MINNESOTA, USA — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…August 18, 2009:
The wounds have healed now, but on this day future Hall of Famer Brett Favre shocks the Green Bay Packers’ universe by signing a two-year, $25 million deal with the rival Minnesota Vikings. That came six months after Favre tearfully announced his retirement from the New York Jets, the team for which he played one season following his first retirement from the Packers. As recently as three weeks before the Vikings deal, Favre had vowed he would never return to the gridiron. He played his final two seasons with the Vikings.
Favre received exactly one college football scholarship offer in high school—from Southern Mississippi. And that was to play defensive back. But Favre pressed the coaching staff to put him at quarterback. Legend has it that he was USM’s seventh-string QB entering the 1987 season, and by the end of the third game he was the starter. Legend also has it that Favre was hung over that day and was throwing up before the game. Then he threw two second-half touchdown passes to key a comeback victory over Tulane. Favre also led Southern Miss to an upset of No. 6 Florida State as a junior and rallied the Eagles past Alabama as a senior.
That led to attention from the NFL, but not as much as you’d think. Let’s say Favre was “under-drafted” in 1991, going early in the second round to the Atlanta Falcons. He was also under-utilized as a rookie, going 0-for-4 as a backup. Then came the fateful trade to Green Bay, where he quickly replaced starter Don Majkowski. Favre’s performance in Week 3 would be a microcosm of his career. He fumbled four times against Cincinnati. Favre also led a 92-yard drive in the fourth quarter that ended on a winning touchdown pass with 13 seconds left.
The gutty rollercoaster performance against the Bengals would be the first of 297 consecutive regular-season starts, an NFL record. Favre went on to play in two consecutive Super Bowls, winning the first one after the 1996 season (35-21 over the New England Patriots). The fact that he never made another one was a sticking point with the Packers—and the team’s drafting of Aaron Rodgers in 2005 was a sticking point for him. Favre retired after the 2007 season, and unretired to play for the Jets in 2008. He then retired and unretired again to join the Vikings. Ironically, Favre’s first season in Minnesota was statistically one of the best of his career.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
Watch more Sports:
See KTVB sports coverage in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
