That was the thought that kept running through my head yesterday as I watched Brett Favre throw the ball around in a New York Jets uniform.
It wasn’t just the non-familiar uniform though. It was the whole way Brett carried himself. Brett is a boisterous, excitable guy, which is part of the reason we loved him. Sure, he did a little celebrating when he threw each of his touchdowns yesterday, but he seemed a little lost at the same time, like he was looking around for Donald Driver… or anyone else that he’s actually played a regular season game with. There were no big group celebrations as in years past, he didn’t go streaking down the field to hoist his favorite receiver into the air after a score. He threw up an arm, patted an offensive lineman on the head and trotted off the field like a guy who didn’t have any friends.
Certainly, there’s a transition period of getting to know your teammates and adjusting to their personalities when you join a new organization, but, at least as far as his enjoyment of the game, I felt like we saw Brett Favre Lite yesterday.
I also caught a post-game interview Favre did. Standing with his hands on his hips, Favre was as low-key as I’ve seen him. The look on his face – dour, despite his team’s 20-14 win over the Dolphins. Not once did he smile, or show any sense of positive emotion during the interview.
If I could have read his mind, it seemed as if he was questioning his decision to come back, to go to New York, and whether he really wanted to play football after all. He didn’t look like a guy who wanted to be where he was.
Could I see Favre changing his mind again, mid-season, and going back into retirement? After watching the events of yesterday, I could.
However, despite losing a little respect for Brett in the wake of how he handled his unretirement from the Green Bay Packers, I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would make a commitment to play and not finish out the season.
Still, while he seems to bring the same skills to the field (15/22, 194 yards, 2 TDs), something just doesn’t seem the same, and it wasn’t just the uniform.
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