The fate and memory of sportsmen are made and broken on the numbers they produce.
.400. 16-0. 18 majors. 61.
Incredibly rare is the performance that transcends quantitative measure, one that creates legend out of stardom, immortality from normalcy. Brett Favre crafted not one moment, not one game, not even one season, but an entire career out of doing just that, in a manner that no one ever has, and likely ever will.
His league records in touchdown passes, passing yards, completions, interceptions, wins, Most Valuable Player awards, and games started will never define him, nor will his lone Super Bowl triumph. Favre, unlike any other, was so much more.
A youngster sprinting across the Superdome turf, helmet in hand, treating the world’s biggest stage as if it were his own backyard…An emotional press conference called by a player atop the football universe, admitting his addiction to painkillers…A beaten man, seeing his franchise’s home field legacy fall to pieces in the Wisconsin snow he fashioned a career out of making his own…A tear-jerking air show under the Oakland lights, an evening after his father’s tragic passing...Tossing snowballs and administering fireman carries to his slew of young receivers in re-claiming his place as one of the league’s best.
3. 275. 160. 442. 288. 61,655. 5,377.
Those numbers mean nothing in the legend that was 4. If any quantities symbolize his career, they’d be the amount of NFL fans across the country shell-shocked at imagining a Sunday without him taking the field, the celebrations in Chicago and Minnesota for not having to deal with the constant Favre fellatio from the media, and the number of wives beaten as a result of the cold beverages absorbed statewide by Wisconsin males in lieu of their loss. Those numbers do the real talking, because what separates Favre from MJ, Tiger, Marino, Wilt, Rice, and others was not what he did on the field, but how he did it. Not necessarily in a dominating fashion, but in a humanizing style that ultimately made him otherworldly in Wisconsin, and always left us wanting more.
As the other man that defines Packer football once said, “In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.” While Favre’s shortcomings were often stunningly poor, they served to make his accomplishments all the more spectacular in the end.
Perhaps history won’t remember Brett Favre as the greatest quarterback of all time, but as sure as Favre was going to play each Sunday, no fan who ever saw him fling a touchdown and jump into a lineman’s arms will ever forget the man who played the game he loved with such unbridled passion.
In a game ridden with primadonnas and steroids, retreads and retards, system robots and pretty boys, 4 offered us something different. Something unforgettable.
We'll miss you, Brett.
To be clear, this was written by AK26. I figured a repost was in order.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout-out... admittedly, this probably won't resonate as well after the events of the past year. Still, hopefully it will serve to rekindle some of those old warm feelings you had for ol' Brett, pre-bench Rodgy/trade demand/"stick it to Ted"/Kornheiser flaccid half-erection.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think this article served its purpose. I was offended by the way the off-season went down, and have written as much many many times.
ReplyDeleteI also remember writing on the day he retired. I had to work that morning, and was lucky enough to have a televisioin for Brett's presser. I held back tears all day until I could finally get home to my computer.
I was brought to tears as I wrote about what Brett and Sunday's had meant to me most of my life (I almost tear up now recollecting). This article brought a little bit of that back.
Although it will never be the same as it was this past March, there is no doubt that this man will evoke emotions in many, for many moons to come.
This article is quite funny if you read it thinking Kornheiser is talking.
ReplyDeleteI love Favre, I am just not in love with Favre.
haha, well said...
ReplyDelete"This comment is GREAT. I mean, did we NOT just see a fantastic post about Favre? Is this NOT an equally great response from tomkaters? Is tomkaters the answer to AK26's posting dominance to date? Has AK26 met his MATCH? I'm EXCITED, Jaws. This is a EPIC battle between poster and commenter. CLASSIC! Did you see Idol last night?
Time's up. I WIN."