Brett Favre is a survivor. Though a relatively young man, by normal standards, he is an old man in the game of football. He has demonstrated gargantuan longevity and is looked upon as an icon by sports fans around the globe. The 2007 Sportsman of the Year isn’t comfortable talking about his achievements but would rather talk about the team.
After several extremely disappointing seasons, Brett Favre fans across the nation silently hoped that he would hang up his shoulder pads and get settled into a coaching gig. We hurt for him when he was in his slump. Every long bomb that ended up in the opposing team’s hands drove a stake into our hearts. When those interceptions started to mount, we hung our heads as if we had been the quarterback.
We mourned with Brett and Deanna Favre when they suffered one tragedy after another. We ached for Favre when his father died. We grieved with them both when Deanna’s brother lost his life in an ATV accident. We collectively held our breathes when Deanna shared her cancer crisis. A strong woman in her own right, we were proud of her advocacy work and the book that she wrote to share their story.
We were devastated to see the demise of our hero. We loved him for his unassuming manner and his soft spoken, thoughtful responses. He never wanted to take credit for his achievements, almost embarrassed to have to speak about them. Always and forever, the reluctant hero continued his habit of deflecting and bringing it back to his love of the game.
This season dawned, like so many others, with some pre-season successes. We held our collective breath as the team began to eke out a succession of wins. Too early to talk about playoffs, we kept saying as a mantra. Don’t get your hopes up – we whispered between clenched teeth. And low and behold – here we are again football fans.
Our beloved Brett Favre has the team poised and ready to play in the NFC championship game. Too early to think Super Bowl – but we can almost reach out and touch that thought. We remember the glory years and our golden boy – who made believers out of even the most cynical.
To name his records would be a lesson in futility and wouldn’t bring you the essence of the man. Quite honestly, he is first and foremost still in the game because he can’t imagine doing anything else. And just when we thought he had no game left, he shocked and surprised all of us by digging down and reigniting that spark that has always made him great.
There is nothing quite as exciting as watching Brett Favre when he is in the heat of battle and clicking on all cylinders. Instead of looking fierce and menacing, his game face is a look of bemusement – a small half smile that hints at his real demeanor. He reinforces what we already know about him – he keeps doing it because it brings him pleasure and as luck would have it, we are the beneficiaries by association.
Brett Favre has already secured his place in the record books. We were all fooled once into believing that his glory days were over. He blew the top off of that myth and proved that he’s still got game. Go Packers!