TABLE FOR ONE : Quarterbacks
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Apparently Brett Favre, the retired Green Bay legend, got wind of Mayor Dan Coody's dramatic announcement seeking a third term as mayor and decided to come out of retirement for another season with the Packers.
Favre is 38 years old and still has the gun for pro football. But he's put the Green Bay Packer organization, not to mention his many fans, in a dilemma. They thought he was gone forever. When he tearfully announced his final retirement last March the fans boo-hooed for a while, applauded, said thanks for the memories - and immediately turned to Aaron Rodgers so they could begin cheering for their new young quarterback.
Favre was sincere at the time. He went home to Mississippi and poured himself a cool lemonade and sat down on the front porch to enjoy retirement. He soon forgot about the hard knocks and sore muscles. The blitzes and body slams into the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field faded into the distant past. He began tossing the ball around with the local high school boys. It was so easy. The grass is green, the smell of sweaty socks and jocks is in the air, young footballers are tossing the pigskin around the gridiron, and booming punts arc high in the blue summer sky. So Brett wants to come back and play. Whoops.
"Brett, you said you were done. We have a young replacement. We even drafted two more quarterbacks for the future. We gave away your locker. Your cleats and helmet have been mailed to the Hall of Fame."
"No, I wanna play quarterback."
Dan Coody first said two terms is enough. He was ready to pour a cool lemonade and retire to the front porch. No more irate midnight phone calls. No more unexpected visitors at the front door. Forget the hundreds of meetings, the complaints, the council meetings. It was all too much.
Now the election grows near. It's midsummer and almost time to place signs in the green grass throughout neighborhoods all over Fayetteville. It's time to think about TV commercials. It's time to line up those speeches at the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, the Lions Club, Washington County Bar Association and the Methodist Church Senior Women's Association. It's press the flesh time as promises arc high against the blue cloudless sky.
Some of his loyal supporters had already made commitments. Times change, and we move on to new leadership. The campaign train moves down the track. "Wait ! Wait for me. I wanna be mayor again ! "Whoops.
Playing pro football at age 38 and running a city are two very different things. Professional football is no country for an old man, to borrow from the movie title. Brett should think very carefully about this before coming back and then possibly ending his Hall of Fame career like many other legends who stayed around one year too long: Joe Namath, Billy Kilmer, Johnny Unitas, Sonny Jurgensen or Y. A. Tittle all come to mind.
Luckily the age factor plays no vital role in being a mayor. Experience might even be the primary factor. I recall interviewing Coody and his two opponents during the last campaign in 2004. I approached all three candidates with an open mind and a series of question about Fayetteville's future. The first two candidates had no political experience, but they were enthusiastic about making Fayetteville a better place to live. But, honestly, I was stunned at how few specific ideas they presented. They seemed to have very little to offer the city as its mayor.
Then I met Coody for his interview. He knew everything about every issue, from memory, to a degree far beyond what I really needed to know. Of course, you would expect the present mayor to be up on all the issues because he is the guy dealing with them 24 / 7. He's the CEO at all City Council meetings and listens to discussions on every issue from sidewalks to sewers. That alone almost answers the question without even asking it: Who is most qualified to be mayor ? Probably the guy with the most experience at being mayor.
No matter how qualified the other candidates might be, the guy in the chair can argue that he's best-qualified to remain there. Unless, of course, he has created a total disaster in every way during his term, like George W. Bush has actually done in his two terms as president. There is no way on Earth that President Bush could ever get elected again. He has proven his policies are futile. His ideas led to economic collapse, an energy crisis, and a world on the brink of nuclear holocaust beginning in Iran. His ideas don't work, and the American people now know it.
Coody has made mistakes and, naturally, he has his detractors. But it appears he is by far the most qualified to run the city yet again.
But what are the Packers to do about Brett Favre ? He's asked for his release, meaning he could play for another team. Do they dare accommodate him and then face him as a hated Minnesota Viking or even worse, a dreaded Chicago Bear ? Wouldn't that ruin his legacy in Green Bay, where he is an icon ? Why would a guy want to stay that long at the dance when Cinderella has already ridden off in the pumpkin ?
Stay in the game as long as you can. We are born to compete. Competition defines us. When we quit we are no longer who we are. Better to be dragged kicking and screaming into the sunset and thrown into a rocking chair than quit while you've still got your game. Or not.
Grady Jim Robinson lives in Fayetteville. His column appears on Wednesdays.
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