We all knew that it was probably coming, but today at a press conference in Green Bay, Brett Favre, one of the all time greats in NFL history, called it a career. Today we see one of the greatest chapters in football history come to an end. For 17 fantastic seasons we were fortunate enough to witness some of the most exciting football ever played by arguably one of the most exciting football players that ever played. I remember just a few short months ago writing in this very blog about one of the greatest finishes to an NFL game that I have ever witnessed. I wrote about how young and energetic and rejuvenated Favre looked as he won that game. He had one of the finest seasons in his storied career this past year and what a career it was. He has the stats to back it up:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7872160/Favre's-career-statistics  Just look at the guys resume; All time leader in touchdown passes, passing yards, 3 MVP awards (more than anyone else), the list goes on and on. All of it while playing for ONLY one team, the Green Bay Packers. You don't see that loyalty in any sport anymore.

But for me, my appreciation for Favre goes way behond the statistics and the wins and the awards. It was the way that he played the game. The passion, the attitude, the fun he had, like a little kid playing a little kid's game. The way it should be really. He was a gunslinger in the sports truest sense. He never saw a pass attempt he didn't like....thus the career leader in INT's, but it was the fire and the will he showed each time he stepped onto the field that made us all say...."something special might just happen right now".  Who can ever forget the Monday Night game he had a couple of years back, playing on the same day his father passed away. What did Favre do, he went out and had one of the greatest games of his magical career and honored his father's memory in the process. The raw emotion and the passion.....that's what his game was always about.

He will soon join the other hallowed members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his placed was reserved long ago.
True, he had his demons. An addiction to pain pills in the Mid 90's was all the talk for a while. But he handled it straight on, just like he played, and battled that addiction until he beat it clean. That is a true mark of a legend.

Brett Favre made it fun to be a fan of the National Football League. It's players like him and Barry Sanders and Joe Montana and Dick Butkus and Walter Payton and Jerry Rice that make the game what it is today, the greatest spectator sport in America.

So a last farewell to you Brett Favre. The NFL will miss you, but most of all.........America will miss you too.

              Man, the guy was fun to watch.

Thanks for reading.

CG