Tom Benson Stadium became the Lambeau Field of OH for one night as thousands of Green Bay Packers fans descended on Canton to see Brett Favre inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Brett Favre has two words to describe the way he played football: All heart. They serenaded Favre several times with chants of “Go Pack Go” and “MVP”. And I said to myself: “I will make it to the Hall of Fame”. And his mother instilled upon him the importance of serving God above any other job title.
I can’t say I was the biggest Favre fan but I enjoyed his speech. He will play better. “He has it in him”.
Favre was a one-of-a-kind quarterback, but the fact he was real – as real as his speech – might separate him from every other quarterback that’s come through Canton.
“But I spent the rest of my career trying to redeem myself and make him proud, and I hope I succeeded”, Favre added to a deafening reception. I was pacing in the Newark Advocate newsroom and teared up when he hit Wesley Walls with a touch-pass in the back corner of the end zone for the game’s first touchdown Favre hit another level that night.
“I’m going to ask Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson if I can play the first series tomorrow night”, he said.
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. The quarterback, who spent 16 of his 20 National Football League seasons in Green Bay, was the last of eight enshrinees to speak in Canton, Ohio, which for a night, looked more like a Packers home game.
Brett Favre, Kevin Greene, Tony Dungy and Orlando Pace spoke Sunday about the wild antics of Warren Sapp and John Randle.
Dick Stanfel was one of two posthumous inductees along with Ken Stabler.
Sapp’s trash talk started before the ball was ever snapped. It was Deanna who introduced Favre for induction, an honor that would have gone to Favre’s dad. Freeman shared nothing but praise for Favre during the interview.
Yeah, there are certain things in games that are just hard to replicate in practice, Luck said.
For all his faults, Favre was an “every-man” type football star.
Favre said hearing that compliment from his father made his chest swell up and that it motivated him. “To share this stage with these fantastic gentlemen behind me is more than humbling. And I’m most proud of that”.
What I will remember most, however, was his sincerity in sharing a story about his high school coach, who happened to be his father. “Whether it’s the crowd noise, an official spotting the ball a certain way, certain types of weather, going against a different defense, having some type of a ‘game plan.’ We don’t game plan for our defense at training camp”. Did I make mistakes? Its an excellent opportunity for them to impress not only their own coaching staffs, but to get something on video for the other clubs to see. And I don’t give a damn.
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That goes for 20 years on the field, and for 36 minutes on Saturday night.
