Thankfully, Favre saga has concluded

By Bob Birge PA SportsTicker Staff Writer

From the Frozen Tundra to the New Jersey swamp. From fabled Lambeau Field to the site where former teamster Jimmy Hoffa is believed to be buried. From Lombardi Avenue to Exit 16W.

The Brett Favre saga ended - at least for now - on Wednesday night, when the Green Bay Packers traded him to the New York Jets.

B-R-E-T-T is now a member of the J-E-T-S!

All football fans should be thankful - not necessarily that the 38-year-old Favre is still playing and not even that he is taking his act from the NFL's smallest market to its largest, where he figures to dominate the back pages of New York's tabloid newspapers.

Regardless of where Favre ended up - and it wasn't going to be in Green Bay - football fans should be thankful this unseemly soap opera has concluded. This story took on a life of its own, spinning out of control and fueled by a certain sports television network.

Before Wednesday, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum did not think the trade was going to happen.

"I never thought it was alive," Tannenbaum said. "We just kind of put an oar in the water and then things finally just heated up real quick here at the end."

When the Jets recently surfaced - along with Tampa Bay - as a possible destination for Favre, the quarterback would not talk to them. He didn't seem to want any part of New York's other team.

Now, he is going to replace loyal soldier Chad Pennington as the Jets' starting signal-caller.

It's a bizarre turn of events, but this entire story has been bizarre from the moment Favre announced his intention to un-retire.

"My gut feeling for a long time was (that) I just didn't think it was going to come to fruition," Tannenbaum said.

It came to fruition because the Packers continued to play hardball with Favre, continued to call his bluff. They wouldn't release him or trade him to a division rival - like Minnesota or Chicago. They've also made a commitment to use Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback.

The irreconcilable differences led to the divorce, and, given the hard feelings on both sides, it was in the best interests of Favre and the Packers - even if some Cheeseheads think Favre should be canonized.

"We respect Brett's decision that he could no longer remain here as a Packer," the team said in a statement. "But there were certain things we were not willing to do because they were not in the best interest of the team. We were not going to release him nor trade him within the division.

"When Brett ultimately decided he still wanted to play football, but not in Green Bay, we told him that we would work to find the best solution for all parties involved."

So now Favre goes from the league's most storied franchise to one with a history of misfortune. It would be just the Jets' luck to have Favre suffer a major injury in the season opener and end his NFL record streak of 272 consecutive starts (including playoffs).

The Packers, meanwhile, will be in for a lot of LAB work - life after Brett.

Following Favre won't be easy for Rodgers, who was actually booed last week during an intra-squad scrimmage - something that probably could only happen in Green Bay.

For some Green Bay fans, Favre's spirit always will be felt at Lambeau Field, but at least he won't physically be there to literally look over Rodgers' shoulders.

The Packers may not be entirely blameless in this mess, but they have shown that no one player - even the great Favre - is bigger than the team. Hard as it may be to believe, Green Bay - the city and team - will survive without him.

"We appreciate the tremendous passion shown by our fans," the Packers said. "We, like them, always will see Brett Favre as a Green Bay Packer and our respect for him never will change."

But now, like some relationships, Favre and the Packers need to spend some time apart.