Really Brett, for really this time?

Breaking news: Brett Favre has retired… again… for the third time now. Will it stick? Who knows.

I’m sure every newspaper and sports website is running the same column today by their NFL writer. That column goes a little something like this: “Sure Brett, we’ll see in a few weeks how you feel.”

It’s an easy stance to take and it’s basically a copout in this situation. Sure, Favre is exactly like the boy that cried wolf at this point, but it’s just plain repetitive. I’m sure half of the columns were written months ago, simply awaiting a date to inserted and a few details here and there.

Instead, how about celebrating a guy that destined for the hall of fame? A guy who is one of the best quarterbacks of his generation? A guy who holds several records and is a Super Bowl champion?

Favre was a fighter right down the end of his last game, that brutal playoff loss in New Orleans. He never changed his gun-slinger ways, for the good at times and for the bad as well. He’ll be missed around the league for not only his play, but his youthful enthusiasm and ability to lead his team.

And, oh boy are the Minnesota Vikings are surely going to miss him this season. Now, Tarvaris Jackson will be forced to step in and take the reigns of a team that would have been touted as Super Bowl contenders. Instead, they’ll now be forced to try to take out the Packers and the possibly resurgent Bears. And knowing how the NFC works, missing out on the playoffs is more likely than the opposite now.

Without Brett Favre, it will be a long winter in the Twin Cities.