I never met Brett Favre, though I’ve heard some stories. But I remember where I was when he took his first snap as a Green Bay Packer.
It’d be hard for me to forget, seeing as how I was there.
Sept. 13, 1992, was one of those Florida summer Sundays where not even a liberal dollop of supposedly sweatproof 50 SPF could prevent you from looking like a boiled lobster after just under four hours in the sun, where $20 of water and pink lemonade wasn’t enough to keep hydrated and cool. The high temperature was 89, but in the concrete bowl of Tampa Stadium — which basically became an open-air kiln on days like these — an on-field thermometer registered 109.
The Buccaneers were drilling the Packers, both on the scoreboard and in physical punishment. Days of defensive dominance like these would someday become routine for the Bucs with the acquisitions of John Lynch, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin to guide them. But with a defense featuring Keith McCants, Mark Wheeler, Ray Seals, Darrick Brownlow, Darrell Fullington and Milton Mack, this sort of performance was a tad unusual.
The pressure left Green Bay starter Don Majkowski running for his life until he was finally unable to escape, bowing to injury in the third quarter. Trailing hopelessly, the Packers turned to a second-year quarterback from Southern Mississippi.
Quizzical looks shot through the crowd.
By this point, the people who surrounded our family’s seats — including the guy that looked like Kenny Rogers whose 10-year-old kids spent most of the games burning through about $50 in cotton candy, hot dogs, pretzels and Cokes — had learned to ask me about anything or anyone they didn’t know, and Favre was someone they didn’t know.
Knowing my audience, I provided an explanation to which they could relate:
“He was the guy at quarterback for Southern Miss when they beat FSU a few years ago.”
Eyes lit with recognition — or maybe it was just sweat dripping down from brows. Half the neighbors in the grandstands smiled. Gator people. The other half grimaced. Seminole followers.
Favre proceeded to log a few firsts for his career that day. His first completion — to himself. His first interception as a Packer; he’d thrown a pair in four attempts the previous season with the Falcons. He overcame some early skittishness after nearly being pounded into Tampa topsoil by future teammate Santana Dotson, but he couldn’t get the Packers on the scoreboard on his series and his team fell 31-3 in a game that probably wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.
Many Bucs fans escaped the open-air steam room for their cars, bidding a hasty retreat and missing those final moments when Favre settled down and completed a few passes.
But anyone who tells you that they saw greatness coming for Favre by virtue of that 8-of-14, 73-yard, 41.7-passer rating performance is a liar.
See all the people standing up in the aisle behind him? That’s because they’re leaving early.
It wasn’t as if I watched the game and said, “Eureka! I just saw a future Hall of Famer.” It was more like, “Eh … there’s no reason to put him in now; Don Majkowski is better.” Majkowski, after all, had a Pro Bowl appearance and a catchy nickname — “Majik Man.” Favre was a second-year quarterback already on his second team, perceived as a washout in Atlanta. One might have received better odds on him being in the ArenaBowl than the Super Bowl in five years time.
Of course, such low-rent opening acts aren’t unusual for great quarterbacks. John Elway accidentally lined up for the snap under his guard. Johnny Unitas was cut from the Steelers. And Tom Brady was not the man many Patriots fans thought would emerge as their passer of the future, because Michael Bishop outshone him in the 2000 preseason.
Several years and a world championship later, Favre owned the world. As was said of Austin Powers, “Women want him; men want to be him.” As someone who to this day prefers perpetual stubble and outgrowth to daily dalliances with the electric razor, I can identify with this.
Thus, when my girlfriend at the time said I was her Brett Favre, I took this as a compliment. In September 1992, this would have been an insult. She’d probably used the Favre line on her previous boyfriend, but I didn’t want to quibble.
Several months later, she traipsed into liplock with another guy, claiming that it wasn’t cheating “because I broke up with you when I kissed him,” to which I replied, “Then you should have pulled out your (expletive deleted) cell phone and called to let me know.”
I was no longer Brett Favre. Well, maybe I was Brett Favre, circa Sept. 13, 1992. Or maybe I was Anthony Dilweg, Don Majkowski or God forbid, Randy Wright.
Then I started an internship with ESPN.com working on NFL.com that led me here, and the idol worship and usage of football players as pop-culture touchstones pretty much stopped for me. NFL players were no longer larger than life, though they remained big enough to kick my butt to the Springs and back.
Yet Favre somehow remained at that level. As human as he proved to be, he still inspired a whisper of awe in what he became. Even when his exploits sent your team towards heartbreak — as was the case last October on Monday Night Football — one couldn’t help but appreciate and salute the accomplishment, even when it happened at the expense of the team you watch every week.
He’d come a long way from spitting out topsoil in Tampa.
Nothing against Favre but this love fest that has been thrown at us from ESPN, Madden and anyone else covering his games has been more than a little sickening. “Favre just loves to play the game, he looks like a kid out there”. I mean give me a f’n break already Madden, seriously. Then I gotta hear from his wife every 30 flippin’ minutes when he was playing prime time games. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a top 10 qb, but he wasn’t THE MAN. He was an INT machine throughout his career. How fitting that his first pass and his last pass were both to the opposing teams. TOP FIVE
1. Elway
2. Unitas
3. Montana
4. Manning
5. Marino
Brett was a superb quality QB. To not list him in the top five is a mistake. As much as I love Elway and hate to admit it, Favre broke all of Elway’s records.
Awesome piece Mason! And Saucy, Favre had much better m than Elway and don’t make me remind you about a certain Super Bowl where Elway and TD beat Favre and the mighty Cheesheads. Elway was much better than Favre and if you need proof just ask, I have a whole list of reasons.
Awesome piece Mason! And Saucy, Favre had much better teams than Elway and don’t make me remind you about a certain Super Bowl where Elway and TD beat Favre and the mighty Cheesheads. Elway was much better than Favre and if you need proof just ask, I have a whole list of reasons.
yes brett favrebut your list aint that great elway was great .but every body never talks about one of if not the greatest qb in league history . fran tarkenton he set all the record that all the above brock but did it in hafe the time and still to this day owns unbrocken records so i think he needs to be on evey great qb list.
Thanks for the article Mason. Great as usual. I always loved watching Favre, and I think he will be sorely missed. Like was written in this piece…it was horrible watching him beat our guys on that bomb in OT this year, but part of me just had to shake my head and smile. Of course Elway was better than Favre, and maybe the announcers go overboard with the lovefest now and then. I really don’t get all this talk about him being an interception machine. Yeah, he had a few years with too many INT’s. And yes, he took a lot of chances he probably should not have. Look at his career stats though. unless I’m wrong, he has 400+ tds and 200+ INT’s. Of course you don’t want to see that many picks, but it still looks like a decent ratio to me. The thing about Favre, though, is how human he always seemed. It was easy to identify with him because he was so open with things. My favorite Non-Bronco NFL moment is the MNF game after Favre lost his father. Not only did he beat Oakland (always great to see them lose), but to me it was awe-inspiring the way he did it.
I agree this love fest with farve is a bit sicking he won 1 superbowl. Yal he broke a lot of records but when you thrwo a lot you set records good and bad(td,INT) waren moon set a lot of records so did jim kelly if the played there whole carrer in the nfl what would there # look like. my top five.
1Montana.
2Unitas
3.Peyton
4.Elway
5.farve
Hell of a QB. glad to see him walk away on his own terms like elway instead of injury or lack of production. Wish I could have went to the MNF game. Have fun on the golf course old man
I live in wisconsin, and i can tell you this, i dont know if the floods outside
are from the snow melting or the tears being shed over farve.
now i have been a broncos fan since i was about 6 years old and i remember what is was like when elway said goodbye, and now with smith
going, it is another dark day for broncos fans, i do have to say this, farve was one of the graetest and no one can say other wise,and even the biggest broncos fan in wisconsin is a little sad to see him go!!
And!!! as far as farve breaking all of elways records, farve played longer then elway did had john kept playing for 1-2 more seasons who knows what he might have done! and one record farve didn’t get was superbowls
brett went to two and won one, elway went to five and won two!!!
(ELWAY WAS BETTER THEN FARVE!!!)
Right now it is:
1. Unitas
2. Montana
3. Elway
4. Favre
5. Bradshaw
When Peyton Manning retires it will be:
1. Manning
2. Unitas
3. Montana
4. Elway
5. Favre
My bad, Instead of Bradshaw it should be jim kelly
fan973 we have the same five except we disagree on montana and manning which i might entertain if peyton get’s more then one superbowl. however he choked in to many playoffs games to be rank #1 look at his int to td in games they lost horrible
Favre has more Int’s, is in the top 5 in losses and played in more games THAN anyone on that list. Don’t get me wrong, the man played hard was a gamer. Having said all that you can’t ignore the choking moments in had in the playoffs. Elway played in 5 FREAKING SUPERBOWLS, MORE THAN ANYONE IN HISTORY! He got marginal teams to the Super Bowl 3 times and it showed. Favre passed Elway in wins, but it took also took him another season to do it and a hell of a lot more games. For all you posers out there, get a room, ELWAY IS KING OF ALL QB’S! Unitas started it, Elway perfected it. Can you win, with the game on the line, in the last quarter?
First of all, I think everyone who is already putting Manning ahead of Elway needs to have their head examined! Second of all, sometimes numbers don’t tell the whole story. Anyone who understands football knows Favre was a great QB (and he always reminded me of Elway more than anyone else). I only intended to voice my admiration for Favre, and my sadness to hear him leaving, but I have to add my two cents to what drew said. Not only did Favre play longer than Elway, but he played the early part of his career in Holmgren’s west coast offense. We all know Elway spent the first half of his career playing in Dan Reeves’ offense. I think Reeves was a hell of a coach, and he did a lot for this organization, but we all know the play calling was going to be: 1st down, run up the gut. 2nd down, run up the gut or maybe a sweep to mix it up. 3rd and long (and the occasional 4th down), let Elway make something happen. I firmly believe if Elway had played in a more open offense during those years, his numbers would be insanely out of sight. Of course, that play calling did allow for some dramatic plays against Cleveland and Houston and….
All of you biased fans are sadly, but honestly, forgetting about Tom Brady… He might just be the best quarterback ever if he keeps this up. As much as I hate the pats, the man deserves A LOT of credit.
You mean the guy that lost to Jake Plummer? HA!
hrdnokd Says:
you got it right! Favre was awesome, but! he was ultimatly a choke artist.
I had him as my fantasy QB for his last three years, however untill this past year he was the #2 guy because of all his int’s. This being said my list of QB greats:
1: Elway (biased)
2: Montana
3: Unitas
4: Marino (though no ring)
5: P. Manning (will be higher when finished)
Also not one person list #13 Marino in this great debate, is this because he never won it all? please reply
walker just got a 6yr 55mil deal from Al Davis. thats more than moss. what is he smokin and where can i get some
Nice piece, Andrew but let the Favre lovefest cease! Yes, he had his moments and he was a great quarterback and he has a wife that I hope mine will look like, but enough already! If historians are honest, they’ll never put Favre ahead of Elway, Marino, Montana and Unitas. In fact, all significant records will belong to Peyton Manning in a matter of years anyway. This Colts stud is a lot more efficient and prolific than the mercurial cavalier Favre. Here’s my Top 5 effective 20 years from now.
1. Manning
2. Marino
3. Elway
4. Montana
5. Unitas
Sorry, Brett you don’t make the cut.
Hello everybody! I just want to add that favre better retire after managing to get fortunate with that pass in overtime against us last year for he would have got slammed and forced to retire after a game against us this year! lol hey people come check out my blog at http://milehighdnvr.blogspot.com/ and drop a few comments if ya would You too Mason it would be nice if you did!
So long Brett !! One of the toughest player to ever step on the field .
Otherwise , Walker will be a raider next year and for a big amount of money , hopefully we won’t regreat the decision to release him !!The raiders staff may have seen something our doesn’t in this guy to give him so much dollars …..
I was shocked to see news of Brett Farve’s retirement. He played at such a high level last season I though he and the Pack might be superbowl bound this coming season. I was never a Farve fan, but I’ve never been a fan of any player or team that stood in the way of the Broncos. Maybe the fact that he never quit or gave up was his greatest quality, you have to respect his gamesmanship. He wore his emotions on his sleeve for all to see and gave us rare insite of just what a professional quarterback goes thru mentally while still trying to performing at an extremely high level. His leadership qualities were as good as any quarterback that played the game and like Elway or any great quarterback that ever played, his teams and fans always knew the game wasn’t over until the last seconds ticked of the clock. He was one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever step on a football field and deserves respect for his accomplishments and leadership throughout his career. I will miss rooting against him , Brett Farve, the face of the Greenbay Packers.
You guys dont know how to spell favre
Favre was one of the best, I dont think there is any other quarter back more fun to watch.
and I really dont know why manning is one of the top 5 ever after he retires in all your guys, very good but not one of the greatest.
1. Montana
2. Elway
3. Unitas
4. Favre
5. Brady
I just think that Elway did a lot for the teams he played on earliar in his career. sure those old bronco teams of the 80′s and early 90′s were decent but elway was amazing. Congrats to Favre for a wonderful career!
Not to mention the fact Javon cried his way out of town! He was not treated badly by the team until after he started whining and crying about being the #2 wideout around here. Just like Shanahan told Lelie, if you want to be the #1WR, get on the field and EARN IT.
Saucy, as much as i respect Farve, Elway is and always will be a better QB. he beasted on farve in Supre bowl XXXIIand could take any team to the superbowl as he did in the 80′s.
Jwalkbmarsh Javon is washed up you saw what Randy did in Oakland. Another thing Champ covers number 1 receivers not Dre so we be fine plus shanahan is doing great the only reason why Walker wants to leave Denver because of the tragic day of January 1st 2007. He was the last person to hold D-will as of now Boss and Marlon might be broncos which can give a jolt to the defense and draft that guy Royal from Virgina Tech he can be an excellent returner so chill out because we still have Brandon you can’t tackle him Marshall aka Baby TO.
so what are the chances of us getting bailey and mcree?
anybody?
I really liked this piece Mason. You are an excellent writer with a sound memory. Excellent insight into Brett Favre’s career. Thanks for giving us something worth reading during the ho-hum of the off-season.
Ok look we got Boss now next is Mcree so Jwalkbmarsh i dont care what you think about Javon but we taking the AFC west All Ready
Excellent piece Mason.
As one Favre like QB emerges in Denver, we say good-bye to the original. Favre has been my favorite QB since Elway left, and has been a pleasure to watch on and off the field. No QB has personified effort, desire, and heart like Favre. The NFL just lost one of the few positive figures in the game.
Top 10
1. Elway
2. Favre
3. Montana
4. Unitas
5. Marino
6. Manning
7. Brady
8. Bradshaw
9. Young
10. Aikman
Favre
Elway
Marino
Manning
Montana
Thats the order.
Ok, I will try to be unbaised,,,,
Elway isTHE F”N MAN
that said:::
1) ELWAY YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (unbaised)
2) Montana
3) Unitas
4)Marino
5)Favre/Brady/Manning/Aikman/Frank Tarkenton/ Jim Kelly
Denver Broncos RULE// Go CUTLER make the list !!!
Great comments on Favre Mason. He and Elway shared a lot of the same qualities as nfl qbs. First of all they both had probably two of the strongest arms ever in nfl history. Only other qbs that come to mind that could be considered in the same class of arm strenghth would be jeff george, randall cunnighanm, and probably jay cutler although that is yet to be realized. They also were great scramblers although i think in their respective primes Elway was a better runner while favre was better throwing on the run. I agree it is not fair to compare the numbers because favre played a season longer. The difference is favre has always played on great defensive teams with quality running games while elway had neither and took two poor teams to three superbowls.
1. Elway
2. favre
3. Marino
4. Montana
5. Fran
6. Young
7. Unitas
8. Kelly
9. Moon
10. Bradshaw
Active players like Manning, Brady, Mcnabb etc not included until their career numbers are set. Lets compare apples to apples