Dad's memory isn't doing him any Favre - Philly - What Class!

Philadelphia Daily News ^ | 1/8/04 | Classless Don Russell

[Solson]

After Brett Favre's dad, "Big Irv," died last month, even Eagles fans felt sorry for the Green Bay Packers' star quarterback.

For about three minutes.

Then we found out the Birds would be playing the Packers in the second round of the NFC playoffs.

And now, Birds fans are bad-mouthing Favre, big time.

On talk radio, they mocked his dad's ascension to heaven.

On the Internet, they're laughing at the idea that, as one TV sportscaster proclaimed, "There's an angel on the shoulders of the Packers."

The trash talk at the Eagles' official fan site only ceased when the Web site moderator threatened to ban anyone who joked about Big Irv.

There is no pity in Philly for "Saint" Brett.

Family tree
FATHER:

Irvin Favre. As a high school football coach, he helped Southern Miss violate NCAA rules to recruit his son.

WIFE: Deanna. He got her pregnant when he was 18, and she was 19. Married her seven years later.

BROTHER: Scott. Killed a family friend when he drove his car into a railroad crossing and got hit by a train. Jailed for DUI.

SISTER: Brandi. A Mississippi beauty queen, arrested for shoplifting.

Model citizen

In 1992, Favre was arrested after a barroom brawl in Hattiesburg, Miss., that began when he was arguing with the future Mrs. Favre. A bystander tried to intervene, and soon Favre was wrestling him to the floor. Favre was charged with drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and profanity.

Pillhead

Favre was a substance abuser in the mid-1990s. In 1996, he announced he was addicted to Vicodin, a prescription pain-killer.

The NFL sent him to the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kan., to dry out. Favre now says he's sober.

Mentor

"The biggest problem wasn't getting the pills down, it was keeping them down. I'd go into the bathroom, take a big slug of water, and try swallowing a handful of pills. Most of the time, I'd just throw them right back up and they'd land on the floor. No big deal. I'd just pick the pills out of the vomit, rinse them off, and try again."

- From "Vicodin, Rehab and Beer. Hey, It Won Me a Super Bowl," an excerpt from Favre's 1998 autobiography, "Favre: For The Record," published in Esquire magazine

Caring father figure

During his Vicodin addiction, Favre went into a seizure in front of his 7-year-old daughter. While watching her dad convulsing, the child screamed, "Is my daddy going to die? Is my daddy going to die?"

A reformed man

Favre was sprung from rehab after lying to his counselors. In his autobiography, he brags:

"Finally, I told them what they wanted to hear: that I was a drug addict and I needed help. Sure enough, a week later they said, 'We think you're ready to leave.'

"...Then I walked out the door and was like, 'Screw you.' "

Dork

He's a clubhouse prankster who's been known to put Heet ointment in players' jockstraps and shaving cream in their helmets. Once, he doused his own roommate with a bucket of ice water while he was on a commode.

If he wasn't making $10 million a year, somebody would've already pushed him off a tall building.

Hollywood star

In his best-known screen role, "There's Something About Mary," he somehow manages to lose Cameron Diaz to Ben Stiller. In the lesser-known "Reggie's Prayer," Favre plays a janitor in an all-star cast that includes M.C. Hammer, Reggie White, Mike Holmgren and Pat Morita.

A gentleman

Favre likes to fart. A lot. He told Playboy:

"If I'm on a golf outing with [Dan] Marino and [Jim] Kelly and they're getting ready to hit, I'll rip a big fart. They say, 'That's awful!' But why? Everybody does it. Just because you're a professional athlete or a politician doesn't mean you stop taking dumps and scratching your ass. Of course, there's a time and place for humor like that. I don't go to corporate events, where everyone is in a suit and tie, and start cutting farts. Not loud ones, anyway."

Wuss

Brett is scared of the dark. He sleeps with a light on.

[MizzouTigerRepublican]

You are splitting hairs now. Blaming it on the WR for his INT. Hell I can blame 7 or 8 of Quincy Carter's INT on the WR but he just didn't play well this year. By no means am I comparing QC to Brett Favre. Carter will be lucky to have a job as a backup next year because Parcells will go out and get a QB this offseason. But you cant look at Favre with blinders on and say that he has been great as of late.

[Trust but Verify]

Whatever. Favre is a legitimate HOF lock. Some people can't deal with that. I guess you're one of them.

[4everontheRight]

Go Panthers!!!!

[MizzouTigerRepublican]

I said that before that he was a HOFer if you would have read my earlier post. But he has not been playing like a HOF player the last 3 years! Every player gets older and their skills erode. Hell Willie Mays was falling down in the outfield at the end of his career. Favre is no doubt one of the top 10 QB's to ever play the game. You just cant deal with the fact he hasn't been good in the playoffs lately and has been an INT machine.

[ArneFufkin]

I said that before that he was a HOFer if you would have read my earlier post. But he has not been playing like a HOF player the last 3 years!

You're full of it The Green Bay Packers have been 34-14 the last three years. Favre has started all 48 games. These were NOT great Packer teams. But, they were IN the playoffs where Favre let it all hang out because Brett Favre led them there.

You're not making sense here. Would Philly fans choose McNabb or Favre leading their team 4:30 pm this coming Sunday? Would they trade Donovan straight up for Brett THIS GAME. Eff ya, they would.

We know the answer to that. Favre would make any 3-13 NFL team 8-8, at the very least. It's him, Montana, Elway, Marino and Unitas all time. Pick your poison.

[Catspaw]

And my favorite image of Favre, was, playing with a broken thumb and a day after his father died, beating up the Oakland Raiders on MNF.

[Trust but Verify]

A person, such as yourself, who appears to take such pleasure from the failures of a person both on and off the field, cannot possibly imagine the joy Brett Favre has brought to true Packer fans over his career. I cannot imagine the team without him. I feel sorry for you if all you can do is glory in the misfortunes of such a great player.

[ArneFufkin]

You and I remember the DISMAL days in Titletown.

Since Favre stepped in September 20, 1982 against Cincinatti ... the Pack are 126-64 and have not had a losing season. Been in three NFC Championships, Two Super Bowls and won one if I do recall!

The Pack have a strong safety/pass rush problem that will keep them from Nirvana, but Favre is the best football player in the NFL, and he has been since 1992. He hasn't had a perennial All-Pro receiver since Sharpe, yet he's going to finish first or second in every passing category in NFL history.

Throw Brett on the 90s Cowboys, 80s Niners or 70s Raiders/Cowboys/Steelers. He would have been like Michael Jordan if he avoided Baseball and stayed with the Bulls. Seven straight championships. That's how good he is. He's never had the supporting cast of the other great QBs.

[ArneFufkin]

1982 = 1992

[MizzouTigerRepublican]

How many playoff games have they won the last 5 years? 2 game is it.

98 Lost to SF
99 no playoffs
00 no playoffs
01 beat SF and lost to STL the 6 INT game
02 lost to ATL
03 beat SEA so far


Philly fans would take McNabb. They love the guy just as Packer fans would take Favre.

The all time list of modern era QB's would be Unitas, Marino, Fouts, Favre, Montana, Young, Aikman, Elway and Bradshaw.

I am not old enough to have seen YA Title play or some of the greats from the 30's through the 50's that I am missing so I cant comment on those QB's.

It is great to be a fan of your team but don't have blinders on. I love the Cowboys but know realistically that they overachieved this year and had no business in the playoffs. Being a fan is fun for all of us but ignoring the obvious makes you look like you are just a homer.

[MizzouTigerRepublican]

I don't take pleasure in it but simply pointing out that he is flawed. You Packer fans act like he can do no wrong. He has brought me joy by watching him play with his competitiveness and youthful exuberance and I am not a Packer fan. But this homering for the guy so bad makes me laugh and want to call it out when I see it.

[Lakeside]

Charming....

My favorite Packer moment was when Farve made his first touchdown pass in his first Super Bowl. I shall never forget the boyish exuberance he displayed as he stripped off his helmet,raised it aloft and ran off the field with open faced delight.

Wisconsin is my adopted home state and I miss it terribly. Wisconsinites have a down-home class that far surpasses anything I've seen so far from Eagle fans. Go Packers!!

[ArneFufkin]

They had crappy teams. Have you watched the NFL? What other team, besides Miami, has kept this level of excellence YEAR AFTER YEAR given the inverse drafting and inverse scheduling that is Pete Rozelle's parity curse?

You're just plain wrong about Brett Favre. He had no OL last year. His wide receivers (Bill Schroeder) had no clue where Brett was throwing the ball against the Rams in 2002.

The Packers have played in one of the toughest divisions (with the AFC East) in the NFL throughout the 90s. Let's see Dallas, San Francisco and St. Louis have to do road games in Green Bay, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit and Tampa in 1995-01.

The Green Bay Packers are considered every other teams primary rival in that division. Think of that!

I don't give a damn what Favre's numbers, or the Packers' outcome, are on Sunday. It's Johnny Unitas ... then Favre and Elway on the next level. Elway won two SuperBowls when he was older than Favre is right now.

If Brett Favre had Cris Carter, Randy Moss, Jake Reed, Robert Smith and Leroy Hoard playing with him in 1998, the Vikings would have gone 16-0 and smoked everyone through the playoffs. The Vikes would have been three time champs (98-2001) in that era. Without a doubt.

[Catspaw]

You and I remember the DISMAL days in Titletown.

Around this house, we call them The Dark Ages. Every year, it seemed, we'd go 8-8 (or some other mediocre record) and every year, we'd be told "it's a rebuilding year." Excuses, excuses, excuses. (I also remember going to Fan Picture Day at the practice field--they don't have that anymore--and someone giving Bart Starr--he was coach--a plaque with "Green Bay Packers" and "Bart Starr" spelled out in macaroni. Bart was gracious.) And I remember the game where Majik got hurt and Favre ("who?" I remember saying.... and "we're doomed") stepped in and never looked back (I even remember Majik singing "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" with Axel Rose).

And I remember snow sculptures around downtown--of the Lombardi Trophy, of Lambeau put up days before the Super Bowl. And the TV trucks outside Lambeau were a thicket. And I remember the day the Pack came back from New Orleans with the Lombardi trophy. I drove to downtown Green Bay, parked (illegally, I think), walked down to Walnut St., right near the Courthouse and waited in 14F degree weather for the Packer buses to show up. And waited and waited and waited. Hours. When they finally showed up, I brought my camera out from underneath my jacket and snapped as many pictures as I could. God, it was cold, frozen slush and snow up to my ankles, but I wouldn't have traded that day for anything. And for days, weeks, I kept finding confetti dots & shreds EVERYWHERE. I even collected a couple cups of confetti from my jacket hood, put it in a ziploc and mailed it to my daughter (who, I am informed, waved to me from New Jersey when she saw me taking pictures and cheering). What a day.

[ArneFufkin]

That's beautiful! A couple of my buddies and their sons took the drive from the Twin Cities to be part of that. Me? I chose to celebrate LATE into the previous night/that morning!

The guy who says Eagles fans LOVE McNabb and wouldn't trade him for Brett in a nanosecond for Sunday's game is a joke. Favre's on a ROLL! He's a force of nature right now. Every intelligent Eagles fan would make that trade. This is an even-steven matchup given Philly's awful bad luck in injuries. Losing Westbrook and Emmons ... that's hard. Favre's a better QB today at 34 than McNabb will ever be. Donovan doesn't have great supportive tools either, to be fair.

[Lando Lincoln]

Solson....thanks for posting this.

Randita..... as long as Philadelphia's press thinks it is fun to print something like this - just before a playoff game - the Eagles can not or will not be "America's Team".

Owl Eagle...thank you for pinging this to me. Shows a lot of class on your part. I don't blame you for not wanting to read it.

Dog...I haven't read any comments, but this to me is indefensible.

To all, this is the most incredible, most unbelievable, outrageous, ill-conceived locker room bulletin material I have ever read about, seen, or heard about.

Brett Favre is a great quarterback. He is a public figure. He is wealthy. He is flawed as a human being. He is grieving. This column is unconscionable. The author is a pathetic, small person and his editor is not much better.

If I were an Eagle fan or an Eagle player, I would be outraged by this. First, because of the above, but also because of the motivation this will provide Brett Favre and his teammates. How amazing. Brett has always, ALWAYS, been motivated by idiocy shown by the opposition. This will be unbelievable.

Brett's teammates adore him. Just watch how motivated they become.

Back to the flawed human being. Despite all of his problems in his personal life, he has held it together. He is married and has two daughters from that marriage. He has been completely sober for years. And, I believe he truly loved his father. The Monday nite game against Oakland was the first game his father was not in attendance since Brett was in 5th grade. Brett revered him. Now he is grieving and the author mocks it.

What do the missteps of Brett's siblings have to do with winning or losing a football game? I wish the author would explain that. Or a fun time on the golf course?

I hope the Packers win on Sunday. In any event, I will take the Packers, the city of Green Bay and Packer fans over anything Philadelphia. Such an ugly lack of class in the City of Brotherly Love.

Owl Eagle...my hat is off to you!

Lando

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Unbelievable article....

BIG TIME EAGLES BUMP

[Catspaw]

That's beautiful! A couple of my buddies and their sons took the drive from the Twin Cities to be part of that. Me? I chose to celebrate LATE into the previous night/that morning!

Well, I did do some celebrating that night myself :-))

But I have the luxury of living in Green Bay. Heck, they were well into the parade when I left for downtown (the parade went from the airport to downtown and back to Lambeau), but it was going so slow because of all the people along side the road that the parade took HOURS. Heck, I was able to walk back to my car, drive home, put my feet in some warm water to defrost them (and I was wearing heavy-duty boots) and watch the parade for another couple hours--with my daughter on the phone from NJ to gossip about the parade and the coverage on WBAY (picked up by ESPN). Just ask your buddies if they remember how very cold it was that day--and how many people were there. I can remember people being five-six deep where I was (and I remember some idiot woman walking around in open-toed shoes-I bet she remembers her frostbite), but I was able to elbow my way to the front to get my pictures.

And my daughter spent a semester at East High (before she transferred to a private parochial school)--they've restored the gate to the Old City Stadium, now East High's football field. THAT'S recycling :-))

[mhking]

Screw Philly. Go Packers!!!

[Trust but Verify]

Simply pointing out that he is flawed is quite different from saying that three of his most humbling/humiliating moments are your favorites. Not only does it go beyond noting his flaws, it borders on sadistic. Unless you made the original statement just to get a rise out of the rest of us.