{image1}Tonight I sat and watched the Green Bay Packers play the Tennessee Titans, with the full intent of penning this week's column with the game as the main subject.
But no matter how hard I tried, no many how many times I started over, I just couldn't do it. Nor, mind you, did I want to be one of those hacks that took the easy way out of writing his column by using Hurricane Katrina as an easy out from creativity.
But then I saw Brett Favre sitting on the Green Bay Packers' bench Thursday night.
OK, so he got roughed up a bit, and had to sit out. It happens to everybody.
But to look at his face, for a brief -- ever so miniscule second -- you could see it. Brett Favre, Human Being.
For well over a decade, Packers fans have been so blinded by the sheer determination -- some would call it, at times, stubbornness -- that they have failed to see the human being within.
Go back to 1996. Favre ends up in a clinic for an addiction to the painkiller Vicodin. How does he respond?
A couple weeks in rehab, and then he ends up hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. His father passes away, and the next night, Favre throws for almost 400 yards. His wife is diagnosed with cancer, and the guy keeps playing.
Then Thursday night comes along. Just days before, his home in Mississippi -- like the homes of so many others -- is destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Like so many others, his family is short on food, water, and whatever else you can think of.
He asks Deanna -- his wife -- if he should come home. She tells him to play, which he does. Favre, ever a competitor, suits up and plays the game. He gets hurt, and comes back to finish the drive.
If that isn't just Brett Favre.
Say what you want about the Packers and their quarterback, but the guy is a trooper. Yeah, the growing list of personal tragedies keeps growing for the guy, just like they do for regular folk that don't get paid millions to play a kids game.
But that's what sets him apart from other athletes today.
Just like you and I, he has a job to do. He has a paycheck to earn. So he goes out and he does it.
A lot of fuss is made about the various problems that Favre faces, but the guy is out there every week. Just like Joe Six Pack, who has to head to the factory, the office, or the classroom, no matter what incident, ailment, or tragedy has filled his life.
Brett Favre is making millions of dollars this season. Probably more money in one season than you and I will ever see in a lifetime. But through it all, he's just another guy like you and I.
Favre is watching the news, worrying about his family, and trying to figure out just how in the hell he is going to focus on his job when so many people are in need, his family included.
When all is said and done, Favre will be the country-boy-done-good Hall of Famer. He'll be remembered for his statistics, and bringing Super Bowls back to Green Bay.
But what people probably won't notice that, despite the accolades and accomplishments, Brett Favre was a guy just like us.
No matter what stands in the way, a job is a job, and it has to be done. And further, no matter how rich, famous, or beloved you may be, there is much more in life out of your control than you can ever imagine.
That rule is true whether you're a garbage collector, a teacher, a factory worker, or a quarterback in the National Football League.
