Will Brett Favre’s Streak Collapse with the Metrodome?

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REUTERS/Eric Miller

Brett Favre is a Hall of Fame player who has been thrilling to watch over the past 20 years. But at this point, enough is enough. Does he really have to dominate so many NFL storylines this season?

First, he polluted another pre-season with his annual ‘will he play?’ or ‘won’t the play?’ act. Then came the disturbing controversy about his alleged harassment of a New York Jets employee when he played for that team in 2008. Then he helped get his coach, Brad Childress, canned.

And now, after a once-in-generation weather event gave us unbelievable footage of the Metrodome roof caving in – since no injuries were reported, everyone could just gape in good conscience, and utter “that … was … awesome!” – all that  many breathless football commentators could wonder was “oh my, will this act of God save Brett Favre’s streak of starting 297 consecutive games?”

(Watch video of the Metrodome roof collapsing.)

Come on – who cares? Favre, who is suffering from a shoulder injury, has shown his usual flashes of brilliance this year. But for the most part he’s been an average quarterback, at best. There were 800 other aspects of this strange calamity than interesting than Brett Favre. Just start with busted itinerary of the New York Giants.  The Giants traveled to Minneapolis early Saturday morning, for their game that was supposed to kick off at 1 p.m EST on Sunday. They tried to beat the blizzard, and failed miserably. The team’s plane got diverted to Kansas City, where they spend Saturday night in the airport Marriott, reviewing plays and playing cards.

A false hotel fire alarm helped stir the Giants Sunday morning. The team got news that Minnesota’s stadium collapsed, so they wouldn’t be heading north to the Twin Cities. The Giants were stranded in Kansas City for a few more hours after the NFL worked on a contingency plan. Bored, the veterans players made the rookies have a sing-off. “We’re all kind of getting tired of each other,” joked Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. “It’s like recreating a bad Christmas movie.”

(See Brett Favre in the Top 10 Quotes of 2010.)

Giants owner John Mara suggested moving the game to Giants home stadium in New Jersey. “That didn’t get very far,” Mara said. No surprise there. Since this was slated to be a Vikings home game, officials discussed playing the game at the University of Minnesota’s outdoor stadium. But no one seemed too keen on playing in sub-zero temperatures. Plus the Giants, figuring the game would be played indoors at the Metrodome, didn’t pack cold weather gear. Though they could have afforded to charter their long-johns.

In the end, it made the most sense for Detroit to host the game, which will kick off at 8:20 eastern time tonight. The city is reasonably close to Minneapolis, Ford Field has a roof that hasn’t collapsed, and since the Lions had just hosted the Green Bay Packers, Fox already had a camera crew at the stadium, easing the television logistics (the game will be broadcast in the Minneapolis and New York City, as well as Rochester, Mankato, and Duluth in Minnesota, and Albany in New York). Admission to the game is free, so it may even draw a decent crowd. Expect more than a few New Yorkers and Minnesotans to make a spontaneous road trip to Motown.

As far Favre … well, God certainly wants his streak to continue, because his achy shoulder would have prevented him from playing on Sunday, and the blizzard gives him another 30 hours to heal. In a text message to a USA Today reporter, Favre said he doubted he’d be ready. But it will likely be a game time decision. So Favre will keep us guessing once again.

Yawn. If Brett Favre sits this one out, that’d be fine with us, because that beats the alternative: watching him play.