favre retires

Brett Favre listed stress as the reason for his retirement today, and he said the more the Packers won, the more stress he felt.

You can listen to his explanation, via a voicemail to Chris Mortensen of ESPN. Favre seemed emotional, and his rationale leaves a little doubt about whether there still may be a chance he can be persuaded to return. He said the only outcome that would justify a comeback would be to win the Super Bowl, and he said he wasn’t up to that kind of pressure.

He may not want to leave that impression as his final one — that the quintessial competitor can’t face up to that kind of challenge. He’ll have another shot to explain: The Packers have announced a news conference for 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

At The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that feeling of doubt was voiced by Favre’s agent, who said the Packers didn’t make a big effort to make him feel wanted.
Excerpt:

His agent, James (Bus) Cook, told me a few minutes ago that he believes Favre wants to play another year and didn’t get the sense that the Packers wanted him back all that badly.

“That’s just my opinion,” Cook said of the Packers’ lack of interest. “I know he wants to play one more year. I do not know much conversation there was (between Favre and the Packers) and I don’t think anyone forced him to make that decision. But I don’t know that anyone tried to talk him out of it.”

Cook said that Favre feels physically and mentally capable of playing at least one more year.

“I think he wanted to play,” Cook said. ” I think he’s still got it. He knows he’s still got it. I think he felt he could play one more year. I don’t know if they told him they really wanted him to play. That’s just the feeling I got.”

Cook was asked whether he thought Favre could be talked into returning: “I don’t know,” he said.

Reactions from around the blogosphere:

At Packer Palace, a comparison to a funeral
Excerpt:

Well the day we all dreaded but knew was coming is here but strangely I don’t feel suicidal or really even sad. It’s kind of like going to the funeral of a grandparent that 98 years old had a great life traveled around the world and done every thing they ever dreamed of. Those funerals are usually more of a celebration life than a sadness of loss.

Looking ahead to a Favre-less future, Michael David Smith at AOL Fanhouse assessed Green Bay’s prospects with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
Excerpt:

Not great, but not terrible either, according to the new Super Bowl odds posted today by Bodog. The Packers were listed at 14/1 before the Favre retirement announcement and are now listed at 20/1. I would have thought Favre’s retirement would drop the Packers down a bit further than that.

A tribute page for Favre at Packers.com

Feel free to weigh in with your opinions on Brett Favre’s career and his place in the game’s history, with one additional thought:

Do you really think he’s going to go through with this?