Rise of the Living Dead QB--Part 1

Brett Favre is once again an active NFL player, and from all of the commotion you would think that either the NFL is about to disintegrate or rise to almighty prominence--neither of which will most likely occur during the course of the season. It's just that it's preseason football, and honestly who cares about the games! So, the only thing we can do while suffering the final days of the yearly football fast is either lament or applaud the return of one of the most prolific quarterbacks.

As the season starts, every flash of brilliance and misstep will lead the SportsCenter highlights. But after watching ESPN fill time with "Week's Top 10" on a Wednesday during the long days of baseball's summer, I'm not going to complain about a dynamic sports figure actually making interesting news. (I think I saw the exact same play, a left-fielder diving across the manicured outfield catching--gasp--a baseball, five of the 10 times.) Yes, I do love baseball and I will be doing backflips about it when playoffs arrive. But the baseball season is way, way too long to capture my attention in August!

So, in a sport where most players are lucky to play past their 27th birthday, Favre still has the capabilities to garner $25 million for two years at age 39. Yes, the whole, "I'm retired. Surprise, I'm not retired" was annoying. But hey, what person--given the opportunity--would walk away from that salary to play football every Sunday?! You're telling me all these 39- and older-men who are ranting and raving, "Favre should've just walked away" would not be on the field opening weekend if an NFL coach called them today--and they'd probably do it for FREE!

Why do we have this preoccupation with the Hollywood ending of going out on top and living the rest of your life in peace? The better question is why don't Hollywood movies start with that scene and show what happens after that? Well, because it's boring! And if Favre is so bored that the only thing he wants to do is spend the summer on a Mississippi high school football field throwing around the pigskin, and the Vikings are bending over backward to get him back in the pros--why not?

I'll admit it was painful watching Michael Jordan suffer through one final season with the Wizards, and I'm praying that's not the season ahead for Favre. But instead of coming down on Favre or--just as bad--declaring this a Super Bowl season for the Vikings, let's look at it from a purely humanistic standpoint. This is a man defying all reason and physiological standards to continue doing what he loves. Instead of telling our society--and especially our kids--that the goal in life is to go out on top, let's applaud a man who's hard work and perseverance is keeping him in the game. Life isn't about going out on top, it's about how you live your life while climbing. And are we so arrogant to think that we even know where the top is? All I know is that like Favre, I don't plan to rest on a job well done until the day I'm six feet under.