Brett Favre is Now with the Minnesota Vikings

Yes, it's all true... Brett Favre is officially on the Minnesota Vikings. Now we can quit watching videos of him throwing passes to random high school football players, and send the roving midsummer-nothing-else-to-do ESPN reporters to Vikings training camp for more incessant talking and worthless coverage.

What this whole saga highlighted for me - and what I've known for quite some time - is that I hate Brett Favre. This is despite the fact that he has been fairly good to the fortunes of my team, the New York football Giants. He let Michael Strahan flop onto of him for his record breaking sack, and he literally threw our shot at the Super Bowl into our hands.

Thanks Brett, but I still loathe your existence on my television and in my life every... single... day. Here are the top 5 reasons why I hate Brett Favre.

5. The Perpetual Announcer Man Crush - Why is it that every announcer on the planet has a man crush for Brett Favre? Is it just to give Frank Caliendo material for his impersonations? With John Madden out of the booth, that's at least one of Favre's biggest man crushers out of the way. Of course, about 347 of them still remain.

4. He Makes me Miss T.O./McNabb - The Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb drama with the Philadelphia Eagles was one of the first times that ESPN made the executive decision to turn their sports coverage into an endless sports soap opera. It was absolutely terrible, and it essentially ruined the network. Well, the yearly Brett Favre saga actually makes me miss that. Give me some crunches on your driveway, give me some sideline freak outs, give me something that at least entertains during the madness rather than breathless reporters following you to high school football practices and news stories based on your text messages.

3. The Country Good Ole Boy - We get it Brett. You live in Mississippi. You like mowing lawns. You wear jeans. And of course, you just love you some football and hanging with the guys. Find a new schtick.

Brett Favre: The Greatest Black Quarterback of All Time

So I'm hearing all of this talk about Brett Favre, not only about his status as a living legend, but also about his flaws as a NFL quarterback. He's got some gaudy stats and a Super Bowl win to his credit, but many of the naysayers are clowning him for a career chock full of gunslinging and good fortune; most of which only paid off consistently for about a three-to-five year period.

But when you think about everything that Brett Favre's legacy is made of, the good and the bad, you might come to a conclusion that you wouldn't have expected. Everything that makes Brett Favre a notable and beloved quarterback are the exact qualities that have created a stereotype around black quarterbacks and hindered them from widespread acceptance. From the risk-taking, to the undeniable physical tools, to the questionable leadership qualities, let's just go ahead and make it plain;

Brett Favre is the greatest black quarterback of all time.

There's not much that physically separates Favre from countless other black quarterbacks who have come and gone over the course of his NFL tenure. They shared limitless potential; entrance into the league with cannon arms, quick feet and a knack for making plays. Favre's southern upbringing, inherent toughness and "aww shucks" media persona is not glaringly different from some of the best brothers granted the chance to line up under center.

I won't say racism positioned Favre to excel, because he had to be talented enough to win a Super Bowl and set numerous NFL records. But I will say that race had a lot to do with the patience shown by Mike Holmgren and the Green Bay Packers organization in his early years as a player. Patience that many black quarterbacks did not receive because all of the things that endeared Favre to coaches, players and media, were negative traits when possessed by black QBs.

You can see it in how long it took Favre to become a starter for one of the NFL's flagship franchises. You can see it in his being named to the 1993 Pro Bowl, a Pro Bowl that also boasted Warren Moon as an honoree, who just happened to be the third-leading passer in the league that year.