Even though this may be Bret Favre’s “Season of Destiny,” can we possibly concede that he might not have done the right thing by playing a game — and spectacularly so — less than two days after his father had unexpectedly passed away? He played, he said, because that was what his father, a former coach, would have wanted. It was obviously his call, and it’s personal.
But the sports world was all over the story as a chronicle of courage. The media saluted his decision — and commended his remarkable and “courageous” play. The “Season of Destiny” tagline was firmly affixed to the Favre-led Green Bay Packers.
What no one wanted to say was this: Sure, it’s a personal decision, but how many of us who are not, say, surgeons would have reported in to work so soon? Favre did what his father would have wanted him to do, he said. We take him at his word.
But that means his father having said, in effect, “Should I die during the season, I hope you will do the right thing and play football. First things first. Your job, your fellow employees, your family. In that order. Your mom will understand.”