We've talked ad nauseum about the circumstances that led Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings via the New York Jets. We've detailed the fact. . .and, at this point, it's hard to believe that it's anything but a fact. . .that Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson fabricated tampering charges against the Minnesota Vikings to attempt to distract everybody from exactly how badly he had screwed up the entire Favre situation. (Charges that were completely dismissed, most likely due to the complete absurdity of the charges in the first place.)
Now it turns out that Thompson might not have even been straight with Favre about where he was getting traded to. According to our friends over at the National Football Post, Favre tells of the following exchange between himself and Packers brass in an interview that will be published in Men's Journal magazine in the near future.
"There was just silence. I said, 'Well, what are we gonna do?'" Favre recalled from the meeting when he announced he was coming out of retirement. "They made it pretty clear I wasn't going to play there, and I said, 'How about the Vikings or even the Lions?' I wanted to stay in the same division. They said that wasn't going to happen, but maybe Tampa.
"I said, 'Fine, trade me to Tampa. I'll whip your asses in week four.' Maybe that was a mistake. I'm flying back to Hattiesburg thinking I'm going to the Bucs, and I get off the plane and (agent) Bus (Cook) tells me I've been traded to the Jets. I said, 'Bull,' but they were smart; they released the news so I'd look like an ass if I backed out."
So, to me, it sounds like either a) the Packers told Favre that they were trading him to Tampa, and then turned around and dealt him to the Jets after he had left Green Bay for Mississippi, b) they told Favre they were still "working" on a trade, said trade took place while Favre was en route to Mississippi and the Packers just didn't feel the need to tell Favre themselves, or c) the Packers had already dealt Favre to the Jets prior to telling him he was going to Tampa and just didn't have the testicular fortitude to tell him.
Whichever it is, it's pretty pathetic and sad.
Then again, when it comes to Tamperin' Ted's Travellin' Salvation Show, we should probably learn to temper our expectations a bit. Honestly, is there anything that's beneath this guy? He's lied to the league about the Minnesota Vikings tampering with Favre, he's lied to Favre about where he was getting traded to. . .why in the blue hell would anybody believe anything this guy says about anything?
But I guess we should thank Ted for this. . .after all, had he stayed true to his word and dealt Favre to Tampa, the odds are pretty good that he wouldn't have made his way to Minnesota in 2009. He would have been playing for a team that he had asked to be traded to, playing for a coach that he likes (Jon Gruden) as opposed to a schmuck that he really had no respect for from the beginning (Eric Mangini), and who knows what could have resulted from that?
I, personally, am quite thankful for Ted Thompson's dishonesty. It seems to have worked out for the best for Minnesota thus far.