Legacy

We live in a country that loves to point fingers and place blame.

We yearn for headlines.  For gossip.  For dirt.  We love the paparazzi.  It gives us great pleasure to watch a person fall from grace.

We feel entitled to every picture, every scrap of information on celebrities and politicians.  We filled the streets when George W. Bush deployed Operation Infinite Justice, and we climbed on pedestals to persecute Bill Clinton for his extramarital affair in the White House.  So why, I wonder, are we so short sighted, so quick to forget and forgive and so easily suckered when it comes to our star athletes?

When an athlete falters, we tend to adopt a sort of gladiatorial perspective on them; if they succeed in the Coliseum, they will win our hearts and we will forget the fact that they made a mistake, or committed a felony or cheated on their wife…repeatedly.  Now, our leagues have standards of course.

The NFL has a player code of conduct that must be followed.  It would never allow a murderer to play it its league for instance.  Obviously it must uphold these standards to maintain its image and continue functioning as one of the largest money making machines in the world.  Right?  Well, wait a second…

Donte Stallworth: Ran over a fifty-nine year old man in his Bentley while drunk.  He was charged with a DUI and second degree manslaughter on April 1, 2009.  He was released on $200,000 bail.  He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 1,000 hours of community service.  (30 days in jail and 1,000 hours of community service?)

Ray Lewis: Was indicted on murder and aggravated assault charges on January 31, 2000.  His lawyer negotiated to have the murder charge dropped in return for Ray Lewis’ testimony against the other two men indicted.  Lewis was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $250,000 by the NFL.  The suit he wore the night he was arrested was never found.

Donte Stallworth was charged with manslaughter.  Vehicular manslaughter.  While drunk.  He now plays in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens.

Ray Lewis was charged with murder, took a plea bargain and currently plays in the NFL for…the Baltimore Ravens!  The year after his murder charge, Lewis won Super Bowl MVP.

To anyone who’s ever watched an episode of Law & Order, Lewis’ actions following his arrest are the pinnacle of shadiness.  “Losing” the suit you wore the night you allegedly murdered a man, then testifying against the other two suspects in exchange for lessened charges?

Ruminate on that.

So I repeat; why are we so quick to forget and forgive?  Is it because we don’t want to, “Underestimate the heart of a champion?”  Is that all it takes?

I hope that everyday Americans understand the ludicrous nature of these legal issues.  If anyone of us got arrested for murder, we not be released on bail, we would not pass GO, we would not collect $200.  We would in fact be sitting in jail or prison, serving approximately 75-percent of the maximum sentencing for whatever crime we were convicted of.

If you or I were convicted on felony dog fighting charges as Michael Vick was in 2007, we would not be playing for the Philadelphia Eagles right now.  Odds are we wouldn’t even have the opportunity to rejoin the work force as we would still be sitting behind bars.

All this leads me to the most recent and perhaps most revered recipient of what will henceforth be referred to as the “If Hitler Had Won a Super Bowl at QB, He’d Be Ok By Me” affect.

Brett Favre.

Sundry articles have been released regarding his place in the annals of football.  Little specials and highlight reels are inserted into games and replayed on Sports Center. Journalistic pieces have come out defending his legacy, slightly tarnishing his legacy, even suggesting we can’t analyze his legacy yet as it is something that can only be perceived in a decades away retrospective.

And here I stop.  Brett Favre’s legacy?  We can definitely perceive his legacy.  Writers who say pundits are ignorant for thinking we could consider his legacy at this time, look up ‘legacy’ in the dictionary and tell me which part of its definition suggests I have to wait a long time to determine what a person’s legacy is.

DM me.  My twitter handle is JurassicPaque.

Brett Favre’s legacy is what we’re left with when he’s gone.  If he’s gone now, if that January 2nd game he spent on the sideline was truly his last stand, this is what we’re left with:

Stats galore (just the stats):
Most career pass attempts.
Most career pass completions.
Most career touchdown passes.
Most career wins.
Highest career passing yardage.

Late Career Off the Field (just the facts):
Brett Favre retired from the NFL, then decided to return to the Green Bay Packers after the team had spent the off-season and draft preparing for the Post-Favre era.
He is traded to the New York Jets.
Brett Favre retires again from the NFL after a season with the Jets.  Brett was in a two-year contract with them.
Brett Favre returns from retirement.  His Jets contract was terminated with his retirement.  He is signed by the Minnesota Vikings, a team there had been a trade clause against in his contract with the New York Jets.
Brett Favre skips annual training camps each year with the Minnesota Vikings.

Finale (just the facts):
Brett Favre is accused of sending sexually explicit messages to Jenn Sterger a sideline reporter with the New York Jets.
He is fined $50,000 by the NFL for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy and Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner states that “Favre was not candid in several aspects during the investigation.”
During the 2010 NFL season, Favre sees his career starts streak snap.  He sprains his throwing shoulder and a concussion knocks him out of the last two games of the season for the Minnesota Vikings.
Favre’s salary for the 2010 season was approximately 16 millions dollars.  1 million dollars per game.  Including the three he missed due to injury.
He is currently being sued for sexual harassment by multiple massage therapists from the New York Jets organization.

We have an enormous sample set of events from which to build the tapestry of Favre’s legacy.  I’m sure each person will all remember him differently.

For those that like things short and sweet, I encapsulate his career thusly:

Brett Favre; an amazing athlete, a true competitor, a world champion and no one’s hero.