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Heinzerling: Time To Look At Brett Favre's Legacy

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Nov 29, 2008 7:48 pm US/Mountain

Heinzerling: Time To Look At Brett Favre's Legacy

Written by Brett Heinzerling, CBS4 Sports Producer

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DENVER (CBS4) ― With the Broncos on their way to New Jersey to take on the New York Bretts (love the name), it's time to take on the argument of Brett Favre's legacy. When he decided not to retire, but rather escape from Green Bay, Favre risked tarnishing his legacy, or so was the outcry from Packer fans and pundits. Therein lies the problem: Who defines Favre's legacy? Is it the writers who cover his career? Is it the fans, or is it Brett himself? The only person capable of deciding what he, or any athlete for that matter, will leave as a legacy is the athlete himself.

The biggest problem Favre has in deciding on how to conclude his career is John Elway. Yes, Denver's beloved hero is to blame for every question about how a player will, or should, end his career. The fans wanted to see Favre play his entire career (barring a very short stint with the Falcons at the start) with one franchise. Elway did, after all, and he will go down as the best Bronco ever to wear the predominately orange. But the fact is, Favre wasn't ready to hang up the rocket arm, and the Packers had already decided that Aaron Rodgers was their guy. You can hardly blame Brett for feeling unwelcome. Enter the Jets, and a third franchise for Favre.

The biggest thing Elway did to mess up retirement plans throughout the NFL is go out on top. Elway was the MVP of the Super Bowl the last time he took the field. Good luck to every subsequent player in trying to follow in those enormous footsteps. Joe Namath retired well past his prime in a uniform that never seemed to fit him, as did the late great Johnny U. Steve Young and Troy Aikman were forced out by recurring concussions. The point is, Elway was an aberration ... a man who was still at the top of his game and healthy enough to play, but he walked away and started the Hall of Fame countdown.

Brett Favre is still eminently effective as a starting quarterback, and he has never been unhealthy. He just wants to keep playing, and who are we to say that in doing so, Brett is destroying what he did to get to the point that anyone cares what his legacy is? For the record, Brett Favre's legacy is this ... Super Bowl champion, holder of every meaningful record as a quarterback, and still pretty good for a 39-year-old washout starting over in a new system. Not bad for a guy playing past his prime.

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