Here behind the cheese curtain, folks live and die with their Green Bay Packers.  The Brewers are okay, the Bucks are a mild amusement, but 95% of this state roots for the green and gold.

Three years ago, Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, the GM and coach of the Green Bay Packers pretty much told Brett Favre to go piss up a rope.  They did this because Favre was doing his annual dance around playing or not playing.  Thompson and McCarthy are old school enough to still believe that players need to participate in training camp and not just after the second pre-season game.  The uncertainty caused by Favre wore on them and they finally decided that if Favre was going to play, it would not be in a Packer uniform.

Of course, Packer nation was up in arms.  Favre was as big a folk hero in Wisconsin as anyone, beloved by fans after he led a franchise which had fallen on hard times post Lombardi to being one of the model franchises of the 90's.  Although he had a lot of help from GM Ron Wolf and coach Mike Holmgren, Favre got a lot of the credit. 

When Thompson, who was already disliked by Packer fans and McCarthy, who had exactly one season as a head coach under his belt, let Favre go, there was panick in the streets.  It was the same sort of reaction as if the Governor raised the tax on beer.  Like in one of those old movies with the monsters, the villagers grabbed their lit torches and headed toward Lambeau Field.

What Packer fans have discovered is that Thompson and McCarthy were way ahead of the curve.  They saw what a selfish prick Favre really is, an athlete interested only in headlines and not putting in the work like the other players.  They saw a poor teammate and a man of somewhat questionable character when it came to being truthful.  A man who would use his name and his accomplishments to not only try to manipulate team officials, but fans as well.  And Ted and Mike said 'enough" and walked away.

Favre moved on to the Jets where he helped get Eric Mangini fired and then to Minnesota where again he is waffling on coming back for another year.  But he's the Vikings problem now.

Ted Thompson was smart enough to draft Aaron Rodgers with the Packers first selection in the 2005 draft when Rodgers fell in his lap at 24.  There was weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth then as Packer fans couldn't understand why they needed a quarterback.  But the cagey Thompson knew.  He knew that he was sick of Favre already and needed to develop someone quickly so that he could show Favre the door.  And Aaron Rodgers was a God send.

Talk to a Packer fan today and Favre is a joke to them.  They have seen him for who he really is and they don't like what they see.  More so, they see what Rodgers brings to the table and are totally behind him.  For one, the guy who followed the legend is succeeding.  Because the legend failed.