Green Bay The day that some worried never would come finally did Saturday.
Brett Favre, Green Bay"s thrilling quarterback for 16 years, was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame and had his No. 4 retired in a ceremony at Lambeau Field.
The momentous homecoming turned emotional for Favre at times, and it wasn"t just because he was reunited with some of the greatest names in franchise history coaches and players and former general manager Ron Wolf.
It was moving ... because of the fans.
Favre allowed himself to be showered with a several minutes-long ovation as he entered Lambeau Field to address the fans, thanking them often and gazing up at the crowd that rose to its feet for the entire presentation.
It was proof enough, he said, beyond a doubt, that he had their support whether they never wavered in their loyalty, or they simply came to accept the strange twist of his final three years in the NFL, the last two with the rival Minnesota Vikings.
In the heat of a scorching summer day, people already were parking in neighboring lawns of people"s houses and tailgating along Oneida Street and surrounding roads at 2 p.m. By 5:30 p.m., an hour before Favre was scheduled to address the sold-out Lambeau Field crowd, fans were streaming into the stadium just to hear Favre talk for 20 minutes before he went inside for the induction banquet.
The energy was like no other, a reception only this town could give to only this quarterback after a 16-year partnership. While the 45-year-old is now a grandfather, and well into retirement, to fans Favre"s legacy as a Packer is much like that cannon of an arm: immutable.
For this reason, Kelly McPartlin ordered special "Thanks Brett Favre" T-shirts for herself and her family, Katie Rusch with son Alex and parents Sue and Larry McPartlin of Eagle River.
"I gave up attending the games once Brett was gone," said Kelly McPartlin. "When he went to the Jets, I stopped going to Packers games. I just felt a little tension between everything that happened between him and the Packers organization. A lot OK, a lot.
"And I would only come here if Brett was here. I will come again at Thanksgiving and I probably won"t come to another Packers game forever and ever.
"You just had a picture of him in Packer Plus the famous picture with him and his family. I thought that was so appropriate that he"s come from that to this, today. It"s full circle. He"s getting in to the Hall of Fame, his number retired it"s finally happened."
"We love you and appreciate every down," said Larry, beaming.
Fans on Favre
Joe Stewart, Jayson Wissmueller and Matt Bannach got Brett Favre"s autograph Saturday morning, but they"ve been wearing his signature since 2007. The three friends paid $50 each to get his signature tattooed on their arms (Wissmueller and Bannach) and heart (Stewart) right before they deployed to Iraq with a Milwaukee-based Marine Reserves unit.
They showed Favre a photo of themselves taken by a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photographer at Twentynine Palms, Calif.
"He said, "When was this picture taken?" And we said "2007." He said, "You"ve grayed a little,"" Wissmueller joked at a tailgate party at Brett Favre"s Steakhouse shortly before Favre"s induction ceremony.
After the three were featured in another Journal Sentinel story in March, they were contacted by NFL Films, which sent a film crew to follow them around when they arrived in Green Bay on Saturday morning.
After Wissmueller got his picture taken with Favre signing a photo, Favre changed his Twitter feed photo to that of Wissmueller, who gave him an honor coin from Fox Co., his Marine Reserve unit.
"Brett told us, "I"m going to talk to Deanna and ask if I can get your three signatures tattooed on me,"" said Wissmueller.
Bannach and Stewart had Favre sign Packers books for them.
"Kind of the highlight of the day is done," Stewart said before the induction ceremony. "We got Brett"s signature and got a chance to talk to him."
The three were in Iraq when Favre announced his retirement from the Packers. They stayed fans even when he played for the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.
"When I gave him the Fox Co. coin I told him how much he meant to us when we were in Iraq," said Wissmueller. "It"s funny how 10 minutes (to get the tattoo) eight years ago right before we went to Iraq has meant we now got a chance to meet Brett and get his autograph."
Katie Doyle Richenberger is such a big Favre fan she named her 4-year-old son, born in 2010, Brett.
Which makes total sense. Because her brother is named after Bart Starr.
"My dad said he needed a grandson named Brett," said Katie.
Her husband Steve Richenberger? He loves his wife so much that he drove up from their home in Chicago, and he wore a Favre jersey Saturday along with his father, Mike. And since they"re all from Chicago, this was especially a sacrifice, because Steven"s...a Bears fan.
"This will allow me to golf, all of August, and have a fantasy football draft," said Steve. "She would leave me without a doubt for him."
Katie knows she has a supportive family to "support my Brett Favre addiction."
"It was a must to come to this," said Katie, 34. "I think I"m brainwashed from my dad. He was a huge Bart Starr Green Bay Packers fan. From Day 1 that Favre came, I"ve been in love with him.
"His love for the game makes me such a fan. That"s what football is all about. You can feel it from him when he talks, when he plays that"s what makes football fun."
Shirley Krenz of Merrill and her friend Kim Schurter of Edgar drove from their homes to tailgate at Lambeau Field and see their hero get inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. But unlike tens of thousands of other Packers fans, they were not wearing green and gold.
Krenz and Schurter are Minnesota Vikings fans. So at great risk to their personal well-being OK, maybe it was only a few snarky comments they wore purple Vikings jerseys and sat in Vikings lawn chairs in the parking lot.
"When I went to the restroom somebody said, "Go home,"" said Schurter.
Krenz, clad in purple and gold beads around her neck including a purple No. 4 necklace, said they were honoring Favre for his entire career, even when he no longer played for the Packers.
"I love Brett Favre and when he jumped ship to the Vikings, so did I. I"m very happy he"s being inducted into the Hall of Fame," said Krenz, noting that Favre most likely will not be inducted into the Vikings Hall of Fame.
Donna Bocox of Des Moines, Iowa, drove to Green Bay just to see Favre one more time, wearing her specially made Favre jersey.
She actually took three No. 4 jerseys Green Bay, Minnesota and Jets tore them apart and made them into one to represent Favre"s 19 years with the Packers, Vikings and Jets. A lifelong Packers fan her father is from Green Bay this was a can"t-miss moment.
"I have a big shrine at home, all Favre stuff," said Bocox. "I"ve been a fan forever. When I lived in California, I cheered for him with my cheesehead on when they played the "Whiners."
"I didn"t like it when he left but it"s like when your kids screw up. You don"t stop liking them. I"ve loved him all along and you just don"t quit and stop when they screw up a little. You just continue to be a fan."
Karen Goddeyne, Cherie Lochman and Laurie Newman dressed as Packers cheerleaders from the 1950s, complete with green felt poodle skirts sporting the Packers logo and yellow Packers blouses.
They posed for photos with Bruce Roehsner clad in a leather helmet and Acme football uniform from the 1920s.
"I cried through the whole d**n thing," Newman, of Hartland, said of Favre"s appearance inside Lambeau Field.
"He seemed truly appreciative of the fans," said Goddeyne, of Crystal Lake, Ill. "Brett came home today."
Ricardo Salazar and Ricardo Salazar Jr., father and son from Sheboygan, have all four of Favre"s pro jerseys: Atlanta, Green Bay, New York Jets and Minnesota, but Salazar Jr. was nervous to wear the Vikings jersey to this event.
"I told him this is Brett Favre"s day," said Ricardo Salazar, who wore the special limited edition Lambeau No. 4 jersey, with a patch commemorating the 50-year anniversary of Lambeau from 1957-2007.
Football, the Packers and Favre gave father and son another reason to hang out together on Sundays.
"We"re the type of people that get up and scream at the TV and hope that the players can hear us," the older Salazar said. "We are very into our football."
"And then as I got older, he became my favorite player," said Salazar Jr.
"As much as I hated to see him in a purple jersey, Brett Favre is Brett Favre," said dad. "We followed him even when he was playing with the Vikings. It was kind of hard sometimes, but you"ve got to follow Brett Favre."
Joe Navarro of Madison owns 10 cheesehead hats because, well, why not?
He selected one of his cheddar chapeaus to wear to Saturday"s ceremony, taking time to decorate it with a small figurine of Favre on top holding a tiny "I"m Home!" sign. On the sides of his cheesehead he affixed buttons that said: "Always a Packer to Me," "There"s Something About Brett," "Favre Fan 4 Life" and "Welcome Back, Brett."
When Favre still played for the Packers, Navarro would decorate his cheesehead hats for each game. But since Favre left town, Navarro hasn"t returned to Lambeau. On Saturday, it was finally time, he said.
"I"m glad to be back," said Navarro.
Heidi Martin tailgated with Favre in the Lambeau Field parking lot, bringing a life-size cardboard sign of the former Packers quarterback dressed in his uniform, which she leaned against a pickup truck as she and her friends ate and drank in his honor.
She bought the Favre sign years ago and keeps it in her bedroom.
Martin said she"s from Chaska, Minn., "but I bleed green."
Jill Gerth, Karen Campbell, Laura Parman and Amy Terpening are four friends from Madison who have known each other since grade school and high school. When the Packers announced this evening would be available to Favre fans, they rushed to get tickets.
"I sent out an email to my friends and said, "Ladies, this is the weekend that we cannot miss and honor him my honey,"" said Gerth. "This day is overdue. I"m so glad it"s here.
"I just hope that he rode around today and caught a little bit of this the love, because it"s out there. It"s all good. We love him. He put us back on the map. We would not be where we are without him. He is a Packer for life."
"It"s all good memories," said Campbell.
"He was so much fun," said Terpening.
"When he left, I bought a Jets jersey," said Gerth. "But I couldn"t bring myself to buy a Vikings one. I just couldn"t. Brett didn"t look good in purple. He"s good in green. He was so fun to watch. He loved the game and the game loved him."
"It just made you want to watch more," said Parman.
After video highlights inside Lambeau Field fans shouted, "Thank you, Brett!" Among them was Doug Radomski of Neenah, who raised his hat as Favre walked off the field.
"I thought it was amazing. My favorite part of it was when he acknowledged coming out of the other tunnel," said Radomski. "I wasn"t sure if he was going to talk about leaving and coming back as a rival. He made a joke of it, which was nice."
Radomski attended some of the Vikings games at Lambeau when Favre was wearing the hated purple and gold jersey.
Still, he wouldn"t have missed Favre"s Packers Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
"They"re inducting one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL in the greatest stadium in the world and tickets are only 4 bucks. It doesn"t get any better," Radomski said. "Even if tickets cost $100, I still would"ve come."
Jeff Victorovich drove to Lambeau Field from Iron River, Mich., with six other Packers fans. He"s loved the team since he began watching games as a kid with Favre behind center. He was not surprised to see Favre get so emotional at Saturday"s ceremony.
"He"s always had great interaction with his fans. You can see his love for the game," said Victorovich.
Source: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/fans-welcome-brett-favre-back-home-b99539145z1-317149051.html
