, so why is it ok for Brett?
So far Favre has crushed the odds. He's 40-year-old quarterback playing in a sport where 34-year-olds are considered ancient. So why not one more year? Why can't a guy who refuses to practice, take on a Bears defense with Brian Urlacher and Julius Peppers, or the defending champion Saints, or the talented and vengeful Packers?
As of Tuesday afternoon, Viking fans started talking about the Super Bowl in February as if it was a foregone conclusion. Don't. The house always wins. And it's coming to collect this fall.