Packers, fans reeling from personnel losses

GREEN BAY, WI — Clint Wheeler has been a Packers fan his entire life, and a season-ticket holder for the past 20 years. Needless to say, it has been a tough month for him.

“When I heard Brett [Favre] was retiring, it was hard for me to come to grips with it,” Wheeler said. “Still, at the same time I expected it. And that’s why we drafted Aaron Rogers – we knew this day was coming.”

But Wheeler said the disappointment over the team’s loss of tight end Bubba Franks is something he may never be able to get over.

“Brett didn’t even start his career here, so most Green Bay fans don’t consider him a true Packer,” Wheeler explained. “Bubba’s different. He’s been a Packer his entire career, and I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say he’s been the face of this franchise for the past eight years.”

While replacing Favre should be relatively easy, replacing the 18 catches and 132 receiving yards Franks contributed last year seems like a monumental task. Packers GM Ted Thompson echoed Wheeler’s statements, fighting back tears when he spoke of the now-departed tight end.

“It feels like we’ve lost everything,” Thompson said. “I know it’s pretty early to say something like this, but without Bubba this is a lost season. I just don’t see how we’re going to be able to replace him.”

Thompson added that the team has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow to discuss the franchise’s future in the wake of Franks’ departure.

“On the bright side, his new deal is only for one year, so there’s a chance we’ll be able to bring Bubba back for 2009-10, God-willing,” he said. “I just know every time I see him in a Jets uniform it’ll make me sick.”

It’s going to be tough for this sport to sweep any nations, but it’s still pretty frickin’ cool!