Favre and the Hero Complex

Yes, I hate Brett Favre.
And it has nothing to do with how he plays. Nor I am not a fan of a team he beat in a playoff game. It is simply because of the fact that he is constantly protected by the national media so he can retain his hero status.
But how often can I hear the words, “Gunslinger. Maverick. Passing records. Blue Collar. Fun to watch. Iron Man?”
The one that zings me the most is “Hero.”
I like to include “Interception machine. Selfish. Foolish decisions. Pain killers. Nosier than my mother.”
And after last week’s telephone debacle, I like to include “just plain stupid.”
Now I don’t know Brett Favre. I don’t know if he is cool in the locker room. I don’t know if he tells good jokes while we are out having a beer. And I certainly don’t know if he will pick up to the tab after our steak dinner.
Nor do I want to. But sports announcers (I will not call them journalists) like Peter King and Chris Mortensen want to get into a pissing match of who Brett likes better.
“I hang out with Brett sometimes.”
“Well, he texts me before games.”
“Well, he let me be the first guy to smell his jersey after the game.”
And the fans are not better. You are either a Favre guy or you are not.
The hosts of Pardon the Interruption asked once on a segment, “Why do the fans expect so much from Brett this year?”
I thought Tony Kornheiser was going to nail it. Instead he stated that the reason is that Jets fans have suffered for 40 years and they are desperate for a winner. Not bad, but I don’t buy it. The real reason is the hero complex. Announcers have forced Brett Favre down fans’ throats for so long, how can they not expect the unreachable?
Now I love athletes that lead fourth quarter comebacks and strike out batters in the ninth inning. But football players are not heroes. Sorry to those who think so.
Americans love to have a hero. They love to belief that one man or woman is so far beyond their trivial lives that their hero is an inspiration.
I love to see clips of people on Youtube who say, “I really look up to what Angelina Jolie does. She motivates me to adopt and save lives.”
Okay…
One of my favorites was on in the Bret “Hitman” Hart documentary, Wrestling With Shadows. A woman states that because of Bret, whom she’s never met in her life, she was able to go back to school and get her college degree. Okay…..Did she perform a Russian Leg side sweep on her professor? Did she make him tap out? Did she scream in pain?
Or is she one of the true spirits of Americana who believe pro wrestling is real?
So it goes.
Heroes are a marketing tool. Plain and simple. From Rocky Balboa to Hulk Hogan, from Indiana Jones to Superman, marketers love to make Americans feel that there are people out there who can defy the odds, stand up against odds, make sacrifices that put their own safety in jeopardy, and blah blah.
You’ve read the scripts before and seen the movies. I don’t have to tell you how ridiculous it gets.
So the next time some quarterback throws a touchdown after a play-action pass and the announcer bellows, “That was soooo Brett Favre-like,” will you karate chop the pillows on your couch like I do? Or will you say, “Jeez, that was like Brett Favre! Man, is he great. I should go buy his jersey!”
I don’t know why Americans are so hooked on these “heroes.” But I do know what a real hero is. And No. 4, you are not it. But realize I don’t blame you for this. Its easy for the media to paint that picture of you. It’s an easy story to write, package and sell at 11 p.m. on Sportscenter.
As you can tell, I am always anti-hero. I root for the bad guys in movies, and I have a soft spots for failed athletes. I can relate to them. They are real to me. There isn’t a fake script written about them, because they don’t need one. We all know what it’s like to come so close and then fall flat.
For those people that do that in everyday life, pick their heads up and keep coming back for you, then I salute you. You are the true hero. Remember that the next time the “I can do no wrong” athlete is praised for utter nonsense.



*** For those unfamiliar with Brett Favre’s alleged phone call with the Detroit Lions, i'm glad. Don't give him any more press than he deserves.