CALLING YOU OUT - THE MEDIA

by WCT, The Ship of Fools

“Calling You Out!” is a periodic segment where WCT takes people to task for irresponsible journalism, foolhardy activities, or just general douchebaggery. Nothing is sacred, no one is spared, watch your ass mister! You could be next!

Today, the Big, Bad, Mainstream Media embarrasses itself when a football player retires.

I realize that attempting to call out a group as large, and as wide-ranging as "the media" may seem like an arduous task, but I am up for it, so here goes.

In case you have been under a rock, with a bag over your head, and your fingers in your ears, let me be the first to inform you: Brett Favre retired this week.

I know, weird stuff, right? Why now? I guess he wanted to go out (somewhat) on top, after a terrific year, both individually and for his team. I, personally, am happy for him and his family.

See that last paragraph? That was my reaction to hearing the news. That was probably most football fans' reaction to the news. For most members of the media however, the reaction was akin to the BBC's reaction when Princess Diana was killed.

Joe Sports Fan did a terrific job of thoroughly breaking down ESPN's emotional reactions to Favre's tragic death decision to no longer play football professionally (maybe). There was everything from the ridiculous:

"Brett Favre had more fun playing football than arguably anyone else ever"

To the sublime...-ly ridiculous:

"How many times have you cried today [since hearing of Favre's retirement]?"

They had SportsCenter episodes dedicated exclusively to Favre retirement reaction, the panel of idiots on Around the Horn were asked the question "how will the NFL recover?" and there was an NFL Live episodes where they talked only about their reactions to hearing of Brett's retirement. Favre was an all-time great player, but do they really think that anyone wants to watch 30 minutes of Trey Wingo, Mark Schlereth, Floyd Reese, John Clayton, Chris Mortensen, and Steve Young all just sharing old Favre anecdotes?

But perhaps no media outlet was able to go overboard with this story of retirement as thoroughly and as crazily as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

First, the banner at the top of the special "Favre Retirement Section"(!!!) of their sports web page reads:

THANKS 4 THE MEMORIES
BRETT FAVRE 1992-2007

as if Favre was born the day he was traded to the Packers in 1992 and died, uh, I guess sometime in 2007, and not January 20, 2008, the date of his last game as a Packer, or March 4, 2008, the date he announced his retirement.

It continues with the first line of the featured story:

Everyone figured it had to come to an end someday. That day came suddenly on Tuesday...and just like that, Favre's time had expired

I mean, should we be sending flowers to Deana or something?

J-S columnist Michael Hunt (tee hee, Mike Hunt!) takes it from there:

On-the-sleeve emotion from an off-the-rack kind of everyman. A maverick with the devilish wink and the prankster heart of a 12-year-old with a gambler's soul.

Have you ever heard of anyone prattle on in that manner about anyone else on the day in which they decide to stop playing football and do something else with their life? Did anyone write about the "devilish wink" or the "prankster heart of a 12-year old" of Warren Sapp when he announced his retirement just a few hours later?

Now I don't want to be mistaken for someone who is understating Favre's career. He is undoubtedly one of the top 10 quarterbacks of all time, and he overcame terrible personal tragedy to perform admirably on several occasions. His ironman streak is almost unfathomable, and he resurrected one of the great franchises in American sports.

But the sun still rose the day after he retired, and the Packers will still have a decent shot to get back to the playoffs (thanks in part to the terrible division they play in) next year with Aaron Rodgers. Not only that, they will necessarily be better suited to compete for the Super Bowl in 2009, '10, and '11 than they would have been if Brett had hung around. Rodgers will get his shot at the starting QB spot, and they will be able to determine exactly what they have in him, and if he is ready to make this team a contender, or if they need to move in a different direction.

In the years since winning the Super Bowl in 1997-98, Brett Favre's quarterback play wavered between stellar ('01, '04, '07) and awful ('99, '05, several playoff games). He was great, but he is not irreplaceable. The Packers will go on, the NFL will go on, life as we know it in the state of Wisconsin (and in Bristol, CT) will go on. Most importantly, Brett Favre's life will go on. I'm sure his wife and children are very happy with his decision to spend time with them rather than gun-sling (or whatever). There is no need to eulogize him, or shed tears because he decided he no longer wants to play football. Brett has moved on with his life, and I suggest those in the media do the same.