Favre: An imperfect hero
Joe Montana and Tom Brady have more Super Bowl rings and Peyton Manning and John Elway and Dan Marino may have been more classic at how they played the position. But Brett Favre remains unquestionably the most popular football player of his time.
And he earned that place in the heart of football fans for this very reason – he was far from perfect. He was the superstar who lived next door. He was the neighbor who forgot to bring back the hedge clippers but helped dig your car out of the snow. He was the guy whose dog got in your flower bed but invited you over for burgers and hot dogs on the grill.
Part of Favre’s legend is that the first pass he ever completed was batted back to him for a seven-yard loss. And while the Falcons will always look like fools for trading Favre to the Packers, the truth is that Favre was undisciplined while with Atlanta and did just about everything he could to get himself run off the roster.
But this is where Favre’s story becomes the stuff of legend -- there was a head-strong determination that he would persevere. That no matter how many times he threw passes to no one in particular and had you holding your head saying, “How could he do that,” there were dozens of other times where he would thread the ball through a couple of defenders to a receiver, and that would make you smile, shake your head and say to yourself, “How could he do that.”
Baltimore fans saw a lot of John Unitas in Favre. There were lots of parallels. Discarded by one team and then going on to star with another. The gunslinger who never stopped firing away, undaunted either by the beating administered by the enemy or his own occasional errant throw. It’s fitting that Favre’s all-time records include not just most touchdown passes and completions and yards but also most interceptions.
With Brett Favre, we knew we were always getting the real deal. He was open about his dependency on pain-killers. We saw him deal with family crisis and tragedy – his wife’s cancer and his father’s death. He was part of national hardship; the family home in Kiln, Miss., was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Through it all, Favre continued to do his job, just like all of us have to keep doing our jobs during tough times. Except for Favre, it was on a public stage with millions watching, such as that Monday night game in December 2003 following his father’s heart attack death when he lit it up against the Raiders.
When John Elway quit, it was after winning his second Super Bowl, confetti fluttering all around him. It was an ending scripted by Disney. Brett Favre’s last moment on the football field was trudging off after throwing an interception in overtime that helped cost his team a trip to the Super Bowl. It was an ending scripted by real life.
We mythologize and idolize our best and brightest sports figures because they are our version of the ancient gods. In Favre’s case, though, we hold him in such high regard because he reminds us of the best qualities we hope to find in ourselves, even as mere mortals.
Photo credit: Greg Campbell/AP
Comments
Thank you for a great article. As a Wisconsin resident and, of course, Packer fan, you have gotten to the heart and soul of what Brett symbolizes. I saw the best and the worst, but he will always be the greatest to me.
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Jill,
We're going to miss him a lot.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Jill | March 4, 2008 2:34 PM
I think a lot of his popularity was because he comes off as the normal guy you'd go to the bar with. He played the game like he was in the backyard at a family function, always goofing on his teammates. Not to metntion, when some punk linebacker would hit him late, he had no problem grabbing the guy's facemask, rattling it and getting in the guy's face. He was everyman, not doing a supermodel like Brady or Montana, but a normal guy who had a amazing talent of throwing a football.
Posted by: Eric | March 4, 2008 3:14 PM
I really love him. Hope he will change his mind!!For quick recap here you can find the best Brett Favre’s memorable moments!
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Ana,
Thanks.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Ana | March 4, 2008 4:50 PM
Nice article. The guy was the one of the best of all times. I'd take him over Elway any day because you got the feeling that he'd play his a** off that afternoon and then sit down and have a beer with you afterward. He was just a guy with great talent, bigger heart and desire who made Joe Fan feel like he was one of them. In an era of the prima dona athlete he was a breath of fresh air. Finally, he always, always looked like he loved the game and played every play like it was the most important one he ever had the honor of playing. Our athletes today could learn many lessons from Brett Favre. Via Con Dios. Enjoy your retirement. You deserve it.
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Ed,
I was a huge Elway fan but I have to say this about Favre .... considering that he was the regular guy that you describe, I doubt very much we will see the likes of him again. Pro athletes just aren't built that way any more.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: ed from park heights | March 4, 2008 5:01 PM
He will be BACK!!!
Posted by: steve | March 4, 2008 10:02 PM
Its pretty much a foregone conclusion that Favre will make the HOF on his first ballot of eligibility. There is some talk in the media that the NFL waive the 5 year waiting period? What do you think? The way veteran QBs have been resigned to contracts, anything is possible these days.
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Capt.,
No, I don't think the waiting period needs to be or will be waived in this case.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Captain Jack | March 5, 2008 10:34 AM
Favre was the rare QB who was able to get away with making some of the most ill-advised throws and bad decisions one ever saw from a QB, because he was successful so many more times than he failed. Even the last pass of his career, a terrible decision that resulted in an interception which set up the Giants' win, didn't result in a cascade of criticism from fans and columnists. Basically, what we heard and read was that was Favre being Favre, and this was one of the times the gamble didn't work out. Most NFL QBs don't have that luxury - their mistakes are magnified and highlighted.
Look at Eli Manning, until the tail end of this season, when he finally got consistent pass protection, and, as a result, played well consistently and got his team to the Super Bowl, where his defense shut down the latest QB god with constant pressure, and Eli put up just enough points to win, and limited mistakes - he was deemed a bust by many (like a certain first round QB in Baltimore), but now that perception has changed (as the perception of Brady has - suddenly, everyone knows that if he's constantly pressured, he struggles like every other QB under pressure. The secret to his success wasn't just his talnt and ability, it was his o-line constantly getting him six, seven, or more unpressured seconds to scan the field and find a receiver.)
Favre will be missed. I thought he'd come back after the quality season he had.
Posted by: Alan | March 6, 2008 3:39 PM