A Brief History Of: Un-Retirement
By M.J. Stephey
So much for going gently into that good night. Four months after a tearful press conference that left an entire state of Cheeseheads in mourning, storied Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre announced he wants to return from retirement. The only problem: the Packers might be ready to wrap up his legacy, even if he isn't.
Favre, 38, is certainly not the first athlete to flip-flop on bidding farewell to his game. Pitcher Roger Clemens, the king of comebacks, has retired a total of three times. Lance Armstrong left cycling in 1996 to battle cancer and returned to win seven consecutive Tour de France titles. Other stars have re-emerged to save a struggling franchise, like Michael Jordan, who proclaimed his 1995 return to the Chicago Bulls after a failed bid at pro baseball with a two-word press release: "I'm back." The deathless Rocky franchise aside, the "sweet science" seems to specialize in sequels: Muhammad Ali re-entered the ring three years after the New York State Boxing Commission revoked his license for refusing to fight in Vietnam, while George Foreman, who quit boxing in 1974, became the oldest fighter to win a major heavyweight title 20 years later. And it's not just athletes: in 2006, Barbra Streisand fans nearly took their idol to court when the singer announced a series of farewell shows--seven years after her last "last-ever" tour.
Blame the homecomings on boredom, nostalgia or an indomitable drive to compete ("I got the itch," Favre reportedly told teammate Al Harris). But not all comebacks are success stories. Just ask Bjorn Borg, who left tennis in 1983 and un-retired in 1991, wooden racquet in hand. He didn't win a single match that year.