Warner Retires, Favre to Follow?

Moments ago, after much speculation, Kurt Warner officially announced his retirement from the NFL. I had always heard that he had a great story upon making it to the NFL, but I didn't actually know what that story was. For those of you who are unaware, Kurt Warner went from stocking items in a supermarket, to the Arena Football League, to the European Football League (American style, not the Premier League), and finally, at age 26, landed a job in the National Football League with the St. Louis Rams. With the Rams, he threw over 100 TD passes, won two MVPs, led the team to two Super Bowls, and won one of them, while also being named Super Bowl MVP. After six years with the Rams, he went to the Giants for a year, where he started over half the season and mentored Eli Manning. However, at this point, it seemed as if Warner's glory days had faded away, as the Giants benched him towards the end of the season and released him after that season. Then, when all hope appeared to be lost, he landed a job with the Arizona Cardinals to be a mentor to yet another person... Matt Leinart. No offense Matt, but I'm really glad you became a screw-up, because that enabled Kurt Warner to do amazing things in his final few years as an NFL QB. He threw for over another 100 TD passes, led his team to another Super Bowl, not to mention back-to-back division titles (people forget that the Cardinals hadn't been to the playoffs since the dark ages), and finished his career as truly one of the games elite QBs. More importantly, as I've said it before, he's an elite person, and absolutely deserving of every accolade he ever has and will receive. So, 12 seasons, 5 Pro Bowls, 2 MVPs, 200+ TD passes, and 1 Super Bowl ring later, Kurt Warner has finally called it a career. Oh yeah, he also holds arguably the greatest playoff statistics of any QB in NFL history. Just saying. Anyway, Congratulations on an exceptional career, Kurt. The Hall of Fame will be calling your name, or number, soon enough.

That leads to my next segment (trying to sound professional here): Brett Favre. I guess it's kind of sour to go from a player that I admire so much to one I dislike so much, but nevertheless, now that Kurt Warner is officially retired, my thoughts have immediately drifted to Brett Favre, pondering what his fate holds. To be quite honest, as much as I just want to see him retire once and for all, I can painfully see the old dud coming back. Even at age 40, he clearly can still play at a very high level, and he knows that. Most importantly, he still exhibits that passion for the game that drives everyone in the National Football League. So, even if Brett goes and retires for like the 4th time or whatever number it would be, and remains retired in August, this last year has taught me to never get my hopes up. His body may be battered, but it's been that way for multiple years now anyway. Experts may think that a Championship game is as far as he can get, but I think he truly believes he can get back to the Super Bowl, which is all that matters. Also, he just happens to have 1 year left on his contract. I know that didn't stop Kurt Warner, but, just something to think about. Brett: whatever you decide this time, please just do us all a favor and stick with it.