Worn

worn, originally uploaded by boxersiciliano.

I'm not a football fan..or at least, not much of one, although ironically i have been to two Superbowls and my share of college games in Oregon, but all in all, i could think of a million other things to do instead of watch a football game...no offense to the true fans, but it is just a fact for me...but......

The other day i was in the car wash and as I was paying i heard someone speaking about retirement on TV and i looked up and it was Brett Favre (faaavvrree) in the middle of his "sudden" retirement speech and at that moment i realized i was watching a fairly historical moment in sports, but more importantly i was watching a pretty amazing story. As I sat amongst air freshners, used news papers, soccer moms, guys who were rushing to get to the next appointment and had squeezed in a quick car wash, i sat in my own silent bubble, absolutely glued to the screen. I was watching this 38 year old man who has played professional football for something like 19 years, softly speaking about his end..his true moment of no longer feeling the passion that once drove him onward...it was a soft, heartfelt and tearful speech and i found myself getting emotional too..first off, how cool is it that this tough gnarly dude, was pouring his heart out to the public and press about his decision to no longer do the one thing in his life that makes sense...he was crying, sometimes softly with just some tears, and at moments, with the intensity that is only a tear away from absolute breakdown...I thought, this is good for our world right now...for our men, for our hearts...to hear someone being truthful about the reason they were stepping down and I remember what he said...."for the first time ever, i no longer have the desire to play" (or something to that effect)...he went on to say, that he could play, but only in theory and he no longer had it in him to be his best and to live eat and die football...i thought at that moment, how amazingly hard it must be to go from one of the best players ever, to thinking, I can't do it anymore....it really must be the ultimate moment of realization that life isn't forever...we see these guys as superhuman and forget that at some moment, they have to stop...and although we have seen it before, this time felt different for some reason...maybe it was his sincere feelings in the moment, or maybe it was my feelings of my own life and my own realization that Brett Favre is only 3 years older than i am and I still have a long way to go..he has been on a journey that took him to places most of us only dream of in a short amount of time...it made me think i was a loser, then it made me remember, my journey is not measured by his or anyone elses..and I felt proud to be me at that moment and not Brett Favre...but i also understood his place...wondering what was next, what could he possibly do now that football was over? I think i witnessed some piece of sports history, but more importantly I was a part of a man's life, if just for a moment, that rings true for me and probably everyone....the woman next to me said "this is such a shame for our country"...I heard myself reply, "well, he 's tired and doesn't want to play anymore...you can't blame him"...she didn't really say anything else and I thought it was weird that at that moment there were probably many people thinking the same thing she was because, really, when you think about it...we have very few "superheroes" left...and I think Brett Favre may have been one of them....He isn't my superhero, but I think he was and still is a superhero to others...and that is a good thing...it does give us hope and strength and if there is one thing we need in this world right now it is hope and strength...I was proud at that moment to be right where i was in life and to be able to witness that moment in history...i will always be able to remember that moment and at least pretend I was a football fan.

I went outside into the chilly, but blue sunny air, spoke some spanish to the two sweet ladies who had just finished drying my very large truck, tipped them 10 bucks, took a deep breathe, jumped in the truck and drove off...smiling because i just had another free lesson in mortality, passion, pain, love and life. It made my day that much more important... thanks Brett...