In between his controversial arrival – Wolf received heat for giving up a first-round pick for him – in 1992 and his messy departure in the summer of 2008, Favre took the Packers on a roller-coaster ride of exhilarating wins, painful losses, out-of-the-blue big plays, inexplicable turnovers and personal battles ranging from his addiction to painkillers to his father’s unexpected passing the day before a game in Oakland.
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Favre didn’t know until he was up on the Tom Benson Stadium stage that Deanna’s introductory video was going to include old news clips of Favre’s dad, Irvin, talking about Brett. And we laughed, we cried, we tried to sleep. “I don’t know if anybody’s real, real excited about a fifth preseason game, except for the people making the money on that, but it’ll be exciting to be there because there’s so much history and tradition surrounding Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame”.
This year’s Hall of Fame has a distinct Packers-Colts feel to it – Favre being the headliner and Dungy and Marvin Harrison increasing the Indianapolis version of the Colts into the hallowed hall of legends. They found a way to make the situation better.
In that same story, Favre also said that he wanted his HOF speech to be authentic and from the heart.
He paused, wept and needed to collect himself at times, but by doing so, he reminded us why we all still love him after all these years.
Brett Favre entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the same mix of raw emotions that he played with in his 20-year career in the NFL. “I was with him two months ago in MS and went to dinner with him, and sure as anything, he’s wearing the same shirt the next day to breakfast”.
Abut nine minutes into his speech, Favre got choked up, saying “I’m not even halfway through”. How he met Deanna (it was the night of that Saints game), and how she continues to inspire him.
Favre’s daughters were on hand, along with his son-in-law and two grandsons. Favre has consistently said he’s most proud of his consecutive starts streak, especially given all the various ailments he fought through to get on the field every Sunday. “There’s no doubt whatsoever”. This was the one football fans had been anticipating, as quarterbacks like Brett Favre aren’t seen in the NFL often.
Always a showman who also spent some time as a professional wrestler, Greene’s 160 sacks are third most in National Football League history. How wonderful is Brett Favre’s games streak? I think we could use a little bit more of that sense of duty to one another, and that sense of responsibility for one another. I thought about being Archie Manning, running around, throwing underhand passes. Not bad for a kid whose only scholarship offer came from Southern Miss.
“This is tougher than any third-and-15, I can assure you”, he said before returning to describing his chase for redemption.
Joining Favre in the class of 2016 were Tony Dungy, a trail-blazing coach and Super Bowl victor; one of Dungy’s stars, Marvin Harrison; Kevin Greene; Orlando Pace; Ken Stabler; Dick Stanfel; and Eddie DeBartolo Jr.
There were Packer jerseys as far as the eye could see, nearly all of them with his No. 4 on the back. In Canton, his Hall of Fame locker will display both a Packers and Vikings No. 4 jersey.
“My goal has always been to be the very best I can be … not simply in football but in life. That night, the tremendous respect and honor that was shown to me and my family from the Oakland Raider fans was spectacular”.
“Packer fans are pretty special”, Favre said.
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On Saturday, record-breaking Christian quarterback Brett Favre was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
