Brett Favre - Packer #4-Ever

He didn't start the first time he played for the Green Bay Packers.

It was my birthday in 1992 and the regular quarterback, Don Majkowski, was hurt early in the game.

This kid out of Southern Miss was sent in.  He was picked up from Atlanta in the offseason for a first round draft pick.  Very few even knew how to pronounce his name.

Which seemed like a good trade-off since he didn't know where to find Green Bay on a map.  Let's say both sides figured it out.

Brett Favre - rhymes with carve - brought the Packers from behind to beat visiting Cincinnati that day.  He started every Packer game for the next 16 games.

My reaction to his winning pass to Kittrick Taylor was a jump from my chair and a couple fist pumps.  Pre-Brett, the Packers were a mediocre team at best.  They played well in 1989 but didn't make the playoffs.

Just seeing a win by the Green and Gold was a victory for the faithful.  Wins over the Bears and Vikings helped, too.

In those early days, number 4 was exciting.  A coiled spring waiting to go.  You might not know what was going to happen - but you didn't dare miss it..

Later, even starting the next year, we saw Favre develop and the Packers grow around him.  What struck me the most was his enthusiasm for the game and his ability - his drive - his will is the largest part of his legacy.  He started every game.  He said that since he got his chance due to injury - he was concerned if he missed a start he might lose his spot.  Not likely, but it's great to hear a star and a leader talk that way.

You looked at Brett and he seemed to play the way we would if we could play.  The "lay it all on the line" attitude and his country boy demeanor won over a fan base starving for winning football.  He went hunting for deer and made stops in area watering holes.  He was not just a Packer; he was one of us!  Parents named kids for him and families named pets in tribute.

Brett's boyish approach and unbridled joy on the field lifted all of us.  These guys make big money playing a game the rest of us dream about.  So, watching the way Favre played and approached the game was a big reason for his popularity.

Favre, Reggie White, General Manager Ron Wolf, and Coach Mike Holmgren started the turn around for America's real team - more than two decades later this Packer fan can hardly believe it.  Thanks, Brett.

Sometimes watching Brett play was unsettling.

His will to win and the chances he took with his rocket arm trying to put the ball through small windows meant it sometimes fell into the hands of players wearing the wrong jersey.

But he was ours.  We loved him.

It all came together in the 1996 season.  The Pack was truly back - something bumper stickers around Wisconsin had predicted for years.

Green Bay versus New England in Super Bowl XXXI was inside the New Orleans Superdome - an easy drive from Brett's home of Kiln, Mississippi.  A 54 yard completion with Andre Rison put Green Bay on top early; an 81 yard TD pass to Antonio Freeman; and a Favre 2 yard run put 21 points on the board.  A kickoff return by Desmond Howard for a score made him the MVP and Reggie White played killer defense, but Brett solidified his legend that night - our anniversary - January 26, 1997.

It wasn't long before we heard Brett, always a good interview, speculate how long he could keep playing.  Will he or won't he became an annual thing every postseason.  In 2008, Favre retired from the Packers.  We wondered what happens next.

He changed his mind a couple months later, but the Packer administration liked another QB on their roster by the name of Aaron Rodgers.  Favre was traded to the New York Jets.  He retired after one season, unretired and joined Packer rival the Minnesota Vikings.  He played there two years.  Games with Green Bay were ugly - especially for fans upset to see Favre in the wrong colors.

I don't blame Brett.  I didn't blame the Packers.  It was time to move on -even when no one really knew Aaron Rodgers would be, Aaron Rodgers.  Brett wasnted to play - and other than his games against the Packers it was good to see him play and I was sorry to see his ironman streak (297 regular season games) come to an end due to an injury that finally kept on the sidelines for good.

Last night, the adopted son of Green Bay and Wisconsin came home and we threw a party.  He's in the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame.  He is a virtual lock to enter the Football Hall of Fame next year.  His jersey will be retired Thanksgiving night against the Bears in Lambeau Field.

Welcome back, Brett. Welcome home.