Why Brett Farve Will Never Retire

Today I had a stunning realization. Brett Farve could be the best player in the NFL right now. I know, I know, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning.... So what? They aren't forty years old. I mean, have you watched Brett Farve lately? Is he really forty years old? Because when he throws that ball, its on a line. He puts it wherever he wants, whenever he wants. Remember when everyone was questioning what going to the Vikings would do to his legacy? Suddenly you don't hear as many skeptics when he's thrown for 2482 yards and 21 touchdowns, all while leading the Vikings to a 9-1 record. I'll admit, I thought he was done. At forty years old, there was no way Brett Farve could come back again and be able to make the throws needed for them to compete in the NFC North. Okay, I was wrong. But its not like he proved he could still play in New York. He was mediocre at best for the Jets, and had a major letdown at the end of the season to drop them out of the playoffs. That generally means you're done. But Brett Farve always believes he still has that one great year in him. And thats why he will never retire.

Now that I've given Farve the praise he deserves for this season, let me go on a short rant. How can he still be playing??? He had one good year in his last season at Green Bay, and that gave him too much confidence in himself. The years before that he was starting to go downhill, and that should have been his last season. But because he had such a great year, he thought he could do it again. And, admitedly, he has this season. But thats my point. These "good years" have never been back to back. Theres been one good year, then you have to wait a few more years to get another good one. But Brett keeps telling himself he can still do it. This could go on for eternity! Brett Farve will continue to have one good year every five years or so, and some team will take a chance on him because he's Brett Farve. I'm looking forward to seeing Brett taking snaps at 65 for the Patriots who are coming off a few bad seasons because Tom Brady retired several years back. People will laugh because this is the fifteenth NFL team he has played on in twenty years, but will soon stop laughing when he leads them to the AFC championship game, despite having to suck down prune juice and pills to keep his heart rate down at timeouts. They will sadly fall short of the Super Bowl because of a careless mistake he makes, but Patriots fans will forgive him because of the remarkable season he had. The following year they will lose fifteen games, and people will call him too old, and question why he is still out on the field with these young superstars. The Patriots will kick him out of town, then call for Tom Brady to rejoin the team in a Farve-like return to the game. Tom will refuse because he has common sense. Brett, now jobless, goes to his list of NFL teams he has not played for, and makes some calls. Two weeks later, he's a Cowboy.

Brett Farve is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, and he has had a remarkable season. But he has to stop after this year. He has had a great run. He should go out on an MVP season. He may not take my advice. I guess that means a few more years of watching him sling the ball to receivers half his age, just like he's twenty-five again. I can handle that.

Thankfulness

As Thanksgiving approaches fast, I took some time to sit down and think of what I was thankful for. The normal things came to mind; family, friends, a house, food on the table, and the Detroit Lions. Wait a second. Did he just say the Detroit Lions? The Detroit Lions whose fans wear bags on their heads to games? The Detroit Lions who haven't had a winning season in who knowns when? The same Lions who lost every game last year? Yes, those Lions. I find it very easy to love the Lions when my team plays them. If I ask who the Eagles are playing this Sunday and I learn its the Lions, I breathe a sigh of relief. The Lions win, on average, three games a year. So you just have to hope that one of those three wins isn't against your team. I also really love the Lions when I just want a laugh. If you type in "Detroit Lions Bloopers" on Youtube, you will laugh for days, trust me. But then there are other times when I think, "I feel bad for Lions fans." Imagine how terrible it must be to watch your team lose every single week. And I think that being a Carolina Gamecock fan is bad.

While there are many reasons why one would hate the Lions, I can't. I just can't do it. I'm the kid brought up on the Rocky movies. I was taught, always play hard, fight to the end, just want it more. I don't think the Lions not wanting it is the problem. They just aren't good. That being said, they play hard. Those God awful Lions play hard. They may not win, but they fight. Its got to be hard to know you really don't have a chance in the game your about to play. And it can't help that their own fans can't watch them past one quarter. But thats why I have to like them. I have respect for the Lions. I pull for them to win. I'm not a die hard Lions fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I cheer for them. I pull for the underdog. And they are always the underdog.

The Lions have become a tradition in our family. Every Thanksgiving we go to Aunt L's house, eat turkey, enjoy company of family, hang out at her huge house, and then watch the Lions get slaughtered by the Cowboys or Patriots. I don't know why the Lions always play on Thanksgiving. I think whoever schedules the NFL games just likes putting the worst team in the league on national television so everyone can see them get waxed. Maybe its an on going joke in the NFL, "Hey, whose playing on Thanksgiving? The Lions, and that team whose going to beat the Lions." Honestly the Lions playing on Thanksgiving makes no sense. It truly is not in the best intrest of the NFL to have them play in that spot every year. The NBA doesn't do stuff like that on their Christmas game. They always have two of the league's really good teams battling it out. I think it was Celtics-Lakers last year. Now thats a game worth watching! This leads to the question, why do the Lions always play on Thanksgiving? Its simple, really. It has become a tradition, not just for my family, but for many people. If they took the Lions off of the Thanksgiving game, it would be chaos. As bad as they are, everyone wants to see them play. I could not imagine a Thanksgiving without the Lions. I guess that proves a point.

I'm thankful for the Lions because it brings my family together. I love watching them play, and I look forward to it all year long. That seems strange, but its true. In all the years I have been watching them play on Turkeyday, I don't they've have won once. Not once. But for some odd reason, it fits. Watching them play makes Thanksgiving seem more genuine to me. Maybe thats why they always end up trading punches with a storied franchise on the last Thursday of the month. The Lions have slowly grown on me, and I can't wait to see them play Green Bay on Thursday. Maybe this year they'll actually win.