Everyone has a childhood hero. May it be an actor, an athlete, a world leader, an author or whomever you looked up to as a kid, you will always remember that person. Growing up, my hero was Brett Favre.
Tomorrow, Saturday, July 18, the Green Bay Packers will retire Brett Favre’s #4 jersey and induct him in to the Packers’ Hall of Fame. Typical of the Packer faithful, 67,000 people will sit in Lambeau Field’s sold out lower bowl after the ceremony takes place in the atrium. Unfortunately, I will not be there to see my guy get inducted, but I know that Packer fans will give him the ovation he deserves.
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Brett Favre played with heart and for the love of the game. He holds an ironman record that will never be broken: 297 straight games played by a quarterback, even though he often battled injury after injury. He lead the NFL in touchdown passes four times and passing yards twice. He held the record for most all-time touchdown passes before Peyton Manning eclipsed his 508 passing touchdowns. The list goes on and on.
I don’t remember Super Bowl XXXI, nor the loss in Super Bowl XXXII (I was 3 and 4, respectively). I have no recollection of Favre ever holding up the Lombardi Trophy, nor did I even know about his painkiller addiction growing up. I remember the game that defined his strength and heart: the Irvin Favre game, when Brett threw for 399 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Raiders on Monday Night Football. I remember his last game as a Packer: throwing an interception in OT to the Giants’ Corey Webster in the 2008 NFC Championship. I remember Favre supporting his wife Deanna Favre during horrible times when she was fighting breast cancer. And, I remember when Favre threw his record-breaking 421st touchdown to Greg Jennings against the Vikings.
When I watched him play, he always fought on the field like it was his last play, making you want to watch him more and more. He gave it his all, every down, even if he already had a Super Bowl or multiple MVPs. His competitiveness and love for the game always stuck out, along with his ability to befriend everyone, whether it be the coaching staff, media, referees, equipment staff, or whomever else he met.
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I was devastated when Favre retired the first time. I remember the day it happened; the first time I ever followed a sports story that closely. You remember where you were for moments like that. But, Favre leaving may have represented one of the most important moments in Packers’ history: allowing Aaron Rodgers to take the reigns as the next great quarterback for Green Bay. Though it’s still rather undocumented, Favre’s mentorship of Rodgers cannot be overlooked when considering how great of a man Favre is and what their relationship truly means to Wisconsin.
The main reason I looked up to Favre? He’s just a normal guy, like you and me. He’s a grown boy from Mississippi who just loves his farm and his family. Brett never acted like he was above anyone or anything on the Packers, and continues to be one of the most approachable athletes in sports history.
“I’m thankful for all the things that this job has given me and my family. But probably the thing that I am most proud of throughout my career is that, not only myself, but my family and the people around me have just been regular people, which we are.”
– Brett Favre
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Although the end of his career is not the way he or any Packer fan wanted it all to end, we have a duty to celebrate his illustrious 160-93 regular season record and one of the greatest football players in NFL history.
Thank you for everything, Brett. Canton is next.
Sources
Newsday (image)
Football-Reference.com