Today I am 18 years and 331 days. The last time Brett Favre wasn’t the Green Bay Packers quarterback?… I was 3 years and 172 days. I woke up this morning to hear that Favre had announced his retirement and, in all honesty, I wasn’t all that surprised by what I saw last week on The Sporting Blog. Last week, there was a headline about Favre retiring, and it was supposedly a mistake, but stuff like that wouldn’t happen for no reason on the Packers’ official website.
I’m disappointed? Yes I am; A small part of my stomach feels the twist that is the reality that these Packers will have to keep playing without Favre and his magic. I just can’t believe some of the disrespect I’ve heard about Favre, on TV, from friends, online, everywhere today. One guy went so far as to say that Favre’s lasting impression will be the interception he threw in the NFC Championship game against the Giants earlier this year, in overtime. Are you kidding me?
Sports Illustrated’s Dr. Z needs to see a doctor, after what he wrote today. The headline on it reads: “Popularity, skills kept Favre from achieving true greatness.” This guy thinks Brett Favre could have been better: that’s the message he wanted the reader to leave behind after reading his article. As one of those ESPN guys said this morning, Brett Favre’s career isn’t just about his stats and being ranked No. 1 in just about every conceivable category that’s important to a quarterback. It’s more about all the great moments he’s had: playing for his dad against the Oakland Raiders on MNF, that ridiculous pass to Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime against the Broncos this year, and his shovel pass in snowy Lambeau. in this the NFC divisional playoff game of the year, just to name a few.
Once Brett Favre started playing in the NFL, he didn’t stop, racking up 253 consecutive starts. Anyone who tells me that Favre never had to deal with injuries simply isn’t. Favre was injured in the game against the Cowboys just last season, he suffered an elbow injury AND a separated shoulder, but he was still ready for the next game. Now that Favre has announced his retirement from the game, Aaron Rodgers will be taking over, and as a Packers fan you can’t feel too bad; he’s been learning from one of the best for a few years, and he actually played very well when he had to step in against the Dallas Cowboys, completing 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown.
The one thing, to me, about Brett Favre that shines above other NFL quarterbacks is that he’s a nice guy, he made a lot of mistakes; he’s human. I don’t care what you say about him, Brett Favre will go down as one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time.
