I find it somewhat hard to believe that any readers don't know who Francis Tarkenton was, but to sum up: he's the greatest quarterback in Vikings history, and he's head, shoulders, abdomen, and upper thighs above any competitors. Minnesota hasn't really had a steady quarterback since Tarkenton quit scrambling in 1978, apart from Daunte Culpepper or maybe Tommy Kramer, and neither can hold a candle to "Fran", who retired as the NFL's career passing leader.
His #10 is retired, his fame in Minnesota is secure - and now, he's speaking for all right-thinking Vikings fans everywhere. The Athens, GA native was on 790 AM in Atlanta, and he had plenty of strong words for professional egotist Brett Favre. Here's what he had to say:
“I think it’s despicable. What he put the Packers through last year was not good. Here’s an organization that was loyal to him for 17, 18 years, provided stability of organization, provided players. It just wasn’t about Brett Favre. In this day and time, we have glorified the Brett Favres of the world so much, they think it’s about them. He goes to New York and bombs. He’s 39 years old. How would you like Ray Nitschke in his last year with the Vikings, or I retire, and go play for the Packers? I kind of hope it happens, so he can fail.We wholeheartedly endorse Tarkenton's statement - all except the part about "I kind of hope it happens." Favre's self-aggrandizing, look-at-me act is one of the more repulsive cries for attention we've ever heard, and Tarkenton's words speak for all Vikings fans who haven't been blinded by some half-remembered John Madden bloviating from 1998.
“He told the Packers, 'I’m retiring.' They’ve got to move on. They’ve got to go through their offseason plan, their workouts, they go with the other quarterback, who is a good player, and then he comes back and says, 'I think I want to play.' ... You build your team in the offseason. Everybody knows that. It’s about team. It’s not about Brett Favre. So he goes and runs up to the Jets, doesn’t even dress in the locker room with the players. Has a separate facility. Playing quarterback is about the relationships you have with your coaches, with your players, with your trainers, with your managers. How can you do that if you show up on gameday and you haven’t put the time in. And now he’s trying to do it again in Minnesota."
Francis Tarkenton, we salute you. Please continue to make your voice heard.
1 comments:
Look I am not a Favre fan, but do you want to sit through the fall and watch Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels find comedic ways to lose? Aren't you tired of bad quarterbacking that can't make plays? Now Favre is nothing special anymore, but at least, he can do something in portion of the game.
He would be an upgrade over the crap of quarterbacks the Vikings have. There is a reason why Tom Powers mock the Vikings quarterbacks as Sagravis Jackenfels.
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