A Fond Favrian Farewell

Say it ain’t so.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has reported that Brett Favre intends to retire from the NFL, an account that is in full dive on ESPN’s SportsCenter as you read this.

If the NFL’s Hamlet decides that this time he truly is not to be the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, then the pro football world is a sadder place. And yes, let’s take some solace — we hope - that Favre has kept Jim Gray out of work and spared us of a reprise of The Decision.

With stats that say he’s the best regular-season signal caller in pro football history, fans will no longer get to the see old gunslinger work his magic and extend his streak to 286 consecutive starts (Peyton Manning is second with 192, so Favre could eventually play Lou Gehrig to the Colts QB’s Cal Ripken).

Clearly, the Nielsens are going to miss the man that turned many Sunday afternoon and primetime windows into must-see TV. Indeed, cable’s all-time audience mark came courtesy of Favre playing his old squad, the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 5, 2009, when ESPN averaged 21.8 million viewers.

Sure, we’ve all been down this road several times before with Favre. But coming off what was arguably his best-ever season in 2009 and with a talent-laden Minnesota team to lead, his ankle really must not be responding well enough to surgery in order for him to properly prepare for what would be a 20th campaign.

Hence, his last pass will be the interception by Tracy Porter that triggered the New Orleans Saints’ OT win in the NFC Championship and catapulted the Who Dats to a Super Bowl XLIV triumph. That’s a tough way to go out, even from the perspective of many New York Jets fans, many of whom will always spell Brett Favre B-E-N-D-I-C-T  A-R-N-O-L-D.

If this in fact Favre’ s farewell, then let’s hope it’s a fond one for one of the NFL all-time most compelling characters.