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As 9,375 shareholders filed into sunny Lambeau Field for the annual ritual, they were greeted by video highlights from the team’s 13-3 season a year ago, with the voiceover intoning solemnly, “One of the greatest players will be missed, but not forgotten.”
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Mark Murphy |
Later, clips from Favre’s tearful March 6 retirement news conference were replayed.
Inside the Atrium, a huge banner with a picture of Favre, his arms aloft in triumph, hung from the ceiling. It said: “Thanks 4 the Memories. 1992-2007.”
In his remarks to the faithful and to reporters afterward, Mark Murphy, the team’s president, got right to the point.
“Brett has meant so much to the Packers and the National Football League,” he said. “He will always be remembered as one of the finest players to play the game.”
But Murphy made a larger point that has marked the Packers’ stance since Favre declared that he wanted to come back to play.
“We want to be fair to Brett, but we also must act in the best interests of the Packers,” said Murphy, who called it a football decision.
That fact was underscored by a report Thursday on WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee. Citing a source close to the situation, WTMJ said Favre had tried to call Thompson on Wednesday but that Thompson did not return the call.
The shareholders meeting was expected to be an awkward affair with fans vowing online and in interviews that they wanted to voice displeasure or support for the franchise in person. But by the end of the day, with attendance down from 11,324 last year, their furor was largely muted.
Murphy did most of the talking for the organization and expressed support for the way general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy have handled “this delicate situation.”
“We’re not,” a fan yelled from the stands, setting off a mix of booing, jeering and applause.
Inside the Atrium, after the team’s presentation in the stadium bowl, Murphy, and later, Thompson, met with fans. Murphy was surrounded by fans, who were far more interested in having a hat, program or shirt signed by the chief executive.
Just a few feet away, Shane Keddell of Appleton, Wis., wearing a Favre jersey, began to chant, “Bring Brett back, Bring Brett back.” Keddell was joined by a few more Favre backers before it died down as quickly as it came up.
“I cried the day he retired,” Keddell said.
Jim Erickson, who grew up in Green Bay but lives in Kansas City, came to show his support of management.
“I support that group of people charged with the future of the team,” he said.
Thompson, who delivered the football report to fans inside Lambeau, likened the soap opera to a family dispute.
“We are a family here,” Thompson said of the organization and its thousands of fans. “Families sometimes disagree but they remain family. We will always be part of the family, and I am honored to be part of the Packer family.”
Thompson emerged from the Packers’ personnel offices on the fourth floor of the Atrium about 12:45 p.m., 75 minutes or so after the shareholders meeting ended. Many shareholders had left the Atrium by that time and many who were around were on the first floor.
It didn’t take long for word to reach those on the lower level that Thompson was available and within a short time he was surrounded by fans and reporters. The majority of those who approached Thompson sought his autograph and supported him, telling him such things as:
“You have our support, 100 percent.”
“You guys couldn’t have handled it any different.”
The first sign of dissension occurred when a woman yelled at Thompson, “Brett Favre deserves more respect than he got.”
A Thompson supporter yelled back, “He retired, get over it.”
A number of shareholders wanted answers and pressed Thompson on why he won’t take Favre back. They didn’t get many answers.
“What I think about his answers, they were as good as him being up here on the fourth floor when they’re supposed to be in the Atrium down there mixing with the shareholders,” said Don Ellsworth, a Green Bay resident who wore a Favre jersey and told Thompson he was making a big mistake picking Aaron Rodgers over Favre. “That’s where the majority of them are. They never thought he was going to come out here on the fourth floor.”
Annette DiZinno, wearing a pink Favre jersey, said she politely asked Thompson to explain his decision but got an unsatisfactory response.
“I said, ’Please explain to me why,’ “ DiZinno said, pausing to hold back tears. “ ’I’m a lifelong Packers fan. Why, if you don’t want him to play somewhere else because he can do well there, why he can’t do well here?’
“He wouldn’t even look at me; he wouldn’t answer my question. I said, ’I’m distressed and could you just answer my question?’ “
Thompson eventually replied by saying, “There’s a lot of distress.”
Murphy said it was up to Favre to seek reinstatement. Should he choose to do so, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would be expected to approve it immediately.
That, in turn, would open up a few scenarios. Favre could choose to come to training camp; practice starts Monday. If he does come back, Murphy said, Favre “will have a different role.”
The Packers have been shopping Favre to other teams, perhaps as many as two dozen or so. Some reports indicate the best fit would be in Tampa Bay, coached by old friend Jon Gruden.
Waiting in the wings is a decision by the NFL on tampering charges the Packers filed against the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL has evidence and information from the Packers accusing the Vikings of tampering.
