I knew this day would get here eventually… in fact, unlike a lot of people, I was pretty sure it was coming in the next few weeks… but it still felt like a punch in the stomach this morning when I got in the car after an early morning doctor’s appointment and heard the words “Brett Favre is retiring.”
You see, I was born and raised in Milwaukee. I went to school at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. And my first job in this business was in Green Bay. I was fortunate enough to cover the Packers during their Super Bowl runs in the mid-90s… the same time Brett Favre was becoming one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. So not only am I a born and raised Packers fan, but I experienced quite a bit of Favre’s career up-close and personal. I stood on the sidelines for two years watching him play. So this sucks.
I’ve told Chicago folks for as long as I’ve been here that Brett Favre is to Packers fans what Michael Jordan is to Bulls fans. He’s synonymous with the franchise… and that’s saying something when you’re talking about the Green Bay Packers, an organization with as much as tradition as any in all of sports. If you put two Packers fans in a room and tell them to discuss their favorite Brett Favre memories, they’ll stay in there for hours.
Watching his career has been awesome and I’ll definitely miss watching him each and every sunday (and in Favre’s case it was each and EVERY sunday). Packers games will never be the same.
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