Ode to Number 4

So I woke up this morning to the news I was hoping would never come, but knew that it had to happen eventually...

Brett Favre has retired...

And with that....my love of the NFL dims considerably...it just won't be the same without him.

Where to begin? I began following the Packers as my NFL team in 1988...Don "The Magic Man" Majkowski was their quarterback, and they were mediocre at best...then in 1992, Brett Favre took the helm, and began to lead the Packers on a ride that can best be described as "up-and-down"...but never unmemorable.

Sundays became an event for me. If the Pack were playing on regular TV, friends and family knew not to bother me...if the only way I could find them was on the NFL package, I traveled to a friend's house who bought the cable package just to be able to watch them (and then fight over the remote with my friend, a die-hard 49ers fan)

When they beat the Patriots in 96 to win the Super Bowl...it was one of the top five moments of my life....when they lost the Super Bowl to Denver the next year, I was devastated for days...

As Favre played on into the 2000s, and the team behind him began to crumble, it became increasingly frustrating to watch the Pack...with mediocre players around him, Brett seemed to think that he needed to gamble more often and tried to make tougher plays that his body just couldn't handle...

when Green Bay dropped to 4-and-12 in 2005, that was about the lowest you could get...at that point, I was ready for Favre to go...as far as I was concerned, his legacy was being tarnished...it was time to hang it up...

Then in 2006, with the Packers 4-and-8, suddenly, everything started clicking...the Packers won their last 4 games and just missed the playoffs...the final game, a victory over the Bears on New Year's Eve...Jen and I were watching as we got ready to go to a party in LA...afterwards, when they asked Brett if he was going to call it a day, you could see the emotion...I really thought that was going to be it...

But then, he decided to come back...as 2007 approached, my friends asked me, "are you ready for another go-round with number 4?"

And honestly, I wasn't...as I frequently told people "there isn't enough Maalox on the planet to get me through another season." Every time Brett dropped back to throw, I was ready for anything...a completion through triple coverage...an interception with no Packer in sight, hell I was ready for the pass to knock the nachos out of the hands of the kid in the 6th row...

Then the season started...and they beat the Eagles in the season opener...and then destroyed the Giants at the Meadowlands...then eeked out a win over San Diego...three wins they had no businss getting according to the "experts" ...hell, according to me! I thought they'd lose all three...

Eventually, the season became one for the ages...win after win after win...as I sat on my couch now in New York City with my mouth agape...how were they doing this? Such a young team, how was this possible...???

When they clinched the playoff spot, I was estatic. When they suddenly gained home field advantage for the NFC Championship game with Dallas' playoff loss, I thought "holy crap, this might actually happen....they could make the Super Bowl" Does anyone think the Packers wouldn't have beaten the Patriots in the Super Bowl?? Hell, the whole LEAGUE would have been rooting for that to happen, and you know the Commissioner would have made it happen...

But when the Giants upset them at Lambeau in -23 wind chill degree weather, I was upset, but it didn't last as long...actually not much more than a minute...to me, it was amazing they had gotten this far, and frankly, I just began thinking about next year...and thinking, "well they'll be good again!"

Now, all that seems pretty unlikely...Aaron Rodgers is now our quarterback, and I can't imagine another NFC Championship game appearance, much less a Super Bowl appearance, with Aaron Rodgers at the helm...

So the era ends, with Brett saying he's "mentally tired". Some have said he's angry the Pack didn't go out and get Randy Moss. Others say he could still change his mind and unretire in a few weeks...God, I hope that happens...though in my opinion its highly unlikely...

One game stands out over all the others...his performance against the Raiders on Monday night in 2003 the night after his father died of a heart attack while driving in Mississippi. He had the opportunity to go home...he decided to stay and play because, he said, his father would have wanted him to...then he went out and shredded the Raider D for 399 yards passing and 4 touchdowns in a rout...

I remember watching that game with tears in my eyes the whole time...people were crying in the stands (in OAKLAND!)...Raider fans were actually cheering whenever Brett threw a TD...those highlights come up every now and then, and I get the same tears...heck, Jen even came across them one night and started crying (though to be fair, she'll cry over a fairly mild commercial)...the point being...if you don't get a little misty watching those highlights and knowing the backstory, there's something hugely wrong with you....

So thanks Brett...thanks from a 12-year-old boy who was fortunate enough to pick the right team to follow 4 years before you came to the team...thanks from a 20-year-old man who got to see his team win a Super Bowl...thanks from a 27-year-old man who went home and hugged his own father after that Raider game...and thanks from a 31-year-old man who has spent the last 2 hours remembering all of the good memories in his life that are connected to the Green Bay Packers and number 4....

Basically, thanks for the past 17 years...you'll be missed....

Mike