Brett Favre’s retirement saga did not sit well with Terry Bradshaw.
“I’ll be glad when it goes away,” Bradshaw, a former quarterback turned Fox NFL analyst, proclaimed in September. “I feel bad for the Green Bay Packer fans because of the way this guy is. I’ll be glad when he’s retired and moved on because I’m fed up with it.”
That wasn’t the end of his rant. A few weeks later, Bradshaw remarked, “He told us that he was retired. Not once, but twice. You know what? It might have been three or four times, I’ve lost count … I watched him cry. He said he had no more to give us, and I believed him.”
So when Fox arranged a special sit-down interview between Favre and Bradshaw, prior to Favre’s much-anticipated return to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, sparks were expected to fly. It should have been the most explosive interview of the year. Instead, the conversation fizzled like the Green Bay Packers offense on that same Sunday afternoon.
It wouldn’t be fair to suggest that Bradshaw totally shied away from the retirement saga he had so vehemently criticized. He asked Favre why he announced his retirement if he wasn’t ready. He asked if his wife forced him into a decision. He even told Favre how he should have handled the situation in the first place.
Yet, it was obvious from the interview’s outset that Bradshaw’s stance (at least while Favre was sitting in front of him) had softened. His excessive praise for the man across the room quickly became nauseating.
“You easily could be the oldest MVP in the league,” Bradshaw boasted to Favre before completely turning into John Madden with, “you’re the only person I’ve ever said is the greatest quarterback I’ve ever seen.”
For his part, Farve didn’t seem to be in much of a talking mood. Instead of offering any real insight into what actually happened during his final days as a Packer, he went on with the same old rant about not being sure of his commitment level at the time.
Not that he really had a chance to speak. Anytime Favre began to form a thought, Bradshaw jumped in and offered his own interpretation. He might have set a record for finishing an interviewee’s sentences. At times it seemed as though Bradshaw was interviewing himself.
As this model of an interview wound down, Bradshaw – ever the intellect – completely discredited all criticism he had thrown Favre’s way earlier in the year. “You’re happy, right?” Bradshaw asked rhetorically. “So what difference does it make as long as you’re happy? ... I don’t know why we’re painting this thing so blue.”
Somehow, the ageless Favre managed to get his mind back in functioning order after this senseless conversation. He played a heck of a football game at Lambeau (as usual) and his Vikings went home victorious. Bradshaw went home a born-again Favre fan.
Thoughts? brichardson@tvguide.ca
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