Cal and Brett

Iron Man. It was the first comic book hit of the summer but the name has become synonymous with those who endure. The triathlon which pushes man beyond what he can give demanding a 2.4 miles swim, an 100 mile bike ride, and the whipped cream to top it off --- a marathon --- that triathlon has earned the descriptor, Iron Man.

Two professional athletes earned the Iron Man nickname for their sturdiness in their respective sports, Cal Ripken in baseball and Brett Favre in football. Both of these men hold records unlikely to be beaten for consecutive games played, 2632 for the baseball's legend and 253 for quarterbacks for football's legend (275 if you include the playoff games).

Despite the commonality for consistency, these men achieved greatness with far different styles. Mr. Ripken went about his business with might be described as blandness, but his tenacious work ethic and focus on excellence garnered Gold Gloves, Rookie of the Year, All-Star MVP, League MVP, and Baseball All-Century Team, to name a few of the accolades.

Mr. Favre is the NFL's perennial child. From throwing snowballs to picking up teammates to the biggest dimpled smile behind a facemask, Favre's child-like joy could never be deemed child-ish or flippant. He loved the game and could not contain that joy. His passion and discipline earned the NFL MVP (three times), nine-time Pro-Bowl selection, seven time All-Pro, Super Bowl champ and just about every record for quarterback in the NFL.

And both men remained with the same team throughout their heroics (Favre began a Falcon, but did not earn a starting position until going to Green Bay)

Two men. Both Hall of Famers (Ripken is, Favre will be). Vastly different but effective styles.

Then came retirement...maybe. When Cal Ripken retired, he retired. Sure he kept his hand in baseball (front office, PR, etc.), but when he hung up his cleats, he hung them out of reach, never to be donned again as a player.

Brett Favre has begun to soil his pristine reputation with the recently in vogue game played by professional athletes called "I'm retired, I'm not retired." Favre has been toying with retirement for the past three or four years. His body has taken shots that would crumble my body like saltines. He has dealt with his wife's breast cancer battle. He's faced his skill's deterioration. And so after taking great pains to weigh all the factors, he announced his retirement last March.

By May and the start of the NFL mini-camps, Favre had begun expressing an interest in still playing but at the same time making plain to all that he was in fact retired. As the opening day of training camp grew closer and closer, Favre began to talk louder and louder about coming back to play another season.

And now the Packer's are faced with a dilemma: trade the greatest quarterback ever to some colors other than green and gold or let him comeback and serve as a $12 million backup QB.

Green Bay needs to begin a new era just as San Francisco did post-Joe Montana (rather than retire, Montana spent an inglorious year or two in Kansas City). To do so, the Pack drafted promising QB Aaron Rogers in 2005. He has sat under the tutelage of the finest mentor a man could ask for. Now it is his turn to carry the mantle, but the mentor keeps coming back and wanting to handle the project himself. To give Favre the ball for one more season, Rogers will surely bolt.

For a man who has earned a gigantic reputation for selflessness and being a team player, this epitomizes selfishness.

Despite the glory of the 2007 season, Favre's ability has plainly ebbed. Moments of brilliance were interspersed by more and more situations that left the fan scratching their head wondering, "What was that?!?"

Brett dishonors himself, his former team and the game of football by wanting to play another season. It's time to move on. It's time to enjoy his family and pursue the next phase of his life with the same zeal and giddiness with which he hit the gridiron every Sunday. It would be tragic to see him end like Montana (or Emmit Smith. Was anything more tragic than Emmit Smith in Arizona???).

Brett Favre should exit with the same dignity and poise with which Ripken departed. His already legendary stock will go through the roof.