Brett Favre: A Light in the Darkness

What makes a good sports film? Rudy, Rocky, and Coach Carter, among others, prove that there can be any number of successful variations within the genre, and America’s rich sports heritage is filled with great stories worthy of cinematic production. Recently, however, those stories have been rarer than normal, leaving filmmakers with little reason to bring sports to the big-screen. Scandals and criminal acts on and off arena of play, a number of which have come to light in the past year, have cast a shroud over professional sports and dominated the headlines of news organizations and tabloids alike, leaving little room for good stories with big-screen appeal. As commissioners and officials struggle with the daunting task of reestablishing their sport’s credibility, fans are forced to question their support for their favorite athletes, teams, and games. In the midst of this confusion, however, one player has risen above numerous challenges on the field and in life to achieve the pinnacle of success and provide fans of all sports and teams with a feel-good story worthy of cinematic production in what has been otherwise a bleak 2007: Brett Favre. Favre’s story of success in the face of adversity, culminating (pending his eventual retirement) with his record-breaking 2007 season, provides officials and fans alike with refreshing proof that while talent and intelligence can make thugs and cheats into winners, only character can make good players into legends.

Favre’s climb to the pinnacle of professional football has not been a completely linear one: an incredible number of obstacles both on and off the field have threatened at separate times to throw him off course. Beginning with the start of his professional career, Favre had challenges in front of him. He spent his rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons fourth on the quarterback depth chart. In the little playing time he actually received, Favre threw five passes, none of which were completed, and two of which were intercepted. Before the 1992 season, he was traded to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for their first round draft pick. Packer fans were outraged, and the stakes couldn’t have been higher when the young Favre entered his first game for the Green and Gold after starting quarterback Don Majkowski went down with an injury. Favre responded by producing his first career win.

Toward the end of his career, Favre’s interception number began to climb while his team, competitive for years behind his arm, began to fall. Analysts and fans alike began to call for his retirement after a dismal 2005 season in which the Packers compiled a mere 4 wins. Still, like the protagonists of legendary stories, Favre persevered once again in the face of criticism, overcoming his age to resume his Hall of Fame form in 2007.

In addition to his struggles on field, Favre has had an uncanny string of bad luck off it. In summer 1995, coming off his first MVP season, Favre shocked the sports world by announcing his battle with addiction to pain-killers. He overcame the adversity, however, and beat the addiction, winning his second MVP in as many years and leading the Packers to their first Super Bowl victory since 1967. Later in his career, Favre was forced to grapple with the deaths of his father, his wife’s stepfather, and his wife’s brother, all of whom were very close to him. Yet despite every one of those tragedies, Favre has started every game, including a memorable one against the Oakland Raiders only days after his father died. After the game, and emotional Favre was asked why he chose to play. His response: it’s what his dad would have wanted.

Favre and his family have also had to cope with his wife Deanna’s battle with cancer. Although she emerged victorious from the fight, that period of time was exceedingly difficult for Favre and his two daughters, especially while his wife underwent chemotherapy. Still, Favre played quarterback every Sunday for the Packers, with only one noticeable difference: his bald head, normally covered with thick brown hair, was shaved in honor of his wife.

Throughout his career, Favre has overcome innumerable obstacles to achieve dominance on the field of play, compiling a lengthy resume of accolades including 8 Pro-Bowl appearances, 1 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award, 2 NFC Offensive Player of the Year Awards, an NFL-record 3 MVP’s, and the NFL record for quarterback wins, consecutive starts, and touchdown passes. His story deserves commemoration equal to some of our nation’s greatest, those we have enshrined on a roll of film.

In this uncertain time of cheaters and criminals in professional sports, America needed someone to make it remember all that was, and hopefully still is, good about professional sports. On September 30, 2007, with touchdown pass 421, an unlikely hero assumed that role, and America remembered. With his immortality secured by his marks in the record books, Favre stands as beacon in the darkness, the last of a bygone era in the NFL and professional sports, reminding Americans of what was, and what hopefully will be again.