Brett Favre’s Legendary Performance after his Dad"s Passing | Packers vs. Raiders FULL GAME | NFL
Updated at 10:44 a.m. ET
CANTON, Ohio The Canton Brewing Company is a few miles away from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was overrun by noon Saturday.
They came for the beer and for Brett Favre. Brian Sterwald was one of those patrons, wearing a Dri-Fit Packers T-shirt while helping his wife Kate corral their two-year-old son Thomas. The Milwaukee native remembers sitting behind home plate at Milwaukee County Stadium when Favre made a mad dash to the pylon for the winning touchdownin the final minute against the Falcons on Dec. 18, 1994.
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Someday, Brian will have to explain the Favre phenomenon that time the mostdevout fanbase in the NFL met the mostexciting quarterback to ever play the game to his son with the right words.
I guess the best way to go about it would be to say he worked hard, Sterwald said. But he did it for fun.
But as with all relationships,there were complications.
The Sterwalds. (Bill Bender/SN)
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The first step toward understanding the phenomenon is knowing the details. Thats an unmistakable trademark of die-hard Packer fans.
Jeff Braun sat across the restaurant from the Sterwalds with his wife Wanda and son Chris. For identification purposes, Jeff wore the white Favre jersey, Wanda had the pink one and Chris wore the green. They made the drive from Thiensville, Wis., where they met their friends Tim and CindiBrophey, from Bentonville, Ark.
Jeff has the same story as everybody else about Favres memorable debut against the Bengals. Just listen to the way he tells it:
I was at that Cincinnati game when (Packers quarterback Don) Majkowski got hurt, Braun says. I was sitting in the north end zone when (Favre)threw that pass to Kitrick Taylor in the corner of the end zone there for the touchdown, and from then on it was just nuts after that.
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Thats the MO. Every Packers fan knows where they were every time Brett Favre did something Favrian. They make the connections whenever possible. When the Bropheys moved to Arkansas, they were house-hunting on a street that shared the same name as their son David. They looked at the street number.
It simply said 4. Sold.
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The Favre jerseys hoveredaround the Hall of Fame early Saturday morning, hours before the museum opened up.
Rick and Angi Galaszewski made the eight-hour trip from Pewaukee, Wis., with their son Nathan and daughter Abby. Pewaukee is the home town to Texans standout J.J. Watt, too, but Rick idolizes Favre first. His jersey is the lighter-green hue that typified the 90s Packers look. They were in line before the Hall of Fame opened.
Rick tried to explain the breakup the way Green Bay and Favre parted ways, which led to stints with the Jets and Vikings and thats when he exchanged a conversation with his wife.
We were happy that he came back, Rick said before being cut off.
Did he come back? his wife asked.
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Rick mentions the ceremony at last seasons Thanksgiving night game against the Bears when Favres jersey was retired, and that settles the argument.
But thats when Angi kicks up the other part.
Technically, (Aaron) Rodgers is a better quarterback, she said. But was Favre more fun to watch.
Thats something most Packersfans would say right now.
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The Favre-Rodgers dynamic appears to be settled for the most part, even if some fans havent let all of that go.
Jeff Braun did not like it when Packers fans swore off Favre when he left the Jets.
The bandwagon jumpers tick me off a little bit, Braun said. He didnt leave;the Packers let him go.
The Brauns and Bropheys. (Bill Bender/SN)
Braun even attended the Vikings-Cowboys divisional playoff game in the 2009-10 NFC Divisional playoffs in a Packers Favre jersey with his son and two friends.
We were treated as equals, Chris said.
For Braun, theres still that divide between rooting for Favre and rooting for Rodgers. For a 10-year-old like Nathan Galaszewski, thats not a problem. Asked who is better, he simply shrugged his shoulders.
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Sterwald doesnt have that issue either. He said Favre leaving was a non-issue. Thats probably softened by the fact Rodgers led the Packers to a win in Super Bowl XLV in his third year as a starter. Kate turned from helping Thomas with his lunch before saying it best.
Its like striking gold twice, she said.
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If there wasany doubt how Packers fans feel now, take alook at the line by Favres locker inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The line stretched to the entranceway, and most of the fans in the Packers Favre jersey strategically covered up theVikings Favre jersey before posing for a picture.
The line outside Favre"s locker. (Bill Bender/SN)
The Canton Brewing Company likely wasnt alone. Favre remains the Packersfan version of Elvis, the savior who took a bottom-feeder classic franchise and turned them into a Super Bowl contender. The eight- to 10-hour drive made it that easy.
Those are details Favre noticed. Favre explained at length all those Lambeau Field memories. He knows the details, too. He also knew the feeling when he ran out of the tunnel wearing a Vikings helmet. Strangely, he said, thats when he found out just how special a place Green Bay was.
Thats why the Canton Brewing Company was overrun with green by noonand why the Pro Football Hall of Fame became a Packers playground on Saturday.
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They came to see Favre, the every-man, the savior and the prodigal son. Every relationship is complicated, but this one ended where it started. Thats why the Galaszewskis made that eight-hour drive. This is one more (last?) chance to see Favre, and a chance to bring all those memories back.
Its a chance of a lifetime, Rick Galaszewski said.
Who could argue with that?
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The Galaszewskis, Sterwalds, Brauns and Bropheys all got their wish in the early evening at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. ESPNs Chris Berman continually egged the crowd on to chant Go Pack Go! before the guest of honor finally arrived.
Thats when the cheers unleashed. This was the perhaps the final time to see Favre in a setting of this magnitude. The gray beard. The gold jacket. Favre thanks his family with a poignant tribute to his father Irvin before running through his coaches and teammates. Favre would get booed every time at the mere mention of Minnesota, but he finally worked to that moment.
The fans, the fans, he said to the largest cheer of the evening.
I tell you Packers fans are pretty special, Favre said. I often wondered what it was like when Mike (Holmgren) and Matt Hasselbeck came back to play when they were with Seattle, and then I found out. It aint easy. It aint easy. But I thank you so much from Atlanta to Minnesota, 20 years.
There was a brief moment of apprehension before Favre erased that doubt once and for all those who came to see the legend their legend one more time.
Make no mistake about it, Favre said before the only one that will ever matter. Ill be remembered as a Packer.
Source: http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/brett-favre-pro-football-hall-of-fame-weekend-packers-fans-green-bay/huehmnanbvn51o0wc4yp4hx2a
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