What memories will last of Favre?
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Quietly, and without much fanfare, the Brett Favre era appeared to come to a final conclusion Monday night as his streak of 297 consecutive starts was snapped.
As if.
Obviously, nothing about Favre comes and goes quietly these days. But still, it was kind of strange not feeling the same level of … of … FAVRENESS as usual. The Vikings’ season is over. Favre’s been speculated to hit the bench for weeks. He hurt his shoulder and it finally came.
And his last pass will STILL go down as an interception. Just as it did in Green Bay. Just as it did in the NFC Championship game.
It’s a shame that things end this way for Favre. Once one of the game’s almost universally beloved players, Favre has seen a ton of backlash over the last few seasons due to the insane amount of media coverage he receives (and yes, this is a column about Favre. Irony.), his penchant for “mulling over retirement” to skip training camp and most recently the scandal involving Jenn Sterger.
I’ve been at the head of the line of people screaming “Shut up about Favre!” (again, irony) But hopefully, once he officially hangs up the cleats for good, the things I remember about Favre will be more for his dramatics on the field than off. The way he could shoot you into and out of a game at any given second.
The way defensive coordinators couldn’t truly scheme him – he was truly football’s equivalent to a streak shooter. What you did, it did not matter. He was going to be hot or cold.
His string of MVP seasons in the 90s that you could stack up favorable to any quarterback’s best work, ever. 38 touchdowns, 39, then 35 – impressive in any era, but more so considering it came before the passing boom of this decade. His toughness, his determination, and yes, his good ol’ boy charm. Who didn’t love the back and forth between he and Warren Sapp?
Turning back the clock in 2007 with Green Bay. Then doing it again in 2009 with Minnesota, a season that stacked among his very best (and one he himself called, indeed, his very best) at 40 years of age.
I hope that’s what I remember about Favre.…that and hitting Tracy Porter between the 2 and the 2.
What? I’m a Saints fan, after all.