On September 27, 1992, a milestone-in-the-making began. In a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Green Bay Packers decided to start relatively green quarterback Brett Favre. On this day, the greatest iron man streak in sports history began. On Monday, December 13, 2010, that streak ended at 297 consecutive regular season starts (321 if postseason games are considered). In an already tough sport, Brett Favre stands as the toughest player of them all.
In recent years, the former golden boy of Green Bay’s image has been tarnished, with three near-retirements and a scandal from his days playing for the New York Jets, but those who have remained faithful supporters of him do so all for the same reason: when he is in his element, Brett Favre is electrifying to watch.
Over the course of his career, Favre has seen more than his share of tragic adversity. After the death of his father in December 2003, Favre decided to start in a Monday Night Football game against the Oakland Raiders. In this game, Favre was incredible. He threw four touchdown passes for 399 yards and earned a passer rating of 154.9 (3.4 points from perfect). In 2004, his brother-in-law was killed in an accident, and his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Favre led the Packers to a 10-6 finish that season, earning a playoff berth.
Of course, in the public eye, this does little to justify his behavior off the field in the past three years. However, is it fair to criticize Favre so freely? Are we merely tearing him down so far because we’ve built him up so high? Brett Favre is one of the greatest quarterbacks to play professional football, and he is one of the toughest athletes of all time. Should we not applaud his achievements? His alleged cell phone scandal not included, can we not forgive his indecision regarding retirement? For the past 20 years, Favre has only known football. It is his passion. Years of physical injury led him to believe on more than one occasion that he may not physically be able to play anymore, so he has been faced, on more than one occasion, with the decision to give up his passion. Would any of us be better in making that decision? I think not.
Brett Favre loves football. He has given his life to it, sacrificed his physical health. He turns to it when times are good, and when times have never been worse. All of us should be proud to have that level of dedication and love present in the arena of professional athletics, for it is the same level that we value in youth sports that often fades in the transition from collegiate to professional ranks.
Anthony Conklin, ND 2011
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