Goodbye, Brett

Brett Favre's first throw as a professional quarterback was a touchdown. On November 10, 1991, the rookie quarterback, then playing for Atlanta, threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown by the Redskins' Andre Collins. The Redskins went on to win the Super Bowl. Brett Favre's final pass was an interception to Corey Webster, a throw that helped send the Giants to their third Super Bowl win. They were two dubious throws that were the moldy bread which encapsulated the sandwich, the meat of which was a Hall of Fame career.

Brett Favre broke many NFL records. Even so, I will not argue that he was the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He deserves to be in the argument, but he doesn't deserve to win it. Despite his numbers, he was not as good as Elway, Brady, Bradshaw, or Montana. However, he was by far the most fun quarterback to watch in NFL history. His improvisational skills were fantastic. He made so many crazy, goofy looking plays that fans simply shook their heads. Further, one never knew if those throws would result in an interception, further adding suspense to every play. He made more good throws than bad ones, but still, his wildman tendencies made for a suspensful football game. The NFL has had many exciting quarterbacks: Daryle Lamonica, Fran Tarkenton, Terry Bradshaw, Steve Young, John Elway, Michael Vick, and Randall Cunningham. Favre was more exciting than any of them.

Still, he had struggles. In 1996, he announced his addiction to Vicodin, a prescription painkiller. That season, he won his only Super Bowl. His father died on December 23, 2003. Brett was able to put that behind him in order to whip the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football, one of the most touching games in NFL history. His second to last season was his worst, throwing more interceptions than any year in his career. Despite all of his touchdowns, he made many, many ill-advised passes. With each bad one, he had the uncanny ability to shake it off and move on. When he threw his first NFL pass, he amazed Jerry Glanville, then his head coach, by bragging that his first pass was a touchdown. When Glanville informed him that it went to the wrong team, Favre beamed that nobody would remember that several years down the road. With all of his flaws, he never missed a start, and he is guaranteed to make it into the Hall of Fame five years from now, his first year of eligibility.

Brett Favre played one season in Atlanta. When Ron Wolfe hired Favre in Green Bay, the scouting reports said that he had maybe five years in him. Brett started 275 consecutive games over 17 seasons. In his first game in Green Bay, he replaced Don Majkowski, and proceded to stink up the place, fumbling three times. He was able to pull the game together, throwing a touchdown pass to beat Cincinatti 24-23 with 17 seconds left. Even in his first game in Green Bay, he showed that the had the stuff to get up when knocked down.

Humans are flawed. Even the great ones are imperfect. The strongest Christians will sometimes succumb to moments of weakness. What makes all the difference is what comes after the fall. Do we confess, repent, and move on, or do we allow our failures to spin a downward cycle of damnation?