Favre Retires, Ends Era
Packer Quarterback Brett Favre ends his 17-year run in Green Bay.
Brett Favre will be sorely missed by everyone, not just sports fans. However, he leaves football with numerous records, a championship, and the hearts of millions.
Throughout our remaining years on this earth, we will hear of Brett Favre’s legacy, and the mark he has left on the game of football. We will be hearing about it mostly this upcoming season anytime the Packers are on TV. But who was Brett Favre? Who was this cowboy in green and yellow that won over the hearts of every football fan regardless of what team they root for? And seriously, how do you really pronounce his last name?
The answer, he’s your next door neighbor. He’s the guy in the pick-up truck sitting next to you at a red light. He’s just your average man from Mississippi who could, and still can throw a football down field faster than you can say gunslinger. He was never exceptionally fast, but managed to be one of the better scramblers we’ve ever seen. He makes Tom Brady and Peyton Manning look like pretty boys. However, quite possibly the best thing about Favre is the fact that what you see is what you get.
Despite playing for 17 years, the Brett Favre that we cheered for the entire 2007-2008 season was, with few exceptions, the same Favre we saw in 1991 as a rookie. Sure, his wisdom and experience has brought some gray hair and decreased mobility, but I challenge you to show me a moment, just a slight fraction of a second where he wasn’t motivated and excited to be out on the field playing the sport he loves.
Let’s not debate whether or not he had the best arm, or if he was the best quarterback, the most valuable, or the toughest of all time. Instead, let’s just all agree that he was great.
Okay, so, here’s the laundry list. He played for 17 years, and aside from his Super Bowl title, his last year might have been his best, despite being 39 years old. He’s thrown 425 touchdowns, more than anyone in history, while also completing more passes to players who weren’t on the Packers (Interceptions) than anyone else ever has. Kind of reminds me of another guy who dominated his sport, Babe Ruth, and his homerun/strikeout record. He wasn’t bad at completing passes to his teammates either, compiling 5,202 of those, also more than anyone else. Only Dan Marino, who also played for 17 years, has thrown for more yards, but Favre beat him out in victories winning a record 153 of 257 career games.
Favre started the Packer’s second game of their 1992 season, and since then, has not missed a game. Once again, I challenge you to find someone who hasn’t missed a day of work, regardless of what they do for a living, for 16 years. Imagine that, 16+ games a year, for 16 years straight, where for 60 minutes a game, three or more 250+ pound men sprint at you every play with one goal in mind; put you on your back. That is reason enough to miss a game or two here and there, let alone injury.
Ten postseasons, nine Pro Bowls, six division crowns, three NFC championship appearances and one Super Bowl Championship later, the legendary Favre has announced his retirement. It would be an understatement to just acknowledge the fact that he will be missed. But he won’t just be missed by football fans. He will be missed by sports fans of all kinds, and even people who aren’t sports fans. You remember that girl in high school who always played the smallest role in the school play and sat in a corner and read novels during recess? She is going to miss Brett Favre, whether she knows it or not. She won’t scroll past sportscenter and see Favre scrambling away from an impossible play and realizing despite her ignorance how amazing he was.
While some of us may have more years left than some, we all will remember and reminisce for the remainder of our lives the mark that Brett Favre has undoubtedly left upon us. Left in the path of his departure, is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers would have to start every game until the sixth week of the Packer’s 2024 season in order to surpass Favre’s 244 consecutive games mark (assuming no playoff appearances). We cannot yet judge his ability in his short, four year career behind Favre, however, it is safe to say he won’t be able to match his predecessor. But one thing is for certain, Aaron does have one thing over Favre, everyone knows how to pronounce Rodgers. Honestly, the v is in front of the r, I don’t get it.
Sources:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?playerId=112
http://www.officialbrettfavre.com/
http://www.espn.com/
