A tall, dark and handsome cornerback, who plays piano, is deeply involved in charity work, loves wine and owns his own vineyard. Probably sounds like the perfect man, right? Well, here at Curves Change Up Ball we thought he sounded more like the perfect candidate for the Strapping Jock of the Month award (but then again, these terms are essentially interchangeable). Along with Curves’ highest honor, December’s SJTM recently earned a new nickname after dominating the Detroit Lions this Thanksgiving… And I won’t lie, after checking out his more-than-impressive resume; Charles “In Charge” Woodson has got me wondering if there is anythinnng this Packer isn’t “In Charge” of dominating.
Kicking off his long list of honors with the Mr. Football award in high school, Woodson has since gone on to replicate this victorious trend. Attending college at the University of Michigan, he recently donated $2 million to their C.S. Mott Children's Hospital for pediatric research. Woodson led the Wolverines to a national championship in 1997, and remains the only player in NCAA Division I-A football to win the Heisman Trophy as a primarily defensive player. While he already has a bulging trophy cabinet, we’re sure his newly-acquired rhinestone-studded Strapping Jock award will be taking a front row seat. Among his Mr. Football and Heisman, it will join the likes of a NFL Defensive Rookie of the year Award, a Sporting News Player of the Year title and five other collegiate awards recognizing best defensive player.
As our very own Blanche Leitner would say, "It wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving without someone stuffing the Lions." While their Turkey Day record may be less than pristine in recent years, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that the Lions can pull off an upset against the Packers this afternoon - tune in at 12:30 E.S.T. With a Thanksgiving history of 33-34-2, Detroit hasn't pulled off a win on the holiday since 2003. Their Turkey Day record vs Green Bay stands at 11-6-1 , though, so you just never know.
Across all professional sports, contract negotiations, player-coach relationships, retirement, and player-player conflicts result in athletes changing their uniforms.The popularity of the player is positively correlated with the outrage of the old team and the excitement of the new team.Switching teams is not, by any means, a new sensation.Usually, a trade makes a small wave within the organization that ripples out into the public for a week at the most.When great players are traded, however, it is a different story.Over the course of five weeks, we’ll take a look at five significant cases.The first is Brett Favre.
1992-2007: Green Bay Packers
2008: New York Jets
2009-2010: Minnesota Vikings
Brett Favre was the starting quarterback and face of the franchise for the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 2007, when he retired from the NFL, crying on national television.Four months later (July), Favre decided to return to the NFL and formally requested a release from the Packers when he found out he would not be a starter.The Packers tried to pay Favre to remain retired, but a month later (August) he was reinstated into the league.However, Favre and the Packers parted ways when general manager Ted Thompson decided that he did not want to take him back.(To their credit, the Packers had taken steps to overcome Favre’s retirement, including finding a new quarterback to replace Favre).Instead, Favre was traded to the Jets and welcomed to New York by Mayor Bloomberg.
After a successful start to the 2008 season, Favre and the Jets won only one game out of their final five.He retired again soon after…claiming that this time, it was for good.That turned out to be false.Favre signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings on August 18, 2009, joining the same conference as his old team, the Packers.Thus far, Favre has led the Vikings to a 5-0 record, including a victory over Green Bay.
So now, the question remains…will Favre return to the Vikings for the second year of his contract, will he request yet another trade, or will he retire for a third time?
Brett Favre played an awesome game last night against his old team, the Green Bay Packers. As quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, Favre gave the Green Bay fans and franchise a big F-you for thinking he's past his prime. Favre, who will be 40 on Saturday (and is one of the oldest players ever to play in the NFL) showed that, as in most professions, an experienced, gray-haired old guy trumps a scruffy looking kid from Chico. Brett can now look Rodgers in the face and say, "I'm not only better looking than you, but I'm also better than you in every way." You go, Favre!
