Brett Favre: The League Loses a Legend

After last season's 18 TDs and 18 INTs, it looked like the legend was all in the past. But he hangs up his jersey and cleats for the last time now, when everyone thought he had caught a second wind and was coming back for another shot at the young kids who have taken over the game.

Brett Favre, retiring as an instant legend, never ceases to surprise his city, his fans, and everyone else who has grown to be amazed by his resilience. When everyone thought his career ended seasons before, he started his last season to prove that a legend never dies.

He made his point and left his critics speechless. Today, he leaves us all speechless. 

"I know I can still play, but it's like I told my wife, I'm just tired mentally—I'm just tired," Favre told ESPN's Chris Mortensen in a voice message.

"If I felt like coming back—and Deanna [his wife] and I talked about this—the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl. To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful.

"I know it shouldn't feel unsuccessful, but the only way to come back and make that be the right decision would be to come back and win a Super Bowl. And honestly, the odds of that, they're tough. Those are big shoes for me to fill, and I guess it was a challenge I wasn't up for. "

Favre played the game with intensity, enthusiasm, and heart as he wowed his fans with excitement every time he stepped on the field. He was notorious for improvising on every play and defying the class in which others played the game. He knew what it took to win and was a genius at turning lost plays into his career's highlight reel.

His final season was plagued with brilliance, as he threw 28 touchdowns in securing the all-time touchdown record from Dan Marino with 442 (22 more than Marino). He didn’t stop there, stealing the all-time passing yards record from Marino, finishing his career with 61,655. But, as a mirror of Favre's imperfect game play, he also finished as the all-time leader in interceptions with 288.

Among all of his other records, he finishes an amazing 17-year career with the most wins by a starting QB with 160. And nothing speaks of his character and his determination more than his 275 consecutive career starts (including playoffs).

Calling him a hall-of-fame QB doesn’t quite do his career justice. Favre had a higher completion percentage his last year (66.5) than any other year. And to top it off, this final season he had 95.7 QB rating—the highest he’s had since 1996 when he took the Packers to the Super Bowl to beat the Patriots. 

Brett Favre is not just a record setter and three-time NFL MVP, he is the epitome of what it means to play with heart and leave everything on the field. He will long be remembered, not just by Packer fans, but by anyone who calls himself a football guru.

This comes from a longtime Green Bay fan who was born and raised in Florida. I have been impressed with the poise in which he plays the game for more than a decade. He was my childhood football hero, and I applaud his career.