Wolf said it was an honor “to be standing in a park, of football’s most storied cathedral, Lambeau Field, to acknowledge, in my opinion and I realize I’m biased the best player ever to play for the Green bay Packers“.
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The Packers retired his No. 4 jersey the same night. If there was a Hall of Fame for assistant coaches, he would be one of the very first inductees. Tonight’s induction ceremony will be the culmination of a tumultuous ending to his stellar career in Green Bay.
He insists he’s a Packers fan and there is no doubt Favre is his favorite.
“I never dreamed of being in the Hall of Fame”, Favre said during a press conference prior to the induction ceremonies.
Not even Favre carving a path for himself to play for the division-rival Minnesota Vikings for two years was able to stand in the way of the upcoming reunion between the three-time NFL Most Valuable Player and the franchise he led for 16 seasons. And when Favre was traded to the Packers, it breathed life into a program that had only a single playoff win since I was born.
“I think his leadership, his personality made him popular,” former president Bob Harlan said. Seventy-thousand people will see him on the video boards. But a good man, who has definitely made a lot of mistakes.
“Believe me, I have played elsewhere and there is nothing like this place, absolutely nothing like it. Where else can you get this many people in a stadium when there’s not a game. I’m honored. But I want you to know I celebrate this with you and my teammates in this room”, Favre said.
Favre, wearing a dark blue sport jacket with no tie, a light purple shirt and dark slacks, emerged from the tunnel, walking instead of his traditional game-day sprint through the introduction line. Wolf, Holmgren and Favre became the foundation on which the Packers franchise was resurrected.
“All of these guys – Keith Jackson, “Free” (Freeman), Andre Rison, Dorsey Levens – we all loved seeing each other succeed”, Chmura said. It was just a pleasure to be on that team. “I mean, are you kidding me?”. “I’m glad we don’t have to go down that road”. “I probably will be good for one solid quarter”. But when the tickets [for Saturday night] sold out in an hour and a half, I have to admit, there were goosebumps, and my chest stuck out.
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Tickets, of course, cost $4. “Favre had agonizingly contemplated retirement year after year until making it final after the “07 season, then changing his mind just as training camp was about to end.
