Monday Night Football has always been the spectacle of the football week. Some of the best games have been played on primetime in front of the nation. However, no one would have predicted that Brett Favre, an absolute legend in the sport, would be able to play his former team, the Green Bay Packers, with whom he has spent the majority of his career with and led by his protégé, Aaron Rodgers.
For those who have missed out on the Brett Favre saga, here’s a quick sum up. In the 2007 playoffs, Brett Favre was the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. He was a celebrity; an icon for the entire state of Wisconsin to revolve around. In his last playoff game with the team, he threw an interception to the Seattle Seahawks defense that cost the game. It was his last play as a Packer. He had been debating retirement the year before and you thought he would retire after that season, which he did.
But Favre just has this drive within him, and he can’t help but to keep it alive. He is a football player, plain and simple.
While the Packers organization wanted to move on with the new quarterback, Rodgers, Favre wanted back in. After a back and forth fight trying to get Favre either playing with the Packers or traded, Favre finally was traded to the New York Jets.
He led his new team to a 9-4 start, but an arm injury marred his play and they lost the rest of the games and missed the playoffs. Afterwards, he retired much faster than last year, making it seem like he was truly done. But, Favre being Favre, that would not be the case. He was released by the Jets, which allowed him to decide whether or not to play for the Minnesota Vikings, the team he truly tried to get traded to. He underwent arm surgery and eventually decided that he could play, so he signed with the Vikings. With the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers being division rivals, Oct. 5 would prove to be a pivotal game for both teams.
Minnesota was a team that had been on the cusp of becoming a Super Bowl contender with a stellar defense and the best running back, but they needed a quarterback to lead the team to the promise land. With Brett Favre, they have become one of the teams to beat in the league and look like they cannot be stopped.
The Packers are still in the rebuilding stage. They have a lot of potential with a young team and a great quarterback with Rodgers, but Rodgers is not a proven quarterback just yet. He is really talented, but he has never been to the postseason yet, so no one knows if he is for real.
As the game progressed, both teams were evenly matched, and both played hard for their respected leaders. Brett Favre and the Vikings defense prevented the protégé from usurping one of the best, if not greatest, quarterbacks of all time. This game was an epic one that would go on until the end, but only one could win.
Brett Favre is, in my opinion, the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He has set the record book in almost every department, and he is now the first quarterback to beat all the current 32 NFL teams. So why does he continue to play? Is it the drive to play the game or the drive to beat a team that seemed to want to kick him out? The post-game interview of Favre showed me why I believe Favre is the best ever. With a flushed face and tears building in his eyes, he told reporters that he “did not play for revenge.” I saw in his eyes the spark of simple love of football. Brett Favre has a Super Bowl ring, the records, and the money, so why play? He is a true football player.
Bryan Manderscheid is a freshman engineering major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
