Our Long National Nightmare is Over

"Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes....The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!"

Or so sayeth the Ghostbusters in the 1984 film. They might well have been prophesying August 7, 2008 in the Badger State. Indeed, the Favrepocalypse that had been foretold for weeks is finally upon us. And while the lakes turn to blood, the stars fall from the heavens, and Brett Favre dons a New York Jets jersey, Wisconsin looks for answers.

As you've undoubtedly heard ad nauseum by now, no other fan base has ever had such an intimate relationship with an athlete as Packer backers and Favre. For 16 years, Favre, the Packers and Wisconsin have been synonymous.

And so, more than anything else, Favre's move to the Jets creates an unprecedented crisis of identity for Cheeseheads. Who are we? And where do we go from here?

Many Packer fans have renounced Favre. A stunning reversal for a man who could have been elected governor in a landslide just six months ago. There exists a strong sense of betrayal. If Favre had simply taken his ball and gone home when he didn't get his way, all might be easily forgiven. But instead he took his ball and went to the big city. A cardinal sin in a blue collar state filled with small town pride.

Others have forsaken the Green and Gold. At least for now. One emailer to ESPN Radio wrote, "Brett Favre is the best thing to happen in my sports life. I'm shunning over 40 years of being a Packer fan to root for the Jets. Go to hell, Green Bay. Go to hell, Ted Thompson."

Perhaps the question Packer fans (and all sports fans for that matter) should ask ourselves is why we invest ourselves in a bunch of grown men playing a children's game in the first place? We do we spend time, money and emotion on players that leave for a rival city in the blink of an eye? What's the point of being a sports fan?

The answer to these questions just might be the only thing that can reconcile Favre, the Packers, and the fans torn apart by this ordeal.

We root because being a fan means being part of something that's bigger than us. We don't cheer for the Packers just because of Brett Favre or Donald Driver or Aaron Kampman or any other player. Rather, our fanhood is a celebration of our state's heritage and culture. It's a celebration of brats, beer and polka. It's an acclamation of a tiny town that has no business housing an NFL team somehow boasting the league's most storied team.

Favre is not bigger than the game or the team. He's simply one piece of a tradition steeped in history and excellence. A tradition to which he has contributed so much, but one he can never transcend.

So fear not, Packer fans; this, too, will pass. Many of the great ones left the teams that made them famous. Joe Montana. Michael Jordan. Jerry Rice. The list goes on and on. Even amongst Packer greats, this is nothing new. Curly Lambeau, the namesake of the beloved stadium coached his finals seasons with the Washington Redskins. Paul Hornung was traded to the Saints. Reggie White ended his career wearing a Carolina Panthers jersey. Even Vince Lombardi ended on another team's sidelines. But they're all remembered as Packers. And rightly so.

So will Favre be remembered as a Packer. These days are awkward, but in a year or two, all will be forgotten. Even if only in heart, he'll return. Favre was, is, and always will be a Packer at heart.