NFC Championship Saints Fan Diary: Vol. 3 - Facing Favre

Today brings us to Part III of my Saints fan diary. In Part I and Part II we covered the Divisional win and what it means to Saints fans to finally host the NFC Championship. Today, we begin to turn our attention to the matchup between the Saints and the Vikings starring the evil Brett Favre. Ok, maybe he's not really evil, maybe he's even a good guy to sit down and have a brew with, but I sure as heck wish he would just go away.

By now you've heard all the punditry proclaim that this Vikings season with that #4 guy is the perfect Hollywood script for the good ol' boy to ride into the sunset on a white stallion. I've seen tweets and columns talking about the media's love of Favre, and the blogosphere's hatred for him. Like always, the truth falls somewhere in the middle... but I'm more inclined to be a part of the anti-Favre crowd. I know that not everyone is going to gush over my team, or my favorite player like Favre. But is it jealousy that causes the angst and anger from fans and bloggers, or are there legit reasons? From my perspective as a Saints fan, NFL fan, and microscopic part of the blogosphere, here are 4 reasons to not love Brett...

1) Everybody Else Loves Him

-It's like people living in Columbus being Michigan fans. Or folks in Boston growing up and rooting for the Yankees. Sometimes, it just feels better to go against the grain. And, when you hear about how great and wonderful someone is for 20 years, there comes a point when you just get tired of it all. Especially when that person's reputation has been built up to a godlike status while ignoring other traits that would bring down 99% of athletes, such as...

2) The Waffling

-I don't have a problem with folks wanting to play football into their 40s. If Willie Mays wants to stumble around in centerfield for the Mets, it is his right. But, for many years, Favre has held the media and the sports world by the puppet strings to gain attention for his months of decision making, retirements, and unretirements. You didn't see any anti-Favre backlash until all of this Packers-Jets-Vikings nonsense developed, well, except from Bears fans. I'm sure if you bottled Favre's false tears from his many semi-retirement, close to retirement, and retirement press conferences you could water the Sahara.

3) The Narcissist

-Can you tell that this guy loves himself? All of the constant running around like he won the Super Bowl for every TD pass? But hey, at least he controlled himself while running up the score against the Cowboys last week... oh, wait, he didn't? Sorry. It seems that all the talk about acting like you've been there before goes out the window when it comes to the biggest showboat I've ever seen. Heck, the guy even has to turn his ability to hold an entire franchise hostage into a lame Sears commercial. It's like he knows the commercial shines a light on his ridiculous retirement act, but knows he can get away with it because he's Brett Favre and he's just so funny! And have you seen him fill a pair of Wrangler's? No wonder you have to wipe the drool off of Trent Dilfer's mouth every time Favre comes on ESPN. To top it all off, Favre decided to piggy back off of "Pants on the Ground" after last week's win! Somehow he made a song about young men and their droopy pants about his own personal success! It boggles the mind!

4) The Hypocrite

-This is the biggest thing that annoys me about Favre - he's an enormous hypocrite. Leaving Green Bay didn't bother me because he wanted to play and they wanted to move on. But, leaving New York like he did by manipulating his 2nd retirement left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of people (not to mention his Jets teammates). Then, when he showed up to Minnesota on a white cloud after training camp, it sent my mind back to 2005 when Favre called out WR Javon Walker for holding out of mini camp. If you'll take a look at the article, you'll see that Favre calls out Walker for not being a "team player" and that if more people held out, "the game would be ruined." (Click here for some other examples)

This guy has a heck of a nerve. Favre broke ranks and called out a teammate for wanting a small portion of the millions that he has soaked in all these years. Are you kidding me? Have you ever heard another example of a player calling out another player like that? Please. And then, the same Brett Favre who didn't want to see a teammate paid, and openly criticized him for skipping mini-camp skipped mini-camp and training camp with the Vikings!!! I wonder what that first conversation was like between Favre, Rosenfels, and Tavaris Jackson...

Favre: Hello, I'm Brett Favre. Who the %#@$ are you?

Tavaris: Hi Brett, I'm T-Jack, thank you for coming in and ruining my chance at being a starting QB. You know, I haven't had the best start to my career, but by holding your clipboard I know that I will be much better off in the long run.

Sage: Yea, yea, yea. And, I got traded here, not to have a chance to compete, but because I wanted to be your emergency QB. Forget about that whole skipping training camp thing, we know that everybody loves you Brett. We know that you are 40, and that you are so good you don't need to practice with your teammates or anything.

Tavaris: Making a mockery of a team concept is no issue with us. Oh, and don't worry about what Coach Childress says, just call whatever play you want Brett.

Favre: Sage can you take this bag to my private dressing room? I don't like sharing a locker room with normies. Oh, and it's 25 dollars for an autograph.

Losing to Brett Favre and seeing him lift the Halas Trophy in the Superdome is my own personal doomsday scenario. For me, the Saints and Drew Brees are the anti-Favre. Brees is a QB who is not about just himself, but his team and his city. A guy who was too short, too injured, and not a big enough star to be an elite QB.

The Saints also have guys that needed second chances like Brees and Jeremy Shockey and Anthony Hargrove. Undrafted players like Marques Colston and Pierre Thomas. Professionals who play without fanfare and constant adoration like Vilma, Fujita, Sharper, and Smith.

For the Saints to come this far and be beaten by somebody who embodies the anti-team concept would be a bitter pill to swallow. For long suffering Saints fans, we had to live through Montana and Young's 49ers in the NFC West and were always held down by teams with more talent and more glamour. Losing to Favre's Vikings means being beaten by another star QB and another season that felt good for a while but ultimately fell short.

For this Saints fan, Sunday is the day I've waited on for 2 decades. A chance to finally make it to the Super Bowl. And, if Drew Brees can lift that George Halas trophy and send Brett Favre into another phony retirement, it'll make the historic day even more sweeter.

In our next installment we'll take an in-depth preview of the game itself. What are the matchups and storylines to watch in the NFC Championship? Find out at RSS.