Category: Essays – sports

Celebrating #4

In the midst of the 2015 season and the pursuit of excellence, fans were treated to a celebration of the player who Bart Starr once called “the greatest Packer ever”.  Brett Favre was inducted into the Packer Hall of Fame, had his number retired and his name added to the wall of honor in Lambeau Field between July and November of 2015.

Of course, the celebration was just a matter of time.  Favre was 3 times the league MVP, a Super Bowl champion playing 16 seasons with the Packers and the man we relied on to take us to the top.  He threw for over 71,000 yards and 508 touchdowns winning 186 games.

But he may be best remembered for bringing a fan-like enthusiasm to every game, whether jumping up and down like a kid when celebrating a touchdown or playing the ‘gunslinger’ once too often and throwing one of his 336 interceptions trying to make a play against all hope.

The party started in July when 67,000 fans made a small donation to charity to sit in Lambeau Field for his induction into the Packer Hall of Fame.  Favre gave a short speech to the fans before heading inside for the evening ceremonies in front of a much smaller crowd.  But the fans in the stands stayed to watch it on the stadium scoreboard just to be a part of the event.

When thinking of his career with the Packers, these three things stand out for me.

Iron Man

He started 297 straight games back in the days when you could pick a quarterback up and slam him to the ground, touch his helmet or hit him below the knees without drawing a flag or a fine.  He had the ability to avoid the sack, not by eluding trouble like Fran Tarkington but by pulling out of the grasp of linemen or throwing them off.  But it seems like every year he had some injury to overcome.  Sprained and swollen ankles, concussions, even broken bones in his throwing hand.  The pain was so bad that at one point he was addicted to pain killers.  Yet he miraculously stepped on to the field every Sunday.  It wasn’t easy for him, but he willed himself to play through it.

Maturing before our eyes

In his first year with the Packers he quickly became the star quarterback we were searching for.  But he was just a young man from Mississippi.  He had a child out of wedlock and a high school sweetheart he had not married.  He had a love for the locker room and locker room pranks.  He had a great arm and he knew it, thinking he could walk on the field and fight through anything.  In other words, he had some growing up to do.

Though it didn’t make the sports page, we got to watch him mature professionally and personally while enjoying success with him year after year.  He married Deanna and started building a family while still staying close to his parents and siblings.  Over time he learned to avoid some of the party life and the late nights.  On the field he worked hard at learning from coach Holmgren and others, trying to develop either the discipline to follow the plan or the wisdom to throw the ball away rather than risk giving it away.  Such things were challenging for him even in later years but like everything else he fought through it with a will to win.

One thing probably did stay the same through the years, his love for practical jokes on his teammates.

At a higher level

It’s fun to watch those games in the 90s as he and the team were on their way to the top.  But I marvel at his final years because they show what an incredible talent he was.  He is the only quarterback over the age of forty to win a playoff game.

In his 16th season with the Packers he was surrounded by young players, but they went 13-3 and got to the NFC Championship game.  Then, after he changed his mind about retirement and insisted he was still just as good as ever, he went out and proved he could play in his late 30’s.  I was amazed that he could walk into camp with the Jets, and later with the Vikings, study the playbook for a few weeks and then take the field and start playing at a high level.  His arm was still strong.  He had the ability to walk up to the line for any team, survey the defense and know how to adjust, where to throw the ball.  It was only in his final year, after injury and age had taken its toll, that he could no longer take the field as one of the best and most dangerous quarterbacks in the league.

How did Lombardi phrase it?  “The three most important things in your life should be God, family and the Green Bay Packers”.  A pro football player’s life revolves around his work and team, consuming time and energy as much as any ‘workaholic’ in another field.  In March 2016 B.J.Raji surprised most everyone when he announced that he was taking a hiatus from football, putting family above team and exploring new roles away from football.

It’s notable that in his press statement he used another Lombardi quote to explain that a person has to be totally committed to his craft to make life worthwhile.  Though only 30 years old, B.J. felt that he could no longer give that total commitment – something he had been giving since his high school days.

Part of the conflict was obvious.  Both his mother and his aunt were fighting difficult illnesses and stepping away would allow him time and energy for them.  But he also indicated that he was open to new opportunities.  Did he mean that wrestling opposing lineman and smashing running backs may not be as fulfilling as it once was?

So it seems that in several ways he was feeling there was more to life than football and now was the time for a bold move to embrace whatever that meant.  We have to admire him for wanting to care for loved ones and be true to himself.

It wasn’t just a shock because his agents were actively negotiating with the Packers and were ready to close the deal.  This is the same B.J. Raji who had been ready to hit the free agent market just a couple of years ago and score the big payday.  An injury brought his market value down and he re-signed for one year hoping to hit the market again.  Then another injury and another 1 year deal.  But now he was finally healthy and still at an age when he could draw attention from multiple teams.  Yet he walked away from millions of dollars.  Perhaps he lost the desire for the big payday or perhaps the last few years moved him to ask what life would be like without football.

Now the Packers would have to build a defensive front without Raji.  What kind of impact will this have?  Both Guion and Pennel are capable of playing nose tackle but then who plays defensive end?  There are a lot of good defensive linemen in this year’s draft – did their value suddenly increase on the Packers draft board now that B.J. was out for the foreseeable future?