Favre's tears

I know I am way way late to this brewing controversy. After Brett Favre retired over a week ago, one of my favorite conservative talk show hosts laid into him for crying at his press conference. First, the moment in question:



On her radio show Laura Ingraham devoted a couple segments to lampooning the future hall of famer:

"All these years, and I didn't know there was a woman quarterback in the NFL."

"Brett Favre...we're watching this in the studio, obviously retiring from the NFL, great quarterback, handsome 38-year-old man, he gets up there and he does this press conference that was frankly one of the most embarrassing things I have ever seen."

"That's a great message for young boys. 'Get up there and act like a girl and start blubbering like a baby."

Then, in her best impersonation of a crying toddler with its favorite toy taken away, she wah-wah-wah's while uttering in a mocking tone, "It's about me, it was never about me, but it is about me, bla, bla, bla" before returning to her regular voice and stating, "I could not believe what I was seeing."

I was listening to Laura's show while she was discussing this. It was one of the only times I ever turned off her show because I did not like what I was hearing.

Where Favre's tears excessive? Maybe. Could he have been more humble? Probably. Did he set a bad example for kids out there? Don't be silly.

Now I am as sick of the beta male culture as Laura is, but I don't think Favre's tears were an indication that he is some sort of sissy. They were an expression of genuine emotion that comes when you close a major chapter in your life.

I remember playing college athletics. For four years I went to practice with the same group of guys day in and day out. We loved being together on the field and off the field. We shared a common purpose and worked hard for one another. Such comradery is hard to find.

I will never forget the moment the horn sounded at the end of the 4th quarter in my final game senior year. At that moment I knew a huge part of my life had come to an end. No longer would I suit up with these guys and go to battle. It was emotional...and it was only four years.

Now put yourself in Favre's shoes. He has lived and breathed football since he could walk. He played for years and years with one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. And now it is over. Forgive me if I don't get upset about his display of emotion at a press conference.