Advertisement And the most vociferous of our Web site visitors spit their venom at the Packers and suggested sinless Brett was well on his way to sainthood.
But the tone changed a bit after Aaron Rodgers looked pretty sharp Monday night: fewer vituperative Favre apologists and more Packers fans waiting to see what 2008 brings.
Here’s what our site visitors were writing late last week:
willie wrote: “Now the Favre worshippers will have to face reality, and this will separate out the fair weather Favre fans from the true Packer Backers. ... The band wagon seems a little empty now, doesn’t it? I did enjoy watching Favre play, but life goes on. I wish him luck and also hope a little rubbed off on his replacement.”
franz_ferdinand wrote: “Now if we can only keep the fair weather fans from jumping back on the wagon. I’m a Vikings fan, and we obviously have a ton of fair weather fans that ruin it for the fans of the game.”
common-cents wrote: “Ferdinand, you were the kid who got picked last in kickball games.”
Hillbilly wrote: “I lived in Green Bay during the early 1960s. Willie Wood lived on our block. Bart Starr lived in the neighborhood, not in Hattiesburg, Miss. Back then there was team loyalty and community involvement. Now the only loyalty pro football has is to the almighty dollar. I lost interest in football back in the 1970s .... I get a kick out of people who feel loyalty to teams that are using them to get rich. They want you to watch the ads. That’s about it anymore.”
packerbacker wrote: “Too many Packers fans think they must become Ted Thomson apologists and Favre blamers because that is the company line and anyone that does buy the official spin isn’t a true fan. HOGWASH! Real Packers fans understand Before Brett Favre, during Brett Favre and now Jet Favre!”
slinger1919 wrote: “Packerbacker, you need some serious help. There are a lot of options out there. There is a lot of free help out there also. If you can afford it, I’m in the profession, and both hospitals have great out-patient programs in behavioral science!”
NAVY VET wrote: “Bigger men than Brett have left the Packers before. Curly Lambeau left in 1950 to coach the Chicago Cardinals after a dispute with Packers board of directors. Paul Hornung was picked up by the Saints in the 1967 supplemental draft. Even Lombardi came out of retirement to coach the Redskins. Gee, doesn’t that sound familiar.”
cataractjack wrote: “We do not hate Favre. We thank him for his service. But his time was up — move on, get over it all of you. He has jerked this team around the past three years. Ted Thompson has a business to run.”
Goofus wrote: “The best part of this drama is all the grown men who suddenly act like second-graders over the trade .... The truth is all that Brett Favre did for the organization he would have done for any other team that paid him.”
The tone became slightly less gnarly Tuesday after Rodgers was 9-for-15 for 117 yards and a touchdown in the Packers’ preseason opener:
PicklesPlease wrote: “Rodgers is hot. For that reason alone I would watch him play. But I think he’ll take the team a long way this year. Yay for muscle-bound sports stars in spandex! GO PACK!”
Northsidersrule wrote: “Rodgers is hot? You’re talking about Aaron Rodgers? The Packers QB? The one who’s trying to grow a beard like a big boy? Yeah, um, OK.”
bluebunny wrote: “I think that it is just hilarious to watch all of the Packer ‘fans’ jump off the Favre bandwagon so quickly. I can’t really figure out how one quarter of preseason football overshadows Favre’s 16 seasons ... possibly you have all forgotten how awful the Pack was in the ’70s and ’80s?”
NLP wrote: “It’s not jumping off the Favre bandwagon. I wish him all the best in New York, but you can’t dwell on the past. Brett is no longer a Packer and Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback now. I hope he does well. ... What happened in the ’70s and ’80s is in the past. Why would it even be brought up?”
Bucketz wrote: “NLP, why bring up the ’70s and ’80s? I guess the same could be said about the Packers’ Super Bowls too, huh?”
DK wrote: “The worst part about the game last night is that Kornheiser is back for another season at ESPN. He is horrible and annoying to listen to. He’s worse than Dennis Miller.”
TypicalPackerFan wrote: “Like all Packer fans, I have selective memory. I’m comfortable living in the past, as long as the past is the ’60s or the ’90s. I’ve conveniently forgotten about the ’70s and ’80s.”
jerminator wrote: “2-14.”
rooster wrote: “Brett who?”
By the numbers
We’ve not all gone high-tech: 543 of 964 respondents, or 56 percent, to a just-for-fun daily poll at www.lacrossetribune.com report FM radio as their No. 1 source of music.
Second were mp3 players and CD players tied at 11 percent apiece, followed by satellite radio at 10 percent. Five percent still listen to their music on AM radio stations.
Two percent are streaming online audio sources, while another 2 percent still have their eight-tracks. Vinyl and live music tied at 1 percent each.
Marc Wehrs can be reached at mwehrs@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8218.
