Gopher Topher
17: There Goes My Hero
Brett Favre announced he was retiring today. This is some of saddest news to be encountered by the State of Wisconsin in years.
Here's the one issue. Everybody on ESPN is suggesting that Favre may go back on this decision and that he is just in a rut right now. If this does happen, Packer fans will of course rejoice, but it will create a lot of mixed emotions because it really tugs at fans' hearts to be unsure about whether or not they will see their idol play each and every offseason. But just in case this is for good, allow me to tell you why this is such an epic moment in both my life and the entire Packer Nation.
My mother started teaching me about football in 1995 when I was 9 years old. This was the first year the Packers won the NFC Central Division with Brett Favre as their quarterback. Since then, he has been the definition of football to me. Yes he has broken all sorts of records in the NFL, but what's more important is that he's entirely deserving of all those records. Why? Brett Favre loves the game.
If you've ever had a chance to watch him play the game, you can see the enthusiasm he has on the field. It's the way he ran across the field with his helmet in the air after he threw his first Super Bowl touchdown. It's how, at age 38, he still lifted wide receivers over his shoulders when they caught one of his passes in the end zone. It was the hot-headed gunslinging that made him a hero in some games and a zero in others. Just watch this video, I promise it's worth it.
Then there's the toughness. Physically, he somehow lasted through over 250 straight games as a starter despite playing at the most targeted position on the field. He did this through bruises, breaks, sprains, you name it. Emotionally, he had to face the shame of an addiction to a painkiller and work through that publicly. He has dealt with personal losses in his family throughout the final years of his career, and played well in spite of it (see the 2004 game against Oakland the weekend his Dad died).
Bottom line, Favre has always been a strong player who truly loved the game. He always had fun, and he pulled off plays on the gridiron that no one had ever seen before.
For the last 16 years, Brett Favre has been synonymous with the Green Bay Packers and the state of Wisconsin. This will always be true.
Thank you Brett Favre, you are a hero to me.
17: There Goes My Hero
Brett Favre announced he was retiring today. This is some of saddest news to be encountered by the State of Wisconsin in years.
Here's the one issue. Everybody on ESPN is suggesting that Favre may go back on this decision and that he is just in a rut right now. If this does happen, Packer fans will of course rejoice, but it will create a lot of mixed emotions because it really tugs at fans' hearts to be unsure about whether or not they will see their idol play each and every offseason. But just in case this is for good, allow me to tell you why this is such an epic moment in both my life and the entire Packer Nation.
My mother started teaching me about football in 1995 when I was 9 years old. This was the first year the Packers won the NFC Central Division with Brett Favre as their quarterback. Since then, he has been the definition of football to me. Yes he has broken all sorts of records in the NFL, but what's more important is that he's entirely deserving of all those records. Why? Brett Favre loves the game.
If you've ever had a chance to watch him play the game, you can see the enthusiasm he has on the field. It's the way he ran across the field with his helmet in the air after he threw his first Super Bowl touchdown. It's how, at age 38, he still lifted wide receivers over his shoulders when they caught one of his passes in the end zone. It was the hot-headed gunslinging that made him a hero in some games and a zero in others. Just watch this video, I promise it's worth it.
Then there's the toughness. Physically, he somehow lasted through over 250 straight games as a starter despite playing at the most targeted position on the field. He did this through bruises, breaks, sprains, you name it. Emotionally, he had to face the shame of an addiction to a painkiller and work through that publicly. He has dealt with personal losses in his family throughout the final years of his career, and played well in spite of it (see the 2004 game against Oakland the weekend his Dad died).
Bottom line, Favre has always been a strong player who truly loved the game. He always had fun, and he pulled off plays on the gridiron that no one had ever seen before.
For the last 16 years, Brett Favre has been synonymous with the Green Bay Packers and the state of Wisconsin. This will always be true.
Thank you Brett Favre, you are a hero to me.