With the Christmas season come and gone, Packers quarterback Brett Favre showed the type of generosity that is only paralleled by that fat jolly guy who has a propensity for bouncing little boys and girls on his knees.
In fact, he gave Giants defensive end Michael Strahan something the 30-year old monster of a man had been wishing for his whole life, or at least since his football career began at Westbury High School in Texas at age 17.
He gave him the dream of all behemoth's who are willing to line up against men who mirror themselves in appearance and subject themselves to getting their eyes gouged, their heads kicked, and their jewels stepped on; all for the chance to lay a clean shot on some prima donna quarterback who probably makes as much in endorsements as these guys make in their contracts.
Favre gave Strahan the sack record. For anyone who didn't see the game, the playoff-bound Packers were holding a 34-25 lead over the par-72 Swan-Lake-Gol- Course-bound Giants with only 2:42 left on the clock. As Favre trotted out to do what any NFL team would do at this point, which is hand the ball to your surest-handed back three-straight times and then hit the showers, he engaged Strahan in a conversation. What the topic of conversation was is a mystery only known by those two supposed ambassadors of the sport. What happened next was seen by the world.
Unbeknownst to anyone else on the offense, Favre took the play calling into his own hands. What was supposed to be Ahman Green going weak right slot-93 blast turned out to be Favre running right into Strahan and then falling flat on his derriere, seven yards behind the line of scrimmage. Strahan gently placed his two paws on the QB and a 17-year-old record previously held by Mark Gastineau was shattered.
Favre had previously stated during the week that he might "work out a little side deal" with Strahan to allow him to get the record.
He half-heartedly denied the intent on the play, but players from both teams as well as anyone watching the game were not fooled.
"That was classy of Brett to do that," said Lomas Brown, a longtime teammate of Strahan. I guess that's one way to put it.
Another way would be that it was a sham and a fraud. It made a mockery out of an NFL record coveted by every defensive lineman who has ever put on pads. There are no promises in the NFL. These guys risk life and limb from August to January. Veterans who have given years' worth of quality service to their franchise are often rewarded with a pink slip as a result of a restrictive salary cap in a dog-eat-dog world. Just ask Dennis Green, Henry Jones, and Steve Christie about job security, to name a few.
Korey Stringer, Mike Utley, and Dennis Byrd can speak volumes about the perils of this violent sport, which is so representative of American culture.
In football, like life in capitalistic society, the sky is the limit. To the victor goes the spoils, and in the NFL, the spoils may include 50-million-dollar contracts, fast cars and faster women, and a sense of pride and achievement that cannot be imagined by any broker or businessman of similar wealth. Athletes in general, in particular football players, are revered like no other. Their posters are hung up in bedrooms across the country, the spirit of their communities ebbing and flowing simultaneously with their football team's performance.
But, getting there has its price. Joe Jacobi, a former Redskins lineman, once stated that he would run over his own mother to win a Super Bowl. Jacobi's matricidal comment notwithstanding, it is that type of drive and determination that produces such a scintillating product on Sundays. Viewers can sense as they are watching that nothing is free on the gridiron, and every Jerry Rice catch, every Brett Favre touchdown pass, and every yard gained by an NFL player was done the old-fashioned way - they earned it.
That is, until Favre, one of the most popular players in the sport, took it upon himself to help his buddy out and rewrite NFL history with a tainted record.
Now, we are left wondering if this was an isolated act, or an indication of the shady, treacherous dealings that may run rampant around the NFL. It is similar to seeing your girlfriend out at the movies with another guy. You don't know if this was just a one-night thing that didn't mean anything, or if they had partaken in immoral depraved sexual acts unseen since the days of "Sexy Sorority Sweethearts 2."
You do know that your vision of a pure clean world that you thought you lived in has been shattered and been replaced with an adulterated version of reality where the cardinal rules are don't trust anybody and don't believe everything you see or hear.
Is that what the NFL has become? It was one thing to see bad officiating week in and week out, and to see the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets continually sneak into the playoffs season after season as the beneficiary of bad calls. Anyone remember Vinny Testaverde's "touchdown" where he got tackled at the two-yard line against Seattle in '99 to win the division? Or what about Miami's goal-line stand against the Falcons this year that included stopping fullback Bob Christian a yard into the end zone?
The NFL is ignoring the incident, taking the attitude that if Favre wanted to play his part in handing a good guy who deserved the record in his own right, then so be it. Strahan is known as a lot of things, all of which he has earned. He is a character guy, a winner, and he may be the best pass rushing end in the game today. What he should not be is a record holder.
The league often plays the role of the strict disciplinarian, bordering on rigid and anal-retentive. They fine players and coaches for criticizing their officials and often take on the role as fashion police. They have levied fines at players for wearing their socks too high or too low. But they let this slide? Are wearing knee socks worth more than the integrity of the game?
In time this will pass. Within a couple of years, no one will remember how Strahan achieved the record, only that he has it. As Favre pointed out, he didn't affect his team's chances of winning, so in his eyes, nobody got hurt. But five or 10 years from now, when some future generation of football players are throwing games and conspiracy theories are cropping up left and right, Favre may realize the true impact of his decision. He only wanted to give Strahan a place in history that Favre thought he deserved.
However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
