As announced previously in this space, Comcast has generously agreed to support the best NFL community around--us. As part of that effort, between now and the end of the 2010 NFL season, Comcast will be sponsoring a variety of special editorial and interactive features on our site.
So, yeah. . .there are apparently some goings on, and possibly even some happenings, in a certain little town we've all come to know and love. Yes, Brett Favre hopped aboard a plane today and flew to Minneapolis. . .St. Paul, actually, but anyway. . .presumably to take a physical for the Vikings, in anticipation of a press conference tomorrow morning where he'll announce that he is, indeed, returning for a twentieth NFL season.
Predictably, the folks at ESPN have gone after the Vikings about this, no doubt still miffed that they got snookered by the whole OMG HE'S ACTUALLY RETIRING WE REALLY REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME garbage they pulled a couple of weeks back. Particularly notable in letting his jerk flag fly was former NFL linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who went so far as to tell everyone that the plan was to hit Favre low. . .you know, in case there was any doubt that Bruschi and his ESPN colleagues endorse that kind of crap against teams that aren't part of their chosen favorites. . .and that if Tom Brady was contemplating retirement that he wouldn't try to talk him out of it.
To which I say. . .bull.
First of all, let opposing teams try to hit Favre low. The last team that adopted that strategy gave up 475 yards of offense to the Vikings and had to luckbox their way into a victory. How many games do you suppose the Vikings will lose this year when they rack up 475 yards of offense? Or do the "experts" at ESPN feel that the Vikings are going to turn the ball over five times in every game after only turning the ball over 18 times total in 2009?
Second of all, if Tom Brady had come out after losing that game to the Giants the year the Patriots were one game away from a perfect season and said, "You know, guys, I'm not sure if I'm coming back for another year," would Tedy Bruschi have been there? You're damn right he would have been. . .along with Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Andre Tippett, Irving Fryar, Steve Grogan, Mosi Tatupu, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Steven Tyler, the ghost of Victor Kiam, the Kennedy family, and half the state of Massachusetts. Don't give me that "I wouldn't have talked to him about it" garbage, because I'm not buying it.
Junk like this simply illustrates the fact that ESPN has officially become a network that's good for three things. . .
1) Monday Night Football
2) World Series of Poker coverage
3) The one hour a day where they air Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption
Tedy Bruschi should also realize that he's part of a network that, not that long ago, devoted an amazing amount of time to a basketball player that's never. . .won. . .anything. . .so that he could sit on a stage somewhere with Jim Gray and defecate all over the city of Cleveland for an hour. In an attempt to cling to what little relevance they have left, people like Bruschi have to go out on their network and do things like advocate cheap shots and preach about how they wouldn't do this sort of thing.
So the Minnesota Vikings wanted Brett Favre to come back, and sent players to Mississippi to talk to him about it. Why does Tedy Bruschi care? Why does ESPN care? Why does anybody outside of the Minnesota Vikings and their fan base care? They care because, once again. . .Favre is to the American sports media as Kim Kardashian is to the entertainment media. They don't like him, they can't stand him. . .but, by God, they just can't stop talking about him.
Maybe because there's nothing else on that network worth listening to.
Comcast is a proud supporter of The Daily Norseman. You’ll get your Viking games as a part of over 120 NFL games Comcast provides in HD, as well as On Demand game recaps from every NFL game every week, faster Internet speeds, and stunning HD. With Comcast and NFL RedZone, you get every touchdown from every game every Sunday afternoon. Call 1-800-COMCAST or visit http://www.comcast.com.