Wisconsin: the center of attention, eh?

By: Adam Loghides

Posted: 8/6/08

I'm not exactly sure how this happened, but it seems that the state of Wisconsin has somehow turned into the center of our nation's sports eye over the last few months. In fact, over the last two months, we have all watched and listened to information about the Packers and Brett Favre. Now we can add the Milwaukee Brewers to the fray. In the last two weeks the Packers have hosted a potential pennant showdown with their cousin to the south and have had a teammate to teammate, cheesehead to cheesehead battle in the dugout, landing them front and center of every installment of Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter.

The recent events surrounding the Brewers and Packers are enough to make most say "jeez" instead of "cheese." These two franchises couldn't be further apart in business strategy, and yet they are so close geographically. At least back in the day they used to share a stadium four times a year, when the Packers used to indulge their Milwaukee fan base with home games at County Stadium, where both teams' sidelines were on the same side of the field.

Those days are long gone. However, both teams have one very similar trait now:They will both be better from this day on as a result of the circus atmosphere they have both endured recently.

When Packers' General Manager Ted Thompson announced on Monday that Favre was officially added to the Packers' active roster, the Packers got infinitely better. Immediately.

They now have two commodities at quarterback, the toughest position to land talent in the NFL. And by "commodities" I mean "trade bait."

What NFL team wouldn't improve itself by adding Brett Favre? Last season, at the ripe old age of 38, Favre was throwing the ball all over the yard, setting touchdown records and teaching understudy Aaron Rodgers a thing or two - or a million. They say the older the cheese, the more it stinks. From 2004-2006, Favre proved that theory correct. But last season he changed everything, bringing the Pack to the edge of another Super Bowl.

Now Rodgers, after a few years of being under the tutelage under Favre, is ready to assume the starting job. Who can blame him? He learned from one of the best of all time, paid his dues waiting out his opportunity and now is ready to be the head cheese in Packerland. The Packers owe him that opportunity.

Two guys can't start at quarterback for the same team, right? That's why it's time for Thompson to pull a trade and make this team even better than it already is.

Trade Aaron Rodgers.

Of course, all of the trade rumors have been about Favre landing in Tampa, Minnesota or even Chicago. That's not a very big window of opportunity for the Packers to land a deal that works for them. Other teams now know that the Pack needs to unload Favre and aren't going to be willing to pay much more for him than a sixth or seventh-round draft pick. Nobody is talking about Rodgers as potential trade bait.

As a Chicago Bears fan, I was happy to see the Pack draft Rodgers a few years ago. Why? Name the last Cal quarterback to play in the NFL. Yeah, neither could I. The last Jeff Tedford protégé to make a splash at the professional level? Good luck.

He hasn't really proven anything other than the fact that he has potential, or "upside," as scouts would call it. The only traits I have seen him portray are patience and the ability to get hurt his first time on the field during a regular season game. The Pack would be best suited to trade him to a team that needs a young quarterback who is a couple of years away from being a contender. Carolina comes to mind, Seattle will need someone to take over for Matt Hasselbeck soon, San Francisco can't keep thinking Alex Smith is the answer if he doesn't pan out this year and Miami could use any quarterback right now.

The Packers would get a player and a higher draft pick for Rodgers than they would for Favre. On top of that, they would have their legend back in uniform, a legitimate back-up on the roster (they drafted Brian Brohm) and another shot to win it all this, or next, season. Start Rodgers now and watch the Bears or Vikings win the NFC North. Start Favre and plan on hosting at least one playoff game in January.

The other team in Wisconsin, the Brewers, have nearly no tradition whatsoever and have floundered for over a quarter of a century. They limped out of the gate, made a great trade to bring in a Cy Young winner and caught the Cubs a week and a half ago. Then they hosted the Cubs for four games with a chance to take over first place and never look back. Implosion followed.

In the finale of the four-game sweep of the Cubs, Prince Fielder had a meltdown and got thrown out of the game after arguing with the home plate umpire. Then, on Monday, he punched teammate Manny Parra in the dugout with every TV camera centered on them.

Last season, the Cubs had a similar run, flailing in last place, fighting amongst themselves and blowing up. Their fighting ignited the team and they went on to win the NL Central. The Cubs traded Michael Barrett and kept Carlos Zambrano, then went on to win. Don't expect the Brewers to trade Prince Fielder anytime soon, but Manny Parra may be on borrowed time.

Whether or not the Brew Crew goes on to win the division is undetermined at this point. One thing is for sure - its fortunes will change drastically from this day forward. Today the Brewers will lead the wildcard standings. By the end of the season, they will either make a run at overtaking the Cubs or fall out of contention altogether. Implosions like the ones they have had don't lend themselves to keeping the status quo. They lead to a team either gelling together or falling apart. I, for one, believe they will gel and make a run. Chances are they will run into the Cubs again in the playoffs. If they can keep their cheeseheads cool, they have a shot.

Don't fall asleep on the Brewers or Favre yet. In fact, keep your sights set on the state of Wisconsin. It may be a great place to hide away, do some ice fishing and eat cheese, but right now, it is the center of some pretty great sports theater.