All you football fans already know that the once retired quarterback Brett Farve from the Green Bay Packers has changed his mind and wants to play again.  He already had a very emotional, tearful goodbye press conference where he told everyone he had decided to retire.

Brett Favre was welcomed to play for Green Bay for as long as he wanted.  He was the one that made the decision,  held the tearful press conference and talked about closure. In this day and age you need to think long and hard before making a big decision.

What where the Packers suppose to do? Wait and not plan for the future?  Green Bay was headed down a different course, having anointed Aaron Rodgers its new starter. The franchise was reticent to backtrack, especially after Favre got cold feet about a comeback in late March.

Such waffling — and Favre’s recent request to be released so he could pursue playing elsewhere — has left the Packers in a standoff with one of its most storied players.

Packers general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy said they don’t plan to grant Favre the release he is seeking from his contract and are committed to Aaron Rodgers as their starter.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Brett Farve is probably one of the best quarterbacks ever to play, and his record speaks for itself. Even though I am a die hard Chicago Bears fan, I have to admit it was always fun to watch Brett bring his team back from behind in the forth quarter of the game.  You could tell he had a real love of the game, and everyone including non Green Bay fans loved him for it.

But Brett also needs to realize that he is the only one to blame. The Packers had to plan for a future without him, and they did. It is great that they will even encourage him to come back as a backup.

Sorry Brett, it’s your bed, and now you need to sleep in it.

Now some of his fans are rallying outside Lambeau Field to pressure the Green Bay Packers to reinstate him as the starting quarterback.

The crowd of more than 100 chanted “We want Brett,” and carried signs reading, “Favre for President” or “Favre Forever.” Many in the parking lot wore No. 4 jerseys, tossed footballs and grilled.

The rally in Green Bay, Wis., was the brainchild of brothers Adam and Erick Rolfson, who on Friday tried to think of a way to keep Favre in Green Bay. Another rally is planned for Monday night in suburban Milwaukee and every Sunday thereafter at Lambeau Field until Favre is back.

General Manager of the Green Bay Packers Ted Thompson called the situation “gut-wrenching.”

“We understand where the fans are coming from,” he said. “This is a hot-button issue that surpasses anything I’ve ever gone through.”

The brothers, from the Milwaukee suburb of Pewaukee, started making random phone calls Saturday from the Green Bay white pages urging people to attend Sunday’s rally and visit their Web site www.bringbackbrettfavre.com.

At the rally, they asked fans to vote on whether they wanted the team to make Favre the starter, whether Favre or Rodgers gives the Packers the best chance at the Super Bowl and whether Thompson should be fired if he trades or releases Favre.

The Web site is selling “Favre 08″ shirts, bumper stickers and yard signs. Erick Rolfson, 32, plans to turn his Wauwatosa mortgage company into “Favre ‘08 Headquarters.”

“Last time we checked,” he said, “Green Bay is a publicly owned franchise and is owned by the people in the community and by the stockholders, not Ted Thompson.”

So it looks like a big mess at this point.  Whatever happens it saddens me to think the record of such a great player will forever be a little tarnished with this.

What do you think?