Mourning the loss

I will try to be cryptic - so dedicated Packer fans can remain annonymous. . . Living in a border region, you can guess that the Packer/Viking rivalry is pretty strong. So the Viking fans think that it is pretty fascinating that Favre actually retired - or at least that is what the official rumor is. This is going to have an incredible impact on many of the people in our area. Today I had a student who was not his normal bubbly self. She (yes, I'm switching the gender on purpose) was noticably distracted. I really thought something tragic had happened- you know grandma died, got caught cheating, dog got hit by a car. . . but no - he had just found out that Farve had retired. How do you console someone who is going through something that will impact every moment of the rest of their lives? There are many in our area who are affected by this loss. How will this affect the future? Will they point their cheese head away from Green Bay? Will the meat packers stop packing meat? Will big guys at the games put their shirts back on? When will we figure out who Aaron Rogers is? This will be one of those moments where we can all say I remember I was ____ when I found out . . . Brett Favre retired. My heart goes out to all of the Packer fans who are currently mourning this loss.

Please, take a moment and reflect on the good times he's had. Here in a border region we'll get lots of time for reflection. For several years we've been hearing news stories about once a month wondering whether or not he's going to retire. (Those of you who don't live where the Packers make the daily news don't realize the coverage they get.) It will be interesting to see the news tonight.

Okay, so the news is on. . . I'll give a play-by play: "Brett Favre" was the first words of the 9pm news - They even interviewed someone from Sparta who was at Brett Favre's last game. Here's a few good quotes from the news, "how are people taking it?" "The stores are sold out of Favre stuff . . . one lady who called was crying," "I'm surprised the university kids have class today!" "sobbing and tear sounds". Ohh, they did decide the weather was news worthy today. Ohh and now we have primary info guess that must be the end of the Farve stories until the sports . . . sometimes the news is just Packer packed!

Here's just an example of the tributes: "I'll miss the pills, and the drinking, and the stories about rehab. Favre wasn't perfect. None of us are. But in his imperfections lay his humanity." (ESPN)

I can't believe I've written so much about the Packers.

Is it significant that #4 reitred on 3-4? After all it is a good day.