Farewell to #4

The news is just in. The west coast might not even know yet. They're still sleeping soundly in a world where Brett Favre just might come back for another season in his legendary career.
The rest of us are contemplating an NFL season without #4. There's much for Green Bay fans to feel positive about--he's leaving a solid, well-rounded team with big potential, Aaron Rodgers certainly showed promise in his appearance against Dallas, and Coach of the Year Mike McCarthy isn't going anywhere for awhile.
But it's the unquantifiable aspects of Favre's play that will be missed more than anything. The spirit, the boyish energy, the love of the game that commentators could never resist mentioning (even at the risk of sounding decidedly...well, let's say "unmanly," to keep it vaguely P.C.). Young opponents who grew up watching him play couldn't hide their awe, and many would get autographs. Even Randy Moss was star-struck: When he was a Viking, he was caught on tape in a game against the Packers, pacing up and down the sidelines stammering, "This is Brett Favre right here, I gotta see this, this is Brett Favre."
I hope another QB takes the torch and inspires adulation and devotion on that level. Someone who's not part of a cheating franchise and who does more than just fit effectively into a system designed by a dishonest puppet-master. I know, I know. We have Mannings, we have Big Ben, and a superstar can appear from the most unlikely places (as Favre himself did).
But I can't help thinking that this season and many more to come will be just a bit less fun. And that sucks.