I imagine there's news happening in other parts of the world—you've got your presidential elections, your wars, your assassinations of world leaders and so forth. But it's all weak coffee here in Wisconsin compared to the retirement of Brett Favre (pronounced farv), quarterback and team leader of the Green Bay Packers and local hero nonpareil. The TV stations are wall-to-wall with it, complete with "Farewell to Favre" graphics and sad, slow music.
You know how they get when they've shown you all the footage and told you everything you need to know three times, but there's a press conference at 4:00 and they just don't see any reason to cut away. They're just determined to ride with it. They don't care how thin the coverage gets.
So I just listened to the tape of a phone call with Jerry Kramer, telling the story of his own retirement. "I didn't want to say I had slowed down," Jerry related, "so I said, 'I've changed my stride.' And my friends said, 'yeah, and you've slowed down, too.'" I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of that sort of thing on the air up here over the next few days. The whole State has been dreading this inevitable day for a long, long time.
Favre is the League’s all-time leader in passing yards (61,655 yards), completions (5,377), touchdown passes (442), and career wins (160). He has five seasons of 4,000+ yards and eight seasons with 30 or more touchdowns. He's the only consecutive three-time MVP in League history, and a nine-time Pro Bowler. He won our only Super Bowl since the Vince Lombardi era and had one of his best years last year, winning the Division with a 13-3 record and making it to the NFC title game before running into the best defense I've personally ever seen the Packers face.
Almost no matter what else happened, you always knew that something Brett would do on any given weekend would surprise the hell out of you and bring a great big smile to your face. The guy has consistently been more fun to watch than any other athlete I can think of. The 2007 campaign was fun squared: fun with wins; fun with records falling nearly weekly.
And speaking of records—do you happen to remember where you were and what you were doing in late 1992? I've got a son in high school who wasn't born the last time somebody other than Brett Favre started at quarterback for the Packers. Favre hasn't missed a start since he came on in relief of Don Majkowski in September 1992. We all like Aaron Rogers, the heir apparent, but the Opener later this year is going to seem just plain weird.
Brett's an irrepressible joker, constantly teasing his teammates and kidding everybody around him, cracking wise, and playing an endless stream of practical jokes like a high-spirited teenager. He seems awkward (even oddly depressive) when he tries to be serious at press conferences. Words are not his thing, and eloquent he's not. But his explanation, boiled down, is expressive enough: "I'm just tired," he says. And it's no wonder. He's earned some time off.
Later, man. It's been great big fun.
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Sports Illustrated's best pictures of Brett Favre
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Mike
Funny thing sports. It's full of life-sapping corporate commercial interests, boring cliches, intolerable TV announcers, drugs, arrogance, crime, you name it. But at some point, that nonsense all stops and with some luck you get to watch superb athletes doing things that are so amazing that they can lift your spirits the way art, literature, and science can.
Posted by: Robert Roaldi | Tuesday, 04 March 2008 at 06:29 PM
Maybe not the best quarterback I've ever seen, but certainly the most exciting to watch. Whether you were pulling for the Pack, or for their opponent, Favre would keep you on the edge of your seat.
Posted by: John Roberts | Tuesday, 04 March 2008 at 08:51 PM
Many people may question the timing of Favre’s decision. His team is on the rise and he clearly has not lost the ability to perform at a high level. I don’t. Favre was always a player that poured his heart and soul into the game and when that no longer was in the game, the essence of Favre was gone. Some say it is a shame to see Favre fade off into the sunset having his last pass thrown being an interception. But what better time is there for Favre to ride off into the sunset? It would be more of a shame to see Favre play a season when the one thing that made him special was no longer in it—-his heart.
Posted by: Chris Iafolla | Tuesday, 04 March 2008 at 09:01 PM
I live on the Minnesota side of the Wisconsin-Minnesota border (literally: I live on the St. Croix River, and look out my back windows at Wisconsin.) As such, I'm virtually required by state law to support the Vikings, but they are a very hard team to like. The Packers, on the other hand, are very easy to like, especially during Favre's run. The guy was from the south, but he seemed to like the Wisconsin folks, and actually appreciate his fans, and go out and try hard and take risks. He was a guy you could identify with and grow with, rather than some traveling pro who'd move on the first time somebody offered two more dollars on a contract. If I lived a mile away, on the other side of the water, I'd have been a longtime Packers fan.
JC
Posted by: John Camp | Tuesday, 04 March 2008 at 09:07 PM
BEAST!
If he takes up photography I hope he doesn't become one of those blasphiends who crunches the quarter tones...
BEAST!
Posted by: David | Tuesday, 04 March 2008 at 09:21 PM
Whats a quarterback ?
Posted by: Paul Mc Cann | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 02:25 AM
Yes, great quarterback, but...
Not to nitpick, isn't he also the league leader in career interceptions?
And surely he's not the only 3-time MVP in league history? How about Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas and Otto Graham (I looked it up).
Ultimately, I think it's a good thing that the Aaron Rodgers era can finally get started.
Posted by: Mark Knudsen | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 06:32 AM
Speaking as an Atlanta Falcons fan, you're welcome!
Posted by: Mark Bridgers | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 07:06 AM
"Whats a quarterback ?"
It's what you get when you tendered a buck but only owed six bits. It's an American thing.
Mike J.
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 08:39 AM
Well, Brett was a great quarterback & seems like a great guy, and I'm sure he'll get a nice TV-commentator gig worth a lot of dough if he wants it (though I'll be glad we don't have to hear the will he/won't he retire story next offseason). It seems like the right time.
Heard something this morning that made me laugh: in the time he's been QB in Green Bay, the Chicago Bears have fielded 21 quarterbacks!!
Posted by: JChristian | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 10:00 AM
"I'm sure he'll get a nice TV-commentator gig worth a lot of dough if he wants it..."
I have to say I doubt that will happen. He's not glib. One might even go so far as to say not very articulate....
Mike J.
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 10:19 AM
"Maybe not the best quarterback I've ever seen, but certainly the most exciting to watch."
John Elway when he was on his game was the best I've ever witnessed.
Mike J.
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 10:23 AM
I remembered an apropos blog piece that I wrote about sports a couple of years ago: http://roberts-rants.blogspot.com/2005/08/why-men-talk-sports.html
(For those of you who are unfamiliar with Canada, the CFL is the Canadian Football League and Mississauga is a suburb of Toronto.)
Posted by: Robert Roaldi | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 11:03 AM
I've always liked Favre. With the exception of the recent playoff game against the Giants, I usually rooted for him, too. I generally find it hard to dislike the Packers, but Favre made it easy to actively like them!
On a side note, football (especially college football) is the only thing I really miss about the US. I've never been a huge basketball fan (the fact that the Knicks suck now, have sucked for the past few years, and are likely to suck for the foreseeable future has made this easier) and I can watch baseball on MLB.tv (which I highly recommend, despite the occassional frustration. The quality is much better than I ever would have thought possible for Internet TV and I can watch any game I want at any time). But football is only available during the playoffs, at 4am and with German commentary. While the quality of the commentary has improved over the years, it's just. not. the. same!!!
All the best to Favre and congratulations on a wonderful career.
Best,
Adam
Posted by: mcananeya | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 12:57 PM
There are lots of Packers fans here in MS because of him. I think the thing I'll miss most is his youthful exuberance for the game. I believe he would have played for free because he loved it so much. It was sandlot football taken to the pro level. By the way, he was just as much fun to watch when he was in college.
Randall Teasley
Posted by: Randall Teasley | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 04:02 PM
"Not to nitpick, isn't he also the league leader in career interceptions?"
True, but you live and die by the same thing. Brett's constant drive to make plays out of nothing did cause him to give up the ball a lot, but it was the same thing that made him such a sensational player and so much fun to watch. He could plunk the ball straight into the waiting arms of a DB or he could pluck a miracle out of thin air. It was never boring!
Mike J.
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 04:26 PM
The phrase 'passing of an era' is appropriate. As a Wisconsinite, and lifelong Packers fan, I can honestly say that I am glad to see him go. Before you shout WHY?, it is simply because he has the class to go out on top. There's nothing worse than a player beyond his prime, trying to re-live his glory years for just one more season.
Brett is retiring at the end of possibly his most exciting season yet. There have been super bowls, and many an exciting game, but this season past was something special for him and for us fans. With no expectations, and the youngest team in the league, he brought us to the edge of the biggest game of the year. But for one bad pass, it would have been GB in the big bowl this year. Ahh, what might have been.
Thanks for the memories Brett.
Pat J. in Milwaukee
Posted by: Pat Janisch | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 06:49 PM
I found these comments he made at his press conference very interesting, especially the butt slapping phrase:
"Football, I think is very unique in that of all the sports because you have to rely on one another so much more than the other sports and it's a physical sport, which I think in turn mentally challenges you more so than any other sport. And I am a little biased, but I will miss that. Sitting in those meetings with the receivers and figuring out how we're going to beat the upcoming team and challenging each other and doing it in a fun way, slapping our big linemen on the butt, which I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon. But all that stuff, man that's just what it's all about. And I will miss that stuff."
Posted by: TBM | Friday, 07 March 2008 at 11:28 AM
Mike,
This saw this commentary on Brett Favre today in the Clarion-Ledger and I thought you might like to read it.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080309/COL0202/803090324/1144
Randall Teasley
Posted by: Randall Teasley | Monday, 10 March 2008 at 11:00 PM