Brett Favre is, as we are all very aware, a New York Jet. Even after having a bit of time to let that settle in to the ole' noggin, it is still an odd thing to declare. Unfortunately, now, Favre has been lumped into a rouges gallery of highly successful athletes that finished their careers in uniforms that appear very foreign to what one would expect to normally see. Can Favre succeed? Well, yes, but history is not on his side. Just take one look at all the players that are always mentioned--that tried and failed--playing on new teams: Willie Mays on the Mets, Michael Jordan on the Wizards, Joe Namath on the Rams, Johnny Unitas on the Chargers and, of course, Joe Montana on the Chiefs.
Wait though, why is Joe Montana always on one of these lists? In fact, even a few weeks ago, Bill Simmons of ESPN was joking on his podcast that a website should be set up showing off these late-in-career jerseys and Montana was the butt of most of his jokes as an embarrassment. Did Montana really embarrass himself during his two years as a Kansas City Chief like The Sports Guy would want you to believe? I say, emphatically, no. Shall we take a quick look at reality instead of perception?
(In full disclosure, I went to high school in Kansas City. When Montana was a Chief I was a student at the University of Missouri and was enamoured with everything the guy did. In other words, in 1993, I acted exactly the same as every salivating Jets fan does today; so yes, I get what they are going though.)
In early 1994 the Kansas City Chiefs played the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game. This marks the only time, in the entire history of the AFC Championship Game (that started during the 1970-1971 season), that the Kansas City Chiefs were involved in this game. Would you like to take a guess who the quarterback was during that game? Joe Montana. This came after a thrilling overtime win against the Steelers during the Wildcard round and an improbable victory, in Houston 28-20, where Montana threw three touchdown passes. Keep in mind, he wasn't throwing to Jerry Rice any longer, he was throwing to guys named Willie Davis and J.J. Birden. Yeah, Montana was quite the disgrace.
Montana continued to "embarrass" himself during the 1994 regular season, which ended with another trip to the playoffs. Actually, I can make the case that after all of those highly successful years in San Francisco, Joe Montana's most famous moment--during the regular season--happened as a Kansas City Chief (can this even be argued for any other player on their late-in-career team?) during a game at Mile High Stadium versus John Elway's Broncos on Monday Night Football. Trailing by four points, Montana led the Chiefs 75 yards, with less than 90 seconds to play, for a game winning touchdown. Please shield your eyes, dear reader, as to not scar your retinas with this youtube clip of a legend making a fool out of himself with the winning touchdown pass in that very game.
So yes, Jets fans, Brett Favre can absolutely have a great year with a new team. I have seen it first hand with a guy that was about as fragile as fully progressed game of Jenga. I also know, no matter what kind of success Favre has, that fourteen years from now it will be remembered as a failure.
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