It's bad enough that most of the media covering the NFL is comprised of guys who once coached Butt Favre, guys who played with or against Favre, guys who want to spend a week in a hot tub with him, or guys who gush over getting his cell phone number like they just pried the digits out of Charlize Theron. It's bad enough that he repeatedly held hostage the franchise that treated him like royalty for 15 years, cried like a bitch at a press conference, then came back like the drunk uncle who was politely asked to leave the kids' Easter Egg hunt and wants another shot. It's bad enough that he's the Teflon man with a Vicadin addiction and an affinity for creepy jeans commercials.
And it's bad enough that he got another undeserved trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, despite leading the league in interceptions. He easily trailed more worthy candidates like Philip Rivers (3,515 yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions), Matt Cassel (3,270 yards, 18 scores, 11 picks) and Chad Pennington (3,218 yards, 14 touchdowns, six interceptions), when compared to 3,052 yards, 21 scores and the aforementioned 17 picks for Favre. What a joke, considering Favre's performance has plummeted woefully as the season has gone on and opposing defenses have started loading the box to stop Thomas Jones.
Those things are bad.
But maybe the worst part of it all is that now, almost predictably, Favre is trying to bring the flop to the NFL. If you watch any of his games, he now plummets to the ground when anyone brushes near him as he's throwing, fish-flopping to the turf like he's trying to earn a scholarship offer from Coach K. The biggest problem facing the NFL right now is the mind-numbing overprotection of its quarterbacks, spearheaded by the fact that they are seen as the moneymakers who drive the league's popularity. Now, on top of that unfair protection, you have an over-the-hill fraud trying to draw charges and play off of the referees' quick whistles when it comes to defenders coming within a three-yard radius of a signal-caller.
As if undeserved recognition, media coddling and overhyping aren't enough, now Favre thinks the honorable thing to do is to do his best Shane Battier impersonation and take advantage of the NFL's misplaced rules focus. It reminds me of the end of John Stockton's career, when his heady play for the Utah Jazz was eventually replaced with his embarrassing flopping, staggering around and crashing to the floor when anyone touched him, like a WWF wrestler hit with a fake metal chair. At the end, you felt sorry and ashamed for Stockton, instead of appreciating the greatness with which he played the point guard position for like 20 years in the NBA. If Favre wants to end his career with more rug burns than Paris Hilton and further tarnish his legacy among real fans by trying to singlehandedly bring the flop to the NFL, hopefully an objective journalist will finally call him out for it.
I won't hold my breath on anyone with any credibility pointing out his flopping, though. In fact, it's more likely to "earn" him an honorary degree from Duke instead.
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