The Retirement of Brett Favre and the End of an Era

Today I heard the news that Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre is retiring after 17 seasons of playing pro football. I must admit, the first thought was shock. This was especially after the season that he just completed in leading his team to the NFC Championship game. Now that the shock has kind of worn off, there is a bittersweetness that remains. I will explain what I mean by that.

I have grown up watching Brett Favre play football. I was 11 when he entered the NFL and 12 when he became the starter for the Packers back in 1992. So roughly from the time I was in middle school until now, I've watched Brett Favre play football. And he has been one of my favorite quarterbacks to watch. On the field, he always played like he was just out with the guys having fun. And it showed with some of the kind of plays he made or tried to make. He played with a passion and an intensity that I've seen in few players.

The best picture I think there is of Favre is the notion (used both positively and negatively) of him as the "gunslinger". He was the type of quarterback that would throw caution to the wind and would keep firing regardless if had thrown 4 touchdowns or 4 interceptions. He put his team on his shoulders and win or lose would do whatever it took to try and get his team to victory.

It is an end of an era in several ways. One is he represents one of the last quarterbacks I watched growing up as a kid. Now I'm at that age where QBs are either a few years older than me, my age or younger than me. That is a weird feeling. Two, he was with one team his whole career. That is a rarity in sports today.

I think the term legend gets thrown around too much sometimes. But I think it's appropriate with Favre. He was a tremendous player who made an impact on the sport and will I think be considered one of the all time greats. He's a hall of famer in my book for sure.