Korndogg
08-06-2008, 09:23 PM
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Former Green Bay Packers starting quarterback Don Majkowski has entered in a bitter dispute with his former organization, admitting he is 'guilty of retiring too early' 12 years ago, while demanding he be reinstated as the team's starter or given the opportunity to play elsewhere.
'I was mentally drained after the 1996 season,' says Majkowski. 'I couldn't commit myself fully at that time to coming back, so I stepped away. That's the kind of guy I am. I have to be able to promise that I'm going to give my all.'
But before long, Majkowski started to have second thoughts.
'I guess it was nine or 10 years later, I called up Packers GM Ted Thompson and told him I was thinking of coming back. That would have been 2005 or 2006, I guess,' said Majkowski. 'But he just sighed and said it was too late. That the team had moved on to Brett Favre and had even drafted this Aaron Rodgers kid to follow in place of Favre. I couldn't believe he wasn't even open to considering my return after all I've done for the franchise.'
Majkowski played six seasons in Green Bay from 1987 to 1992, earning the beloved nickname 'Majik Man,' and leading the league in yards, completions and attempts in 1989, which earned him a Pro Bowl nod at age 25. He also was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.
But despite all of that, not even two full decades after Majkowski left the team the Packers says they are committed to Rodgers. So the Majik Man felt he had to go public, share his side of the story and make his case to his dedicated fans in Green Bay ..
'Nothing against Aaron, I feel a little bit sorry for the position I have put him in,' says Majkowski, 'I do. But I threw for 4,318 yards in 1989. That was only 19 years ago. Aaron has never accomplished anything like that at this level. This team can be something special and we need the veteran presence I can provide.'
While the Packers insist they have no interest in brining Majkowski back, he says he may just show up at training camp later this month to call their 'bluff.'
'It's going to be a circus there already as it is,' he said. 'And if I show, do you really think they won't hand the team back over to me? I am Don freaking Majkowski. There wasn't a girl in all of Northern Wisconsin who wouldn't remove her tight-rolled jeans for me back in the late '80s. I don't think they can afford the negative fan reaction that would come from dumping me,' he added, pointing to fan protest outside Lambeau Field on Sunday that boasted numbers in the single digits, including his immediate family.
And if showing up at Packers camp doesn't work, Majkowski says he will show up at the camps of the other 31 NFL teams to call their 'bluffs,' too.
'None of them say they want me back either,' he said. 'Well, I am very persistent. I will cause a circus at camp after camp until someone gives me a shot.'
Former Green Bay Packers starting quarterback Don Majkowski has entered in a bitter dispute with his former organization, admitting he is 'guilty of retiring too early' 12 years ago, while demanding he be reinstated as the team's starter or given the opportunity to play elsewhere.
'I was mentally drained after the 1996 season,' says Majkowski. 'I couldn't commit myself fully at that time to coming back, so I stepped away. That's the kind of guy I am. I have to be able to promise that I'm going to give my all.'
But before long, Majkowski started to have second thoughts.
'I guess it was nine or 10 years later, I called up Packers GM Ted Thompson and told him I was thinking of coming back. That would have been 2005 or 2006, I guess,' said Majkowski. 'But he just sighed and said it was too late. That the team had moved on to Brett Favre and had even drafted this Aaron Rodgers kid to follow in place of Favre. I couldn't believe he wasn't even open to considering my return after all I've done for the franchise.'
Majkowski played six seasons in Green Bay from 1987 to 1992, earning the beloved nickname 'Majik Man,' and leading the league in yards, completions and attempts in 1989, which earned him a Pro Bowl nod at age 25. He also was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.
But despite all of that, not even two full decades after Majkowski left the team the Packers says they are committed to Rodgers. So the Majik Man felt he had to go public, share his side of the story and make his case to his dedicated fans in Green Bay ..
'Nothing against Aaron, I feel a little bit sorry for the position I have put him in,' says Majkowski, 'I do. But I threw for 4,318 yards in 1989. That was only 19 years ago. Aaron has never accomplished anything like that at this level. This team can be something special and we need the veteran presence I can provide.'
While the Packers insist they have no interest in brining Majkowski back, he says he may just show up at training camp later this month to call their 'bluff.'
'It's going to be a circus there already as it is,' he said. 'And if I show, do you really think they won't hand the team back over to me? I am Don freaking Majkowski. There wasn't a girl in all of Northern Wisconsin who wouldn't remove her tight-rolled jeans for me back in the late '80s. I don't think they can afford the negative fan reaction that would come from dumping me,' he added, pointing to fan protest outside Lambeau Field on Sunday that boasted numbers in the single digits, including his immediate family.
And if showing up at Packers camp doesn't work, Majkowski says he will show up at the camps of the other 31 NFL teams to call their 'bluffs,' too.
'None of them say they want me back either,' he said. 'Well, I am very persistent. I will cause a circus at camp after camp until someone gives me a shot.'