Beer, wings and snacks littered the living room table.

It was Jan 26, 1997 and my football-crazy family was getting ready to watch the Super Bowl.

I was only eight and hadn’t heard much about the Green Bay Packers or the New England Patriots.

I had a conundrum upon me — who was I supposed to root for?

“Mom, who do you want to win?” I asked.

“We’re rooting for the Packers,” she said.

“Why?”

“Brett Favre, vr vrrr vrrr” She said, mocking the odd spelling of the Mississippi boy’s name.

This was a time when Favre had the goods, he was an NFL golden boy, coming off of an MVP season.

He and bell-bottom pants were the highlights of 1997 and like bell-bottoms, Favre has faded out of favor of the public eye like a lame fad.

His fall from grace has been swift.

I can think of only a few years ago when I was on the Favre bandwagon, cheering on the old guy in the 2007 playoffs, where he made a handful of spectacular plays. Everyone was diggin’ his resurgence.

But the cutesy idea of the old legend making a strong comeback has faded.

This is logical; he did cry on live television … only to return a few months later, betraying his beloved Packers.

But does he really deserve so much bad press?

ESPN has a commercial mocking his endless comeback tirade on the league. Many Packers fan have lost all sentiment for their former white knight, and Sports Illustrated even released an issue that guaranteed ‘No Favre’ press within it.

People can’t stand his act anymore, which is more than apparent, but I’m not sure he is so deserving of criticism.

Coming back to the Jets was  not only a low blow to the Pack, but also a move he made for financial reasons and to play in the largest market in the country.

Who can blame someone trying to make some bank?

After retiring for a second time, Favre still couldn’t cure the itch and the only remedy was the gridiron.

There were far fewer teams showing interest during his second return and he surprisingly chose former division rival and small-marketed Minnesota.

But looking deeper into it, the guy just wants to play football. It was a low blow for the Packers to join the Vikes, but enough bad blood had already been boiled so salt on the wound was insignificant at this point.

Most importantly he was joining a team that has the most deadly running back in the league as a backfield mate.

I’m sure he’s well aware of the pressure that will take off his rusted cannon.

Looking back on it, he’s been around since I was in diapers.

Football has always had Brett Favre in my lifetime and whether you love him or love to hate on him, what would a Sunday afternoon be like without Brett Favre?