Brett Favre not only failed to make an impact on the field this season for the Minnesota Vikings, but his off-the-field shenanigans actually eclipsed how one egomaniac took a team that almost made it to the Super Bowl, and flushed it down the toilet.
Packers fans, long tired of Favre's drama, could finally exhale and declare, "Not our problem anymore."
But in actuality, Favre was our problem for a very long time. When we weren't wearing green and gold blinders, most of us knew that the ol' gunslinger was not a man of especially high moral turpitude. His public battle with prescription drugs and alcohol aside, plenty of us saw him in action in his younger days, before he became more discrete about his dalliances. And those of us who have a pipeline to people truly in the know, realized that Favre's behavior was actually much worse -- though we could never go on the record to say it.
In other words, I'm not surprised that Favre sexted a sideline reporter or made alleged overtures toward massage therapists. I'm only surprised he was so lazy and cavalier about leaving a trail of texts. By now, people should assume that his "bad intentions," as put it, began before he joined the Jets.
The bigger question, though, is whether morality matters in sports?
The short answer is no.
Just like nothing in sports actually matters, unless you're playing for, work for or own a team or a business that directly benefits from it. Whether the Packers go 0-16 or win another Super Bowl, as fans go, none of this actually, really, honestly, matters.
Which isn't to say that fans don't derive great pleasure from watching and rooting for their teams. So while a stand-up guy is easier to get behind, plenty of people still cheer for the ultimate low-life -- but extremely talented -- Mike Vick.
Of course, there's the role model angle, and many athletes have practically begged children not to look up to them. Parents would be well-served to heed that advice: with rare exception, there are far better role models out there than pro jocks. Not all are bad guys; many are great. But these athletes are famous for their God-given physical ability, not because of any other contribution to society.
Yet, somehow fans can move closer and farther away from distancing themselves from the player they see on and off the field. In person, I've only seen a few athletes behaving badly: back in '96, I saw one of the more popular Packers at the time at a bar on Water Street, groping a woman who was obviously not his wife. The only thing I said to him was, "Hey, hope your foot is feeling better and you can play again soon."
Having worked closely with sports insiders who are privy to much more salacious stories than that, I recall the one about the Brewers player in the '90s who tried to pay a booty call to his out-of-town mistress. When he showed up at her apartment, her roommate answered the door and said that the mistress wasn't home. The player paused, then asked if the roommate would be interested in letting him in, anyway, before she slammed the door in his face.
Conversely, the Packers now have a different kind of leader in the quiet and understated Aaron Rodgers. So far, he's said and done all the right things and has at least given the appearance of being a stand-up guy. I have no proof that he is or isn't a decent human being, but whatever he does off the field is at least, for now, away from the public eye. It's a nice change from all the drama in Minnesota.
But bottom line, players are paid to win, not to be good guys. The Eagles knew that with Vick, and took their chances with fans (though had I been an Philly fan, I would've renounced my loyalty; murdering dogs crosses the line). It appears to have been a good move for them, at least in the wins and losses column.
And Favre's scandal makes for good reading in the blogosphere, but that's about it.
Morality and sports rarely meet in the middle, and the sooner fans come to grips with this, the sooner they can enjoy the action on the field.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
