Critics, and shockingly this blog has critics, link everything I write to one of three things: young earth creationism, Republican politics, or Plato.
Actually, the last is rather fair since most things I write have something to with Plato, but not this post.
As far as I can tell it has nothing to do with religion or science.
And in this political season it has nothing to do with politics.
I am, and always have been, a Green Bay Packers fan. I know T.J. Rubley’s name. I have a picture of me getting Bart Starr’s autograph, I have a picture of me waiting to get Bart Starr’s autograph . . . and I have a picture of me holding Bart Starr’s autograph.
I got a subscription to Direct TV just to watch the Pack.
In a 9-1 season, I am irritated that we lost to the Bears at home.
But mostly I am thankful to one Brett Favre for making this season an unexpected delight. He is reminding me of my youth (long ago), making every game fun, and taking a young team on his not-yet-stooped back and leading them to the play offs.
Favre is fun to watch.
Back in the day he taught me humility about any mere fan thinking he knows anything about how the game is really played.
I thought that Favre was a wild kid (six years my junior) who would never get the discipline to play the game at the highest level. I would have started a fellow named Detmer.
Stupid me.
That mistake has allowed me just to cheer and give up on picking talent . . . though both my fantasy teams (the La Mirada Tsarists and the California Romanovs) have winning records.
Barely.
(I shall not be thanking Frank Gore for his rushing stats this Holiday.)
I did not account for the miracle of his luminous wife who helped tame him.
Does anyone think Favre would still be playing if it was not for Deanna Favre?
Favre has retained a child-like sense of wonder, but is no longer childish.
I forgot about grace and that spirit and talent . . . faith really. . . can help a man act when others are paralyzed by a David-Carr like longing for safety.
Brett Favre has entertained me on many Sundays. I dreaded this season a bit thinking I was going to to see Brett play like Starr did at the end surrounded by the Team of Fools . . . a group of youths endlessly losing to everyone.
Wrong again.
Instead, Favre is once again entertaining my whole family, raising his arms with each touchdown, and carrying is younger brothers down the field.
It is not important like the War.
It is not deep as Plato.
It is not meaningful like politics.
It is pure amusement and entertainment.
Favre has managed to give it to me without sulking like the talented Moss and by growing up enough to avoid turning creating worries he would become a Namath-drunk-on-the-sidelines-in-twenty-years kind of hero who embarrasses you into admitting to your kids that you once thought him “cool.”
(Paging Tom Brady . . . marry the woman you “love.”)
Favre just plays the game and does not distract us from his athletic excellence.
Thank you, Brett Favre.
You are well paid, but you have paid the fans back. However this season ends, it is has already been better than we hoped.
Now I await the blog post that begins: “How can young earth advocate John Mark Reynolds, known Republican, square his love for the Green Bay Packers with his avowed Platonism?”
But I shan’t worry about such things Thursday when the Packer’s Gipper leads the very form of a football team through the Lions on to a hoped for victory of Biblical proportions.
* I should note a kind reader graciously pointed out that I misspelled Favre (Farve) in this entire post.
Sigh.
This is now the dumbest typographical error I have made in a post . . . replacing many others.
There is no reason for it. I am looking straight ahead at a poster with his name on it . . . and have even joked about how Packer quarterbacks that are great have names like Starr and FARve that seem made up for boy’s books in the fifties.
“Bud Starr Plays Junior High Quarterback”