While accepting the award for “Best Play” at Wednesday night’s ESPYs, Brett Favre didn’t speak in past tense when he mentioned the Vikings. Just based on that, one could make the assumption that he’s coming back in 2010.
Of course, assuming anything when it comes to Favre’s retirement decision is like assuming Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger are going to keep their hands to themselves when they go club hopping on a Friday night. (What? Too much?)
Apparently Brett isn’t done with his annual tap dance routine and has decided to prolong this agonizing situation even more by not fully committing to his return.
From ESPN.com:
“It starts with the ankle,” Favre said in an interview with ESPN’s Hannah Storm backstage at the ESPY Awards. “I can walk fine, but you don’t walk in football.”
Favre said that he is still not completely healthy. “I guess at 40 I may never be,” he said.
Favre said he thought his recovery from ankle surgery — this Friday will mark eight weeks since the operation — would have been quicker.
“I had hoped it would have been a little bit better at this point,” he said.
“I would love to play and be the best I can possibly be,” he said. “That’s what I’m working toward right now.”
Favre had hoped to make a quicker decision on a return this time around, but that didn’t happen.
“It’s not desire,” Favre said.
If he hadn’t bobbed and weaved so many times throughout the years when it came to whether or not he would return for another season, I’d almost respect the fact that he didn’t want to definitively say he’s coming back. But seeing as how he loves to drag his feet when it comes to making decisions, I find everything he said above utterly annoying.
As I’ve stated many times on this blog over the past couple of months: he’s coming back. If he weren’t, you would have seen more panic out of the Vikings this offseason, most notably from Brad Childress. But Childress’s wait-and-see attitude is a clear indication to me that he has always known that Favre is coming back.
Let’s just hope Brett doesn’t get any ideas from LeBron and host a one-hour special to announce his decision.
