Always Anna

You know I’m a Packers fan.  And you know I love Brett.  And today, officially, he’s not a Packer.

I’m angry.  And sad.  And my feelings whip back and forth so fast between wanting to scream and wanting to cry – with brief bursts of acceptance in between – that I feel like I have emotional whiplash.

It’s been a messy divorce, this separation of Packers and Favre. As a Packer fan, I have to support my team and still root for them to win, right?  But as someone who’s only ever known Brett as the QB for my team, how do I relate to my team without him there?  Especially since even though I believe that both the Packers management and Brett did their part to f*ck up this situation, when push comes to shove, I believe that Brett was more right. 

I believe that the Packers shouldn’t have pressured him into retiring, then refused to talk to him when he realized that he still wanted to play.  And can very clearly still play WELL. 

I believe that the Packers should have understood and appreciated the fact that Brett has defined their team for almost two decades, and should have welcomed him back with open arms.

I believe that Ted Thompson, our douche of a GM, should have put his own ego aside and not refused to consider starting someone other than Aaron Rodgers. While I’ll admit to never liking Aaron (HI, he played for Cal, and I’m a USC fan!), it boggles the mind that TT could be so caught up in supporting “his” draft pick that he doesn’t take into account the fact that Brett took them to numerous NFC North Championships, NFC Playoffs, and the Super Bowl. 

I’ll miss seeing you in Lambeau, Brett.  I’ll be rooting for you in New York.

Packers?  I’ll be rooting for you in the fall.  But I know that watching football this year will not be the same.

Does it make me a b*tch if I am enjoying the pain of the Patriots fans I know? 

It’s just… living in Boston and NOT being a Pats fan, and having to listen to people talk day in and out about how awesome they are, and how their perfection is godlike, and about how the sun shines out of Tom Brady’s ass?  And the fact that I’ve had to deal with these fans telling me all season that I was just jealous of how good they are, and then announcing that they can’t wait to repeat their perfect season next year, and then telling me that I was lucky that my Packers didn’t have to lose to them in the Superbowl?  And, of course, the fact that I hate hate HATE Randy Moss?  Well, it all adds up to makes me ecstatic that the Giants won last night.

But I’m keeping it inside, for the most part.  I’m restraining myself from running around the office yelling, “Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!  You guys are LOSERS!”  So that’s something, right?

For me, it’s totally appropriate to start the month of love* by mentioning that MSN has ranked Brett Favre as one of the 10 sexiest quarterbacks in history.  Excuse me as I salivate.

Other sexy QBs that made the list include Joe Namath (in my book, any guy who is comfortable enough with his manliness to do an advertisement for pantyhose is pretty hot), Donovan McNabb (such a fun, classy guy!), Johnny Unitas (the original heart throb QB), and Matt Leinart (who, since he went to USC, will always be on my list of favorites).

I’m not as solidly behind Randall Cunningham (who I admittedly don’t know much about) or Doug Flutie (who, while he sounds like a really nice guy, doesn’t really strike my fancy), but I can see why they’d be on this list.

But - Tom Brady?  Tony Romo?  Matt Hasselbeck?  Are these jokes?  Tom Brady is not even CLOSE to manly, and looks cross-eyed half the time!  Tony Romo is a giant toolbox with awful taste in women and a doofy look on his face all the time!  And Matt Hasselbeck?  I don’t even know where to start.

Where is David Carr, with his chiseled features and come-hither eyes**?  Where is Steve Young, a HOT, well-spoken, intelligent, and all-around good guy?  And where is Joe Montana’s amazing smile?

Clearly MSN needs to hire me (and my friend Zo, who sent me the link to the ranking) to rank QB hotness. 

* Yeah, month of love is cheesy, I know.  But it’s American Heart Month!  And the month of Hallmark’s Love Holiday!

** Do I sound like a romance novelist? Do guys even have come-hither eyes?

They say: “Sorry about yesterday, Anna.”

I think: “AH!  I don’t want to talk about it!  I’m still on the verge of tears!”

I say: “Thanks.”

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They say: “It must have been rough to watch, huh?”

I think: “Well, duh.  Are you seriously trying to make me relive my heartbreak again?”

I say: “Yeah, it wasn’t my idea of a perfect game.”

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They say: “Well, at least you had a good season.  I mean, who even thought the Packers would get that far?”

I think: “Oh, thanks for the insult. I knew we could get this far… and know that we’re a better team than the freaking Giants.  ARGH!”

I say: Nothing, just stare at them.

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They say: “So, do you think Brett will come back?”

I think: “Ohmigod, don’t start crying, don’t start crying.”

I say: “I guess we’ll see…” 

I almost hyperventilated when I tore the ad cover off of my new Sports Illustrated yesterday, revealing that Brett Favre has won the 2007 Sportsman of the Year honor.

Alan Shipnuck writes in the article, “He has rarely been flawless… but he’s always shown up.  Through pills and booze, through cancer and car crashes and heart attacks, he has played on. … It is for his perseverance and his passion that SI honors Favre with the 54th Sportsman of the Year award.  But there is more to his story than on-field heroics.  On game day the whole of Green Bay may live and die on Favre’s rocket right arm, but his greatest legacy lies in how many people he has touched between Sundays.” 

Brett, I love you.  And I admire you too!

This intro to the Packers vs. Broncos game 2 weeks ago makes me cry. I love it.

We all know I love Brett Favre. So as I settle in to my comfy red couch to watch tonight’s Packers vs. Broncos game, I am pretty excited. And, now, I’m crying, because Deanna Favre’s commercial about why we love Brett is just… beautiful. She talks about how the doubters may have increased in volume, but they are survivors… and legends write their own stories. She finishes up by saying, “My Brett. Our Favre.”

Sniff.

I’ll have to try and find this online tomorrow. In the meantime…

Go Pack Go!

I love football.  And since I started an all-girls fantasy football league with some friends 3 seasons ago, I’ve loved fantasy football too.  But I do have one complaint….

Shaun Alexander is killing my soul.

I had the first pick in the draft last year, and was all set to draft LaDainian.  Due to issues in getting online in time for the live draft, and the fact that I stupidly did not set my preferences in Yahoo, I ended up getting Shaun Alexander.  I was disappointed, but decided that it wasn’t that big a deal.

Then, of course, the Madden curse set in, and Shaun Alexander single-handedly wrecked my team last year.  Sigh.

This year, we decided to have one “keeper” on each team – each girl keeps one player from the previous year’s team.  After a ton of deliberation, I had to keep Shaun.  I figured that he’d come back this season with something to prove, and that I’d be stupid to drop him.  Plus, I didn’t have anyone better.

How wrong I was.  Now my team is even WORSE than it was last year, and I don’t think I can convince anyone to trade one of their players to me for him.  But I’ve got to try – I just can’t deal with this anymore.

There are a few things that can make you happy on a Sunday in the fall:

* Waking up surrounded by friends after a great house party.
* Walking around your neighborhood to enjoy the sunshine and clear blue skies.
* Watching your football team beat a team that no one thought they could beat, giving them a 3-0 record and putting them in first place in the division.
* Cheering and crying as your beloved quarterback ties the long-standing record for touchdown passes on his home turf.

When all these things happen in the same day, it pretty much ends up being a perfect day.