Brett Favre retired... sports pundits (who are of about the same value as political pundits) have spent tons of hot air on the subject and finally get what so many have asked for (a good football story after the Super Bowl and before March Madness)  I have to admit I was hoping for something more along the lines of the day Cal Ripken Jr. took himself out of the Orioles starting line-up (and finished out the season). My personal hope was that Brett would 'retire' to the role of backup early in a future season - help the team and Aaron R. along for that year and fill in if needed - since most first year QB's need some help along the way... 

So another streak ends, but as I listened to the clip I realized that Brett was in this voicemail also illustrating personal motivation and the role it plays for those at the top of their game.  Often  people who are put in charge of an organization forget that the best and only real motivator for your top performers are the expectations they set for themselves.  Listen to the clip, it isn't that Brett couldn't or wouldn't like to play but that his expecation that anything less then a Super Bowl victory would be a disappointment.  Brett recognized what his expectations for performance for the coming year were -which brought him to the conclusion that it was time to leave while he was (based on his performance last year) at the top of his game - plus a team that had a great year.

My remaining question - since Fox broke this story before literally anyone else including the Packers let it out - what is Brett's role when he comes to work for their network?  Lets face it they were so sure of the story - it was like well if he hadn't already signed - they were deep enough in negotiations that the deal was considered done.