Why He's No. 57

Brett Favre is one of the most popular players in one of North America's most popular sports. He holds a Super Bowl win and the record for most touchdown passes in NFL history, which has helped his status grow exponentially. He has become an icon in the sport, which has easily translated to fame in the realm of pop culture. And his success doesn't stop at the field's edge: Brett Favre had a role as Cameron Diaz's crush in the hit flick There's Something About Mary, and he's even been cartooned in South Park.

Back Stage

Brett Lorenzo Favre (pronounced ''färv') (born on October 10, 1969 in Gulfport, Mississippi ) is an American football player, currently the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Favre started at the quarterback position for The University of Southern Mississippi for four years before being selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. After one season with the Falcons, Favre was traded to the Green Bay Packers on February 10, 1992 for a first-round draft pick. He became the Packers starting quarterback in the fourth game of the 1992 NFL season. Favre earned a Teaching Degree from The University of Southern Mississippi with an emphasis in special education. In the third game of the 1992 season, then-starting quarterback Don Majkowski injured a ligament in his ankle against the Cincinnati Bengals, an injury severe enough that he would be out for four weeks. Favre replaced Majkowski for the remainder of the contest. Favre fumbled four times during the course of the game, a performance poor enough that the crowd chanted for Favre to be removed in favor of another Packers backup quarterback at the time, Ty Detmer. However, down 23-17 with 1:07 left in the game, the Packers started an offensive series on their own 8 yard line. Still at the quarterback position, Favre completed a 42 yard pass to Sterling Sharpe.



On the next play, Favre threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining. While being treated for various injuries, Brett Favre developed an addiction to vicodin, which became publicly known when he suffered a seizure during a hospital visit. Amid an NFL investigation, he went public to avoid any rumors about his condition. In May 1996 he went into treatment and remained in rehabilitation for 46 days. Had he chosen not to go, the NFL would have imposed a $900,000 fine. Favre and the Packers continued posting positive results through the next few seasons. Through the 2004 season, the Packers had the longest streak of non-losing seasons (13) in the NFL, despite an 8-8 record under coach Ray Rhodes, a 9-7 season under coach Mike Sherman, and no playoff berths in either 1999 or 2000. The streak ended in 2005, with the Packers finishing 4-12 overall. Favre has not had as much success in the postseason since Super Bowl XXXII; he is 2-5 in the playoffs since the 1998 season. Two of those losses were at home in the wild-card game, and they were the first postseason losses ever at Lambeau Field. Since 1998, he has recorded 149 completions on 249 attempts for 1,804 yards, with 11 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions, leaving him with a quarterback passer rating of 70.1 in the playoffs. On March 1, 2001, Favre signed a 10-year contract extension with the Packers, the first in team history which also made Favre the first $100 million player in NFL history. Favre was the target of controversy at the end of 2001 when, in the regular-season finale against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Favre rolled to his right and slid down at the feet of hard-charging Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. It was Strahan's lone sack of the game and gave him the NFL's single-season sack record of 22.5, which topped Mark Gastineau's record of 22 set in 1984.



Favre claimed he had changed the play at the line of scrimmage, but the rest of the team appeared to run a different play than Favre's. The Packers were winning the game handily —and did win 34-25— and Favre's offensive line had relegated Strahan to a non-factor for most of the game. Players and fans from around the league were highly critical of the play. Mike Freeman of The New York Times wrote: "Yes, Mr. Favre, Strahan deserves the record, but please, handing it to him the way you did, as if you were throwing change into a Salvation Army bucket, is the kind of mistake Favre may never live down". From 2003-2005, a series of events related to Favre's family were reported in the media. These were usually accompanied by discussion of Favre's "toughness", playing through this adversity , speculation as to whether Favre might take a few games off (thus breaking his consecutive games streak), or retire considering the number of seasons he had already played. In October, 2004, ten months after the death of Favre's father, his brother-in-law, Casey Tynes, was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident on Favre's Mississippi property. In late August 2005, Favre's family suffered another setback: Hurricane Katrina blew through Mississippi, destroying his family's home there; however, none of his family members were injured. Brett and Deanna's property in Hattiesburg, Mississippi was also extensively damaged by the storm. Favre elected to continue to play in the 2005 season.

Forcaste

After one season with the Falcons, Favre was traded to the Green Bay Packers on February 10, 1992, for the 19th pick in the 1992 NFL Draft. He became the Packers' starting quarterback in the fourth game of the 1992 NFL season, starting every game from then until his retirement in 2008. In 2008, Favre came out of retirement, was traded to the New York Jets, and continued his consecutive start streak. On February 11th, 2009 Favre told the New York Jets that he is retiring for good.