Posted by
Ed Lilly on Saturday, August 02, 2008 10:20:01 AM
Jay Mariotti's latest column in the Chicago Sun Times takes the position that the Bears "blew" their chance to get Brett Favre in a trade with the Packers. I don't know whether this is a sincere opinion by Mariotti, taking the entirely cold-blooded view that once a guy is on your team, everything that comes before if forgotten, or if it is merely a contrarian position meant to tweak Bears fans who do not want to see Favre, ever, wearing a Bears uniform.
I understand that it's antiquated to think of players as "our guys" and "their guys." But as we are often reminded by sports columnists, we're called fans because it is a shortened version of fanatics. We are not entirely rational in our views when it comes to our sports teams. So Brett Favre is the enemy. He played for the enemy his entire career. He should never be considered as someone to simply bring over in a trade because he would be better than the guys you currently have at the position. Heck, I still have a problem with Jim McMahon going to play for the Packers long after he'd been traded from the Bears. The Punky QB was our guy. That may be the only Super Bowl win I will ever experience as a Bears fan, and McMahon was a key part of it. Seeing him in a Packers uniform made me ill.
So am I happy with Grossman, Orton and the rest? No, I think they are underwhelming and could lead the team to another middling to poor season. But I would rather watch them take their shots and be able to root for them and the team, together, than face the conflict of having Favre at quarterback and wanting to see the team do well and win, while also wanting Favre to get his clock cleaned on every play. As a fan that's just not tolerable.