Perhaps one of my favorite football players of all time, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre has announced his retirement from football after 17 seasons.
When I got out of the Army in 1993, I moved to Antigo, Wisconsin. That was one season after after Brett Favre became the Packer’s starting QB. I, like almost every body else in Wisconsin, was an instant fan.
Favre reminds me a lot of my favorite baseball player, who also retired this year, Craig Biggio. Both men played their entire careers with the same team* (Biggio spent 20 seasons with the Houston Astros). Both men played the game hard and with an extreme competitive spirit. But more than anything, both of them always seemed like they were enjoying playing ball more than just about anybody else around them.
Brett retires with class, too. If he had announced that last season was going to be his “last season”, then every game would have been about Brett Favre’s retirement, and not about the team. Every road game would have been a “farewell” party to Favre. While the fans would have appreciated it, Brett Favre did it the right way.
Brett Favre retiring is the end of an era — I’m thankful that I got watch him for his entire career. It’ll be a sad, sad day in Green Bay today.
Brett
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Favre was drafted by the Falcons in 1991, but only attempted 4 passes for the Falcons before being traded away to Green Bay the following season. As far as I’m concerned, he only played with one team his entire career.
While I was not a fan of Favre, I had nothing against him either, as he always seemed to conduct himself professionally and responsibly.
Just mentioning Craig Biggio’s name saddens me, though. What a good man, a good citizen of Houston, and an amazing over-achieving professional baseball player. I became a fan of his by his first month of play when he was a rookie, and actually shed a tear when he hit his 3,000th hit, and when his final home series was played. He will be missed, but never forgotten.