this past tuesday, the city of green bay and the state of wisconson went into a tailspin. word was leaking out that brett favre was retiring. people were in disbelief. i admit i was in shock as well. as much as everyone knew this was a possibility and that it would indeed happen one day it was something most people hoped would never happen. the media was reporting that many companies in green bay were closing for the day so that employees could go home to follow the story. employers knew that tuesday would be an unproductive day. you never would have known that there was a primary being held that day, there was minimal news regarding the voting, maybe a scrolling byline at the bottom of the screen. that national news paled in comparison to wisconsin's hero. networks scrambled to put clips of brett on the tv. regularly scheduled programs were canceled. the only news in wisconsin on tuesday was that brett was retiring after 17 years in the NFL, 16 in green bay.
yesterday, the reality of this was cemented in stone. brett flew up to green bay and gave a press conference confirming it. again, all stations covered the live broadcast. brett was very emotional. i was disappointed as i heard the news on tuesday but found myself crying yesterday as i heard brett speak. how could one not when you saw brett break down. he gave a very heartfelt explanation of how after 17 years of giving it his all, he was emotionally exhausted. anyone hearing him speak could not have helped but been touched. he thanked God for what he had been given in life, and then he thanked everyone in the packers organization and the fans. he also stated that his wife Deanna told him it is now time to look out the front windshield instead of keep looking out the rear view mirror. i found that very appropriate to all people, not just brett.
green bay is loosing not only a legend in football but a humble and wonderful human being. he brought such joy, enthusiasm and unpredictability to the game of football and made it enjoyable to watch every week. his work ethic is beyond compare. he is so down to earth, what you see is the real brett favre. he made us all realize that he experiences the same things as everyone else; death, cancer, and life's hardships. many of today's youth have known no other quarterback for green bay; realistically neither have my own boys, and they are 20 and 22.
i will miss you next year in the fall, as the football season comes around. yet i am thankful for the wonderful memories that i have of you. and i can truly say, i saw you play in person on lambeau field. you will be missed brett, but go and enjoy the rest of your life, you deserve it!
5 comments:
You know what impresses me about Green Bay is that it is community owned. I think that is so cool. It is hard to imagine it happening in most places today though. It reminds me of the small football teams of yesteryear when community was more important than individual stars.
Favre definitely seems like he was the right person for the right team and community.
Enjoyed reading your post.
When we heard this on the news Ann said that she knew you would be upset and I said that I knew you would blog about it. LOL.
I love that about looking out the front window instead of the rear view mirror. We could all take a lesson from that.
I thought of you as well, Nancy, when I heard the news. I haven't seen Brett's news conference but Dave said it was beautiful. I'm sorry you are loosing Brett, but I am really happy you and your sister made it to a game this year!
This is a lovely tribute. He really does strike me as 'just one of the guys'.
Here's hoping for a decent replacement for the Pack.
A lot of Minnesotans were rejoicing. :) Just as many were crying right along with you.
Seriously though, I always respected him, and was amazed at what he could do on the football field, even when he was soundly defeating "my" team. I was saddened to hear the news.
When I heard the news I thought of you, Nancy. I've always liked Favre and even I'm sad that he's retiring. Very nice post.
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