The Brett Favre will-he-or-won’t-he-play soap opera could send a fella running for a shrink. That’s exactly what I did the other day. I called a psychologist, my friend Dr. Herb Brenden.
Dr. Brenden is a former high school football player and I asked him if Favre’s prolonged decision has become an exercise in selfishness, hurting teammates and frustrating fans. The Vikings are about three weeks out from their season opener and maybe not even Favre knows for sure if he will play.
Dr. Brenden said there are only a few athletes who could pull off the “I might show up or I might not” approach. “So it is quite an ego trip to just feel that people will wait until you’re ready,” he said. “Can you think of too many athletes who can get by with that? He’s a pretty special character, and he knows that. He knows he brings a lot of excitement to a football team. And he knows that Chili (coach Brad Childress) and all the other guys are willing to wait because if there’s any chance he’ll play they’ll hang on.”
The doctor agrees with those who believe Favre enjoys keeping most Minnesotans and the rest of the football world in suspense, occasionally throwing out a quote or other message. “It’s more exciting, too, to wait until the last minute to make a decision,” Dr. Brenden said. “And that’s typically the way things go. People don’t really decide until there’s pressure to do so. So far he’s just been kind of going with the game plan. Nobody is forcing too much of anything. They’re not saying you have to come back or you’re done. …”
Why can’t Favre make a decision when it seems he should be sure of his intent by this late date? “He doesn’t want to practice for one thing so he has to have some kind of reason for holding out,” the doctor speculated. “The second is he may have an injury there that he’s not quite sure how it’s going to respond when he gets back on the field. I think what happens here is that so many athletes in his category only perform if there is good pressure and a good reason for playing. And they live for those games where…there’s two minutes left and they’re three points behind or something. The adrenaline really starts to fire. …”
Dr. Brenden believes he understands why some people are frustrated, or even obsessed with whether Favre will return. “These are such…distractions for people, from (other) issues that probably warrant their attention much more fully,” he said. “Like everything from the economy to politics to whatever. …Things that could use greater attention and probably profit (people) a lot more.”