The Legend of Brett Favre

[Oszuscik]

I've been thinking about hero worship of professional athletes and what drives it. As a Wisconsinite, I can say Wisconsin fans have always loved their athletes, but I can think of no larger love affair than the one Packers fans had with Brett Favre. Obviously he's had (and has) off-the-field issues, but with regard to his playing career, Favre's performance on the field and his down-to-earth demeanor off of it fed our fandom. I'm wondering though, looking back do any of you see a point where "The Superstar" slowly morphed into "The Legend"? Meaning when Favre went from being the best player on the team to being seen as "the" team?

When Mike Sherman was head coach and general manager he always seemed to run his end of the team very corporate and business-like. Fans have commented that they feel Sherman wasn't as tough on Favre as he should have been, and I can remember post-game press conferences where Sherman used the phrase "the legend of Brett Favre". In public, does anyone feel Sherman did his part to build up "The Legend" because he knew it'd be good for the image of the franchise and good for business? By the time Favre retired from the Packers I read that Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy were looking forward to getting back to more of a team concept without Favre's image dominating the Packers. Remember those Deanna Favre promos that ran during the 2007 Monday Night Football game against Denver? "My Brett. Our Favre."

Favre love and fandom reached unique heights as his career moved along, and I'm curious what you (Packers fans and non-Packers fans) think fed into that. When did he go from simply being a great player to being "The Legend"?

[Brian wolf]

The performance against the Raiders after his father died. Everything he threw was being caught by his receivers and even the Raiders crowd was in awe. The Packers probably could have won it all that season but then the defense collapsed on 4th and 27 against the Eagles, allowing a comeback. After that loss, ESPN tried to create continuous headlines about whether Favre would retire or not but Brett knew his father would have wanted him to keep playing. The postseason losses would continue and after the Pack lost to the Giants in 2007/08, the team had had enough, legend or not.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Context of The Legend of Brett Favre

I grew up watching the Packers in the late 70s. Lynn Dickey was the quarterback -- he was good, not great. Once, we almost made the playoffs, but both us and Minnesota finished with the same record and the Vikings had the tie-breaker. Made the playoffs in the crazy 82 strike year, dusted the lowly Cardinals, and then lost to the Cowboys. The Forrest Gregg and Lindy Infante eras brought hope, but we could never get in. Majkowski came in and truly was magical for starved Packer fans, especially those of us not old enough to remember the Lombardi years. Sterling Sharpe was also a real hero to Packer fans. They beat the 49ers in Candlestick maybe in 89 and we all started to believe then. That might have been the same year as the instant replay win over the Bears, who (if memory serves right) we hadn't beaten in a long time -- we didn't beat them very often at least. It was a big deal to win that game.

Then Favre took over in a game that Majkowski was injured and the Packers won -- that might have been against the Saints if I remember right. Kitrick Taylor scored the winning TD - I remember that much. Maybe it was against the Bengals. Favre took over, in one game he scored a game-winning TD with a separated shoulder, played with a blue-collar love of the game, and he was instantly at least as popular as Majkowski had been. And Majik was -- and still is -- super popular with those of us who saw him.

We got Reggie White, and then Favre and the team started accomplishing things with the Packers that nobody in our generation saw before and that also brought back the Lombardi memories for older fans. In short, the Packers went from doormat to okay to regularly making the playoffs and Favre was winning MVPs and crushing the Bears. In short, The Legend of Brett Favre was a slow grow in a very ripe field. Had Majkowski not gotten injured and the team would have had similar success under him, he very well could have become as popular. But Favre brought a lot of enthusiasm and raw love of the game that the fans had. And as the team started to win, started to dominate the Bears, and then win the Super Bowl, Favre with his obvious love for football really resonated with everybody. But I wouldn't call him the "Team" until after Reggie retired. And Sharpe was probably more of the "Team" than Favre with Packer fans until he retired. Although Favre had a huge image after the Super Bowl, he certainly would defer to Reggie being the face of the team. After Reggie retired, Favre was still in his prime and he really was the mainstay and face of the Packers after that. It was well before 2007 that he became "The Legend" -- He won 3 straight MVPs and was probably the most exciting player in the NFL. Once Reggie retired, the Packers identity was really meshed with Favre.

[Brian wolf]

I still remember the early playoffs games where Favre took on the Lions in 1993 and Dallas in 1995/96 in the NFC Championship game. In the Detroit game, he was throwing rocket balls to Sharpe and beat them in the final moments, while throwing beautifully to Robert Brooks in that championship game. I truly felt the Packers were going to beat us (Cowboys fan) but then he threw that crazy pass that we intercepted, to pull out the game. It looked like Favre had a miscommunication with his receiver(Ingram?) but it happened the same way with Donald Driver in the 2007/08 Championship game against the Giants ... So close to two other SB appearances.

[Citizen]

The division round win at San Francisco in January 1996 was the first time I thought, Wow -- we really have something here. Not a crazy gunslinger, but an actual really good NFL quarterback.

Much of the evidence suggests that Favre is not a good person. But his exploits on the field were beyond reproach. Trust the art, not the artist.

[NWebster]

The performance against the Raiders after his father died. Everything he threw was being caught by his receivers and even the Raiders crowd was in awe. The Packers probably could have won it all that season but then the defense collapsed on 4th and 27 against the Eagles, allowing a comeback. After that loss, ESPN tried to create continuous headlines about whether Favre would retire or not but Brett knew his father would have wanted him to keep playing. The postseason losses would continue and after the Pack lost to the Giants in 2007/08, the team had had enough, legend or not.

I like the way you phrased that "everything he threw was being caught" my memory is of some moon shot bombs where it seemed all the 50 / 50 balls came down in the hands of Packers. I felt like the team wanted to do it for Bret and weren't going to let some Raider DB get their 50% share. May have been one of his best statistical games but I'm not sure it was actually a great performance.

[RyanChristiansen]

I think "legend" is a tricky word to use because a "legend" is not verifiable, but we have gobs of film and statistics to back up what Favre could and could not do. Another meaning of legend, however, is "a person or thing that inspires legends," and I think that's what we really mean when we say Favre is a "legend," and it's what we mean when we say any sports figure is a "legend."

And to say that Favre "is a person or thing that inspires legends" is exactly right. As a Vikings fan, I will never forget how with 00:02 seconds remaining in the game, Favre connected with Greg Lewis to beat the 49ers in the Metrodome in 2009. I remember how it seemed he slung that ball with a prayer, and how he fell or was tackled to the ground after the throw, and how even he had looked incredulously across the field at the result of the play. Now, that's how I remember it. Whether or not what I remember is correct is not the point. The point is that Favre "inspired a legend," which is a story that is not verifiable. I don't know whether he slung that ball with a prayer, or even whether he was incredulous, but that's the legend I'm going with.

[Bryan]

Had Majkowski not gotten injured and the team would have had similar success under him, he very well could have become as popular.

As you said, Majkowski was a breath of fresh air in 1989, but even that year he had a tendency to throw the ball up for grabs. Favre I guess had that same reputation, but I don't think Majkowski would have duplicated Favre's success with that supporting cast. Majkowski was more 'lucky' than 'good', IMO. But he was WAY better than Jim Zorn, Randy Wright, Scott Brunner, Vince Ferragamo, etc. that the Packers had immediately before him.

One thing I remember was that Majkowksi was holding out for a new contract after the 1989 season, and the Packers started Anthony Dilweg in Game 1 of 1990. Even though Majkowski was available for Game 2, the Packers still decided to start Dilweg. I always thought that was weird...a QB who had been an MVP candidate the year prior was basically benched for Anthony Dilweg.

[Brian wolf]

Though I was way more into NFL football in 1991 than I am now, I was more worried about keeping a decent job and a roof over my head than knowing what transpired with Favre and the NFL draft in 1991. I didnt even know who Favre was until I turned on my tv and watched that third game of the year in 1992 against the Bengals. I was livid with the Bengals giving up that last minute TD drive to Favre and the Packers but that crowd in GB exploded !
The next week, I am sitting there religiously watching highlights from Chris Berman and NFL Prime Time! and Favre is beating the STEELERS with not one but two TD passes to Sharpe and Brooks that burn Rod Woodson! ... I am thinking, damn, who is this guy ?

[Reaser]

... and the Seahawks got The Legend of Dan McGwire.