Brett Favre Hall of Fame Speech Was Non-Stop Entertainment
By Erik Lambert
Brett Favre is one of the all-time great NFL quarterbacks who retired with every record, good or bad in league history. He was also, by far, its most entertaining.
So upon hearing that the legendary iron man from Mississippi didn’t bring a written down speed with him to the Hall of Fame ceremony, everybody knew they were in store for something fun, emotional and more than a little ad-libbed. A perfect reflection of his memorable career. Maybe not the best at times but from the heart. Love him or hate him, it’s impossible to say Favre didn’t make football an entertainment spectacle. Football needs more like him.
Here is a rundown of some highlights from his speed.
On the Hall of Fame game
Brett Favre: 'I'm going to call Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson and see if I can play the first series tomorrow night'
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) August 7, 2016
On his notorious interception history
Brett Favre during Hall of Fame speech: 'I have never thrown an interception that was my fault, according to my mother in law.'
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) August 7, 2016
On his father and thinking about the Hall of Fame
Brett Favre: I didn’t think about the HOF until shortly after my father's death when my wife said he wanted to introduce me in Canton
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) August 7, 2016
On former GM Ron Wolf
Favre on Ron Wolf: "The single biggest free agent acquisition in NFL history is Reggie White...Ron Wolf made it cool to come to Green Bay."
— Kevin Patra (@kpatra) August 7, 2016
On the 36-minute length of his speech
Favre on speech length: "I’m going for a world record, and I don’t give a damn."
— Kevin Patra (@kpatra) August 7, 2016
On how he’ll ultimately be remembered
Favre: "Make no mistake about it: I will be remembered as a Packer."
— Kevin Patra (@kpatra) August 7, 2016
When he retired, Favre had thrown for 71,838 passing yards and 508 touchdowns. In 297 consecutive games started, he won 186. Three times in a row he was the NFL Most Valuable Player, led his team to the playoffs 12 times and won a Super Bowl ring. It’s a career that defied logic at times. Yet there was one thing that could be said. It was never boring.
There were epic performances, thrilling comebacks, great laughs and painful (painful) mistakes. Everybody likes to celebrate Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana and others of that ilk but honestly none of them were as entertaining as #4 was. Every Sunday the same question was asked: “What is he going to do this week?”
He freely admitted on more than one occasion that he didn’t know most of the time. If there is one thing football fans love most, it’s unpredictability. That’s what makes the league so popular today, and Brett Favre was the epitome of that.