SaveBrett.net

We give the last word to Brett Favre: "I've always wanted to be a Packer ... I always will be a Packer ... I'd like to think that those 16 years people will say ... the best 16 years I've ever watched ... it was a lot of fun for me ... I think it was made clear this off-season that they [the Packers managment] were moving forward ... Packer fans are Packer fans ... [it is] a great tradition ... I'm thankful that I was a part of it ... I gave everything I possibly could give while I was there ... I think the way I've played, the way I've handled myself is the most important thing ... A lot of things happened this off-season, a lot of shocking things ... I got a lot of respect for the guys [the players] in Green Bay ... I said last year and I said the year before that was probably the most talented team I'd ever played on, everyone thought I was crazy, I still think the same.  I think they've got as good a chance as anyone in this league ... of ... getting to ... the Super Bowl ... we had some differences between I and a couple of other people ... but you know what, there is nothing like Green Bay fans ... at some point it's got to be let go ..."  That point in time is now.  Go Brett Go!  Go Pack Go!  Watch Video

We have received a flood of thank you's from fellow Packer and Brett Favre fans thanking us for leading the SaveBrett.net Movement over the last month and wanted to say thank you for all of the thank you's.

Here is a sample of what we've been receiving in our mail bag:

"Tony - a valiant effort that is to be commended."
                    - Bret Woodland

"Thank god you have a site where real packer fans can expresss their true feelings about this ... situation ... Tony, thank you for creating this website. I heard about it on the radio and it is great to know there are a lot of other TRUE packer/Favre fans out there."
                    - Willy Lemke

"I just want to thank you for putting this petition and site up.  This site has been the most honest & forthright place I can find any current information about what is going on ... Thanks for all your hard work.  You're the voice of Packer fans all around the world ... You are acting like a true Packer fan & about the only thing us Packers fans can be proud of right now.  Thank you from the bottom of my broken heart."
                    - Terry Beem

"I want to thank you ... for all that you've done to get Brett back ... Thank you again for all of your hard work and effort."
                    - Sandy Witzel

"You all did a great job.  You could not have done anything more.  You brought him back as close as possible to again becoming ours.  My family thanks you for this. Thanks is really not enough, but despite the sad ultimate result we do feel much appreciation towards your effort ... Thanks again so much for all your great efforts."
                    - Kregg Halstead

"Tony..you rock! Thanks for the site ... Alot of us are checking in on your site daily trying to make any sense of this ... Thanks again."
                    - Misty Katzfey

"You have been great!  I understand this didn't end the way we all wanted it to, but you've managed to show everyone that we are the most dedicated fans out there.  I appreciate everything that you have done and I completely support you."
                    - Anonymous

"Hey thanks for your valiant attempt, I wished it had worked."
                    - Doug

"Thanks for all of your hard work ... I think you guys should get on the Board of Directors and change things."
                    - Tammy Lyn

"I want to thank you and everybody AGAIN for all you have done with your savebrett.net ... you guys have done a wonderfull job ..."
                    - Becky Berard 

"Thanks for the website and all you've done to help the cause of bringing Brett back to the Packers."
                    - Tammy Calhoun

"Thank you so much for all your efforts.  You tried so hard to keep Brett in Green Bay ... Thanks again guys."
                    - Christina McClaugherty

"I wanted to say that I love what you are doing for Brett ... I was at family night and saw the banner flying above Lambeau Field, as soon as I got back home I signed your petition #17004."
                    - Roger Powell

"Thanks, just does not seem fitting for standing up for whats right for Brett & the Packers,players, fans. Your the best! I appreacite all your efforts."
                    - Terri Rosenthal

Thank you to everyone who donated their time, energy, financial support, and enthusiasm to the SaveBrett.net Movement.  Packer fans are truly like no other fans in the world!

From Variety: "... by Thursday afternoon, New York Jets tickets topped the list of searches -- for the week -- at the ticket resale website StubHub. Sideline field-level tickets, which have a face value of $105, for Favre's first game in the Meadowlands -- Sept. 14 vs. the Patriots -- were going for at least $400 a seat. Last week, tickets could be had for less than $200."

Add to this the fact that NewYorkJets.com received so many hits that it crashed and sold nearly 4,000 Favre jerseys in the first 24 hours and you can see that the Jets and their fans know a good thing when they see it.  Meanwhile, all was quiet in Green Bay.

AP: Save Brett Site Still Going Strong

The Associated Press (AP) picked up the SaveBrett.net Movement for a second time yesterday.  The following story has appeared across the country from Madison, Wisconsin to Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, and even as far away as Honolulu, Hawaii:

"CYBERSPACE (AP) - The cause has been lost. But the Web site goes on. The gang at the Save Brett Farve site has updated the Web page with the news they dreaded: that Farve has been traded from their beloved Packers to the New York Jets. The site is still directing fans to the now-moot petition to the Packers to keep Farve. But it also includes a thank you for those who supported the site. It also declares that Farve leaves "knowing that the Packers management does not represent the vast majority of fan opinion." On the 'Net: Save Brett site: http://savebrett.net/"

Related:
Associated Press Picks Up Story About SaveBrett.net Movement
SaveBrett.net Topic of Conversation As Far Away as Norway

From Appleton PostCrescent.com: "New York Jets games are suddenly in high demand after Brett Favre’s trade, and the local CBS affiliate has requested permission from CBS Sports to carry as many games as possible, WFRV-TV Channel 5 announced Friday. The station expects to air eight regular season Jets games."  Read Article

Sign the petition in protest of this terrible decision by the Green Bay Packers management.

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The New York Times Reports on and Links to the SaveBrett.net Movement

In an article by Pat Borzi entitled "Taking the Favre Out of the Packers, But Not Out of Green Bay" The New York Times reflected on how deep the support for Brett Favre is in Green Bay despite his recent trade to the New York Jets.  Strangely the story was renamed "Packers Fans Split Over Favre's Departure" somewhere along the line but this headline does not match the content of the article itself.

In part, the article reads: "Many Packers fans remain angry. A web site, SaveBrett.net, collected more than 20,000 names in an online petition demanding the Packers restore Favre to the starter’s role. It featured this message from its founder, Tony Mars: 'We may not have succeeded at bringing Brett back to Green Bay as we had hoped but at least, if he had to leave, he leaves knowing that the Packers management does not represent the vast majority of fan opinion — the true soul of the Green Bay Packers.'”

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Just before news of Brett's trade to the Jets broke he spoke to reporters in Mississippi.  During questioning Brett thanked the fans for being so supportive:  "Fans in Green Bay were awesome … least on my side … Green Bay has been awesome to me and my family ..."

Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to support the SaveBrett.net Movement.  We may not have succeeded at bringing Brett back to Green Bay as we had hoped but at least, if he had to leave, he leaves knowing that the Packers management does not represent the vast majority of fan opinion - the true soul of the Green Bay Packers.

He moves on to play another day instead of being trapped in retirement.  For a champion of Brett's quality - who turned down $25 Million just for the chance to play the game he loves - that is perhaps the biggest gift and greatest thank you we as loyal Packer fans could give to one of our own.

Sign the petition in protest of this terrible decision by the Green Bay Packers management.

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Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre Schedule Separate Press Conferences for Today

Since it was announced we have been hoping that our source was wrong about news that Brett Favre had been traded to Tampa Bay.  It turns out our source was wrong but not in the way we had hoped ... Brett Favre has been traded ... to the New York Jets.

FOX Sports was the first to report the story which has been published by others including ESPN, CBS Sportsline, and The New York Times.  Here is something we never thought we'd live to see.

Petition signatures have quickly surpassed the 20,000 mark as fans sign in protest of Packer management's decision to trade Brett and in support of and respect for a true Packer legend.

Why is Brett Favre no longer a Green Bay Packer?  According to ESPN.com it's "the simple yet mind-boggling fact that Packers management thinks Favre isn't good enough to win."  Meanwhile "Favre-mania" is currently gripping the Jets Nation as their website reportedly experiences over 100,000 visitors per hour.

The Green Bay Packers have announced a press conference for Thursday, August 7th at 12PM, CST.  The press conference will be available to view LIVE online by clicking here.  According to Packers.com a video window will appear on this page five minutes before the start of the press conference.  Brett Favre will hold a press conference tonight at 5PM, CST - as a Jet.

Sign the petition in protest of this terrible decision by the Green Bay Packers management.

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Dear Fellow Fans,

Since we broke the news that Brett Favre is likely to be traded to Tampa Bay discussion and comments on our site have surged as angry and sad fans have passionately expressed their opinions.  This is a necessary and important part of advocating for Brett and grieving un-welcomed news.

But while passions have run high respect for fellow fans seems to be running at an all-time low.  Regardless of our opinions about Brett Favre or the current management/board we must all remember that we are Green Bay Packer fans first and foremost.  Despite short term disagreement this bond unites us over the long term.

On multiple occasions we have experimented with moderating comments for short periods of time in an attempt to keep the dialogue respectful.  However, due to the sheer volume of comments this has proven to be impossible.  As a result we have decided to express our concerns publicly about the tone of discussion and ask that fans police the site on our behalf.

Although we will end all attempts to moderate discussion we will keep a close eye on the character of these discussions.  If the tone does not improve we will be forced to close comments and discussion on the site completely.

While we can not control the actions of Packer management or Brett himself we can control how we treat one another.

GO PACK GO!

Tony Mars
Founder
SaveBrett.net

Petition signatures protesting Brett's trade to Tampa Bay continue to flood in at a steady pace.  Today we passed 19,000 signatures at a pace that will exceed 20,000 before the trade is even officially announced.

Yesterday, following our breaking of the news that Favre was destined for Tampa our site was overwhelmed with a surge of visitors.  Signatures were added at such a fast rate that our petition website crashed for approximately 20 minutes under the strain of unprecedented demand.

It is clear that Packers managment has seriously underestimated the fan outrage that has greeted this most recent mis-step.  Help us reach 20,000 petition signatures before Brett's trade is officially announced.  

Sign the petition in protest of this terrible decision by the Green Bay Packers management.  Here's to hoping that our source is wrong!

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NFL Network is reporting that Brett Favre has left the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin via private jet and is currently en route to his home in Mississippi. 

The network also reports that Brett was barred from entering the Green Bay Packer locker room during Family Night this past Sunday.  Presumably excited to be back in his house - Lambeau Field - he wanted to mix with his teammates and visit the locker room but the security detail that was assigned to "protect" him did not permit his entry.

So while the Packers management was telling the public that they were planning to welcome Brett back and hold an open competition for starting quarterback it turns out they were privately excluding him from the team and preparing for his inevitable trade.

It seems that the Green Bay Packers management were the ones not in the "proper mind-set" to welcome back an iconic hero to our Packers Nation.  I just hope he

Sign the petition in protest of managements poor behavior toward Brett!  If they will not apologize to him for their repeated insults at least we as his fans can make it clear that we do not approve of how we are being represented by the current Packer management.  Here's to hoping that our source is wrong!

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SaveBrett.net Petition Receives Over 1,000 Signatures within an Hour; Petition Crashes Under Surge of Traffic

ESPN's Wendi Nix is reporting that a "calm" is descending on Green Bay as people accept Brett Favre's likely trade to Tampa Bay.  With all due respect to Wendi nothing could be further from the truth.  Although the streets surrounding Lambeau Field quickly quieted after news of Favre's likely trade the mood is anything but "calm."

After news hit we received a surge of over 20,000 unique visitors and have experienced over 42,000 unique page hits.  At one point we were receiving petition signatures so fast that the overwhelming demand crashed our petition website for about 20 minutes before it was restored. 

During the petition surge we received over 1,000 signatures within an hour.  Had the site not crashed and slowed under the traffic load the number would have undoubtedly been much higher.  We now have over 18,000 petition signatures and rapidly climbing.

When the petition crashed comments and email began flooding in as fan anger - like rushing water - sought out the most readily available outlet.  We have still not been able to get through all of the email messages we have received in the last few hours.

Sign the petition in protest of this terrible decision by the Green Bay Packers management.  Here's to hoping that our source is wrong!

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Listening to Mike McCarthy's signature line from this afternoon's press conference - that Brett Favre is "not in right mind-set" to play for the Packers - it is clear that he has had some first rate public relations (PR) coaching from the former White House press secretary Green Bay recently hired.

To break the fancy PR code this is simply a less than straightforward way of saying that Brett Favre will not agree to allow the Green Bay Packers to bench him in favor of playing Aaron Rodgers.

Brett Favre is right to stand his ground in his unwillingness to sit on the bench after an MVP year just because he thought he might want to retire a few months ago.  It is a slap in the face of unspeakable magnitude.  However, that resistance puts him in the wrong "mind-set" to play for Green Bay when you use PR-ese.

PR-ese?  It is fancy double talk and deceptive practices that are turning Packer fans from sad to angry in short order.  Our website has received a flood of traffic, petition signatures, and comments, as well as private email messages pleading with us to switch our petition from "Save Brett" to "Fire the Three Stooges - Thompson, Murphy, and McCarthy."

This type of behavior - no matter how pretty you paint the words around it - just isn't how the good people of Wisconsin wish to be represented to the rest of the world.  It is not our way.  Unfortunately, Aaron Rodgers will likely hear the "boos" that are directed at this type of deceptive practice and not at him personally.

Sign the petition in protest of this terrible decision by the Green Bay Packers management.  Here's to hoping that our source is wrong!

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EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS

(Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 3:52 PM, CT)  The news media will soon be reporting that Brett Favre has been traded to Tampa Bay according to an exclusive SaveBrett.net source close to Favre.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is currently crediting SaveBrett.net with breaking the story worldwide that the deal is all but done.  We expect this news to be the topic of Mike McCarthy's press conference in under an hour.  The mood is "very down and gloomy" at training camp according to Adam Chartier of SaveBrett.net who is on-site.

As a courtesy to fellow Favre supporters we informed the Rolfson brothers, who have organized the Lambeau field rallies, of the news in-person and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Green Bay Press Gazette by phone.

We have also received a tip that FlightAware.com is showing a flight that may be scheduled to carry Brett Favre back to Mississippi.

Sign the petition in protest of this terrible decision by the Green Bay Packers management.  Here's to hoping that our source is wrong!

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BREAKING NEWS

We are receiving reports that Green Bay will, in fact, not allow Brett Favre to compete for the starting quarterback position as he had been promised by the Packers and has been widely reported by the media.

Rather, reports are now coming in that Mike McCarthy is encouraging Brett to be traded away from the Packers - most likely to the Vikings or Bears - rather than giving him an opportunity to compete with Aaron Rodgers.

In response ESPN reports that Brett Favre was quoted as saying: "So they can say they welcome me back but, come on, the way they've treated me tells you the truth. They don't want me back ... I don't know where it's headed. We'll see."

We knew it was trouble when the Packers hired former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer for the next month.  You generally don't need a PR consultant if you're planning to do the right thing.

Join over 17,500 fans and sign the petition to help restore Brett Favre to his rightful place as the Packers starting quarterback in 2008.  Fans must keep the pressure on Green Bay Packer management to ensure that Brett is not mistreated at training camp or traded to the Vikings!

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