Brett Favre: Pain, Perseverance, and Overcoming Addiction

31:03What do you think you most learned from him? You know, the thing is with my dad, and it never bothered me because I was one of those that I was self-motivated enough. And I had this conversation with people all the time, and you talk about what it was like with their dad growing up, especially down in the South, and it was this tough love. he may tell other people, boy, I am proud of that boy. I never heard that. I know he was proud of me, but it was almost like this fear of being soft, you know, from his standpoint or from, you know, he had to be tough all the time. And even when I'd made it, you know, but that was okay because, you know, regardless of how I played in any game, I never, I mean, there were some times after a game, I was like, you know, I played pretty good.

32:01You know, I may not tell people that, but I felt that way. Right. But even in those times, I would say, but you know, that, that was, that's what's tough about playing the game for me, or was tough, is at some point, the expectations were so great, even I couldn't, that I placed upon myself, the better you play, the tougher it is to outdo yourself if that makes any sense um and that's the way my dad was like after a game i mean that's the way i looked at my career and the way i played i was always i was never like okay finally you know i've arrived i mean that's the way i need to play it was it i never felt that way yeah was i content at times but i always pushed myself so what he would do or say um didn't really bother me a whole lot because I was still you know internally was the same way but I did it's at times would be like thinking I wouldn't say anything but I'd be thinking you know I mean a good job would be good to hear right now you know like where you played well but if odd boy you know it wasn't bad but you can play a little bit better than that or what what happened on that one play I'd be like might be 70 good plays and there was one bad one and he would he would bring that to light um and i you know um i think part of growing up part of being a parent is learning from your mistakes learning from what your parents say or as a parent learning from past mistakes that maybe your parents made or said.

33:40And, you know, he, I mean, it was tough love. I mean, and he was a coach first with me. And I would say to him at times, like when I was playing high school football for him, I'd say, Dad, I think we ought to throw it some. Well, I think you ought to let me run the damn team and you just, you do what I say. And I'm like, you know, kind of the gee, thanks. You know, I wouldn't say that, but I'm like, if you want your son to get a scholarship, now I wouldn't say that to him. But I'm thinking to myself, surely he wants me to get a scholarship. He's got to throw the ball. But long story short, it worked out, and we didn't throw the ball.

34:25And that makes him look like, you rocked me. Except it did almost prevent you from getting a scholarship because you did have this strong arm and nobody could see it. Yeah, but he didn't look at it that way. Absolutely right. You know, to him almost was 100 % guaranteed. Right. You know, it all worked out in the end, and that's the way he looked at things, that he didn't have to change his coaching style or whatever. And I do know that he was not going to change, even if it was for the better of the team, in regards to his son. So he was not going to throw, even if it would have helped the team, because he didn't want people to think that he was playing favoritism to his son.

35:17And that's wrong. I'm not saying let's do what's best for me and the heck with the rest of the team. But you should help your son out if he's the best player. But, yeah, I'm going to stick to my guns. And it was a crazy thing. My older brother played for him. They threw it all the time. And I was a much better thrower than my brother. He may say differently. You think he was tougher on you? Oh, absolutely. And Scott, my older brother, and Jeff, my younger brother, would probably say the same thing for whatever reason. And only he could answer that. Of course, he's gone now, but only he could answer that.

36:01My only, I just think that he saw maybe more in me, not anything against my two brothers. Scott and I were a lot alike size-wise, throwing. I probably was a little bigger and maybe a little more physical than him. I was taller than Jeff. But maybe dad saw something in me that set me apart from those two. I don't know. And so maybe he was hard on me because of that. You were out on a golf course and you didn't have your cell phone with you. Your wife calls the teammate that you're with and he turns to you and tells you the tragic news that your father had passed away, had a heart attack. You have Monday night football.

36:49the next day that you're supposed to be playing in and are left with the decision of whether to play in the game or fly home to Mississippi. Why do you decide to play? It was easy. It was a tough choice, but it was an easy choice, if that makes any sense. Up to that point, any conversations with my dad always involved football. As far back as I could remember and as I look back at even today, if I saw a picture of me as a child before, you know, I could remember and I just see a picture, it has to do with football or baseball. Not working on the truck, not sawing down trees, not, you know, going to a business meeting.

37:41You know, it was football or baseball. And that's what we did. That's who we were. That's what we talked about. And when I say that that's what he would have wanted me to do, that's the truth. Tough. Tough to do it in those circumstances. But that was the—I look at it this way. Thankfully for me, I was not in the situation of my two brothers and my sister to have to be there where I could kind of get away from it. There's nothing I could do by being there. But I was so relieved, not necessarily at that moment, but as I look back on that moment, I was so relieved that I had football to take me away from that.

38:31You know, I had something to distract my mind. and all the teammates it was such an amazing moment in such a tragic circumstance to see how the guys rallied around me and I really at that point really understood what a team and a family we really was about now the tough part was I knew I I needed to play and who I wanted to play but I didn't want play and play bad i felt like playing and playing bad was not honoring my dad playing and playing at a high level was but you know i could have never have imagined to play the way i did i was so fearful that i would just lay an egg understandably so i was more fearful that more so than that i would have played the way i did and that's apparently the only game you've ever been really scared for leading into that?

39:38Yeah, you know, that was by far the most nervous I've ever been for a game, Super Bowls included. I think the only one that would be close would be Green Bay and Lambeau when I was with Minnesota. But still, you know, the pressure that I felt to play the best I've ever played right after my dad died was, I can't even relate to you how that felt. And because of that, I don't think you ever, I don't think there's a whole lot of good that comes out of like a scared type of nervousness. I think there is a fine line there. And I thought I was on the I'm going to screw up side more than I was on. and it's okay to be a little nervous and anxious and excited, but I fell more on the, you know, I'm going to lay an egg, and that's never a good approach.

40:39I don't believe you like giving speeches, but you asked the head coach to speak to the team. What did you say? You know, I don't even remember exactly what I – I've only done that a couple times as a leader of the team for 20 years. The guys that I played with would probably tell you Brett didn't talk very much. Now when I played I was probably more vocal. I was never a rah-rah guy, but I was always a motivational guy, but in the moment, not like prior to the game. You didn't see me call the team up and give this Newt Rockne type of speech. It just wasn't my nature even though I wasn't a quiet guy.

41:21I would kind of turn into a different guy like once. I was never controversial until a game. I would yell at a referee or get get hostile where if I saw the guy on the street I would never complain about a call. That was just not my nature and that's the way I was with with with speaking with the team and you know I don't remember exactly what I said but I think it was probably along the lines of not sure how I play you know more or less what I've told you that I want to play at a high level for obvious reasons, but we still had a chance for the playoffs. I do remember that. We needed to win that game and the next game and need some help from other teams.

42:04So it was crucial that we won. And I didn't want to take away or distract from what our main focus was, and that's to get to the playoffs. And I think the guys that I played with over the years would say that that's true, that his focus was the team. And so I didn't want to take away, but I needed the guys' help more than anything. I need your help to carry me through. I don't want to play and play bad and hurt this team. And you say, well, you had an excuse. I didn't want an excuse, but I did need their help, and that's more or less what I tried to get across. As the players are running out, you're playing Oakland, in Oakland.

42:43The Raiders fans are doing player after player after player. Then you come out. What's the crowd reaction? It was literally a standing ovation, and you're right. Even in the best of circumstances, for their home team, they don't get that type of response. So I was, and if Deanna was here right now, she'd tell you the same thing. The response from the Oakland fans was, whether it was Oakland or anywhere else, it just happened to be Oakland, which makes it even more impressive because of how tough they are. The respect that they gave was unbelievable. We had a police escort after us because Deanna and I chartered a plane.

43:31We flew back to Green Bay. It was right before Christmas. We got a Christmas present from under the tree. We loaded them up in a plane, and we went to Mississippi for the funeral and the wake. So it was a crazy couple of days. So right after the game, instead of flying back with the team, we went ahead right away. And they gave a police escort that would make, I think, the president blush. I mean, it was that special. And it started with the standing ovation as I run out. And I've played in Oakland a fair amount. It ain't usually that way. So I was truly thankful to the city of Oakland. You had 399 yards, four touchdowns, one of the finest performances of your career.

44:20How much did that mean to you? Oh, my goodness. It was better. What I had envisioned or how I had envisioned playing, which obviously was good. I had envisioned playing well. So I far exceeded what I had hoped how I would play. You know, I mean, there were some of the best throws. As I think back to that game, there were a couple throws that would rank as maybe some of my best ever. Really? But there were also some that had no chance of being caught by our guys. But yet they were. And so it was just one of those nights. You started for a record 18 and a half years straight in the NFL, 297 games or 321 games, including playoffs.

45:15What's the most difficult part? And I should say, that's the record that you're most proud of. What's the most difficult part of doing that? Boy, I don't, you know, that's, I could give you a long list. Physically, you know, I would think if you polled 10 people who knew a little bit about football and you said, what would be the toughest? You probably would get, well, physically, I would say from 8 out of 10, we'd probably say physically, the demand that you face week in, week out, that somewhere along the way, you're going to get hurt bad enough to not play, whether you want to play or not. Something's going to happen.

45:59And I would say that that would be the case. The law of averages is going to catch up with you 18 and a half years. You sprain an ankle, you tear a knee ligament, you break a thumb. And I say that because I did all those. Or you come down with the flu so bad, you know. I mean, you would think that that, so that from a, I mean, there was times that when I broke my thumb, for example, I thought I didn't think, okay, the streak's over. Thumb on the throwing hand. Thumb on the throwing hand. If you just asked me or said to me before I'd ever broken my thumb, if you said, you know, would you think a broken thumb when you're throwing a hand would be enough to keep you out?

46:48And I said, well, absolutely. A thumb on my throwing hand? I mean, I'm done. But yet I ended up playing and playing great with that. A torn knee ligament. I can't tell you how many times I've hurt my ankle. I can't tell you how many times I've separated my shoulders, had concussions. But mentally, you know, in order to play that long, just say you withstand the physical part of it, it's tough to be good week in, week out consistently long enough that they don't have to worry about that position where they just, you know, he's got that handled. If you go four or five weeks in a row where you absolutely suck, they're going to play someone else.

47:36They have to. You can't go in a slump for too long. And so from that standpoint, so physically if you're okay, it's being good consistently enough for a long time. Well, it's interesting you say that because your brother has said before that part of the reason behind the streak is, you know, if you go down, that gives somebody else an opportunity to start at quarterback. And if you don't go down, somebody else doesn't have that opportunity. So how much was there that is sort of motivation? I always had the little man on my shoulder saying, remember how you played. You came in the game because the guy in front of you got hurt and no one knew who you were.

48:17and now no one knows who he is. And that's the way it works. And so you need to always be looking over your shoulder. And even when I had won three MVPs in a row, from the outside looking in, you may have thought, that guy's not worried about his job. I always was worried about my job. Because you're only, I mean, I was never, I was naive and come across as old country dumb guy. But I knew that you were a play away from never playing again and someone else comes in and their first throw is a touchdown and the crowd goes wild and it's not about you and how quickly they can forget you. I knew that.

49:06I knew that. So I always reminded myself of that and always pushed myself and motivated myself to never, if I could get myself up and come back and play, I didn't necessarily do it because I didn't want the other guy to play, although that was part of it. I did it because I loved to play, and I wanted the guys to be able to count on me no matter what, and I took a lot of pride in that. But I also knew that they'll forget you pretty quickly. What expectations did you have for yourself when you entered the NFL? I tell people this all the time. I played 20 years. There wasn't a day that went by growing up in Mississippi that I did not dream of playing football.

49:55But I never dreamed. All the dreams that I had about football were all, and not too many people can say this, first of all came true, but were far exceeded by what I actually accomplished. And that's such an amazing thing because most people, it's like, you know, I dreamed of this, but I never got that chance or whatever. For me, I dreamed of playing in the National Football League. I loved Archie Manning. I was a Saints fan. It was tough back then. But I really was a Cowboys fan. I loved Roger Stalbeck. And I was both of those guys. I was out in the yard all the time. You know, last second, I was running around, and I just envisioned being them, running out on the field in the Superdome as a saint like Archie Manning did, running out as Roger Stahlbeck.

50:49And that's really what I dreamed of. I didn't dream of winning three MVPs. I didn't dream of playing 297 straight games. I didn't dream I did dream of playing the Super Bowl but I didn't Pro Bowl all those other things I didn't that it Hall of Fames all that never crossed my mind I just wanted to play and and then before I knew it all this other stuff had happened and so my expectations were to always play and whatever came along with it came along with it but so it mean that you know it's such an amazing thing to say that you're you out you know you you outdid your dream how competitive are you well I I don't know how competitive I am now probably still am it's just hard to you know how do you relate that to playing in the National Football League.

51:53But when I was playing, I think that's what set me apart from most of the guys. It wasn't that I was the tallest, the fastest, the biggest, the smartest, but I was the most competitive. I was determined. And then that filters down, what does that necessarily mean?

52:14Competitive is such a vague word. I knew no one wanted to win as bad as I wanted to win. I just knew that. And I was determined that whatever I had to do to win, I was going to do. If I had to block, if I had to hand off, if I had to throw, if I had to come from behind, if I had to work harder than the next guy, whatever I had to do, I was going to do. uh i i heard a story um that you challenged a teammate to a punt kick and pass contest something outside it was a pass contest a pass contest uh and he ends up beating you and you're furious afterwards well actually the one i'm thinking of he didn't beat me okay it was actually a good friend of mine billy joe tolliver who was we're still great friends today and he was so much like me it wasn't funny because he thought he was the best he thought he should have been a starter we were both he was second string i was third string in atlanta and um we were so much alike we hated each other i mean technically we didn't hate each other but we we thought about everything and he had a great arm he did is there a downside to being that competitive i don't know um i'm sure there's a downside to anything.

53:37It worked for me. It's a little more disheartening when you lose something when you're so competitive because it matters so much to you. And the littlest things matter to you. And my wife is ultra competitive too. And so even when we're on teams, we're competing against each other. And that's... So I think the downside, if there is one, is that when you're playing checkers. You love to play, you know, you love to compete. You lose at checkers. I mean, it's not life or death, but you get the point. I mean, it's, but again, stuff matters to you. You know, I think it should. You know, some matter more than others.

54:24Winning the Super Bowl matters more than winning a game of checkers, I would think. But I think the really good players, I would say most of them are super competitive because it really matters to them. Not only does it matter winning or losing, but being the best or being an impact player, being the one who I wanted to be the one who had the ball. I wanted to be the one who made a difference or did make a difference. Of course, I wanted to make a difference in a positive way. I wanted to win the game. I didn't want to be watching. As tough as it may be, I wanted to be the one out there who determined whether we won or lost.

55:06What do you think is responsible for your success? I thank God more than anything. There's some things we can control, some things we can't control. The good Lord had blessed me with, and it happens to a lot of people, they're blessed with something maybe that they know they have, and then in some cases they don't know they have. and it's up to parents or a coach or a teacher or something to bring that out of them. And, of course, my dad brought that out of me, but I knew I had a gift. I didn't know how far it would take me, but I knew I could throw better than anyone. Now, accuracy and learning to read defenses and all those things had to come along with it, but there was no one could out-throw me.

55:51And I was this little skinny kid. It's like when I went to the LSU football camp as a 15-year-old kid. No one, they walked past me and didn't think twice about me. I was that big around. I had freckles. My knees were actually bigger than my thighs. I mean, I just, I came down and kind of did like this. And, again, I would be the one picked last. But when I threw it, you know, everyone stopped and was like, whoa, who is this? And I knew that set me apart. And in this determination, I knew that I had that. I just never, there was never one day that went by, and I honestly can say that, that I didn't think I would make it.

56:36Imagine how disheartening it would have been had I not made it. But, you know, there was never doubt. That's the thing that I think about that is just as amazing to me, that not one day went by that I thought, you know, I mean, the chances are not good. I always thought the chances were good. You mentioned your MVPs, and there's one year in particular I want to ask you about, because as part of the preparation for this interview, I just found it impressive and extraordinary what you went through and the fact that you were still able to have great success that year. You won an MVP and then have success in the seasons after that, and that's 1996.

57:17The first nine months of the year were presumably really tough on you. You know, your now wife and daughter almost leave because of your painkiller addiction. Your sister was arrested for being in the car during a drive-by shooting. Your brother drives drunk, gets in an accident that kills your close friend. What was the difficulty like for you involved with going through all that? Well, you know, I thank God that I made it through. but I you know and I don't want to sound like I don't want to say that selfishly because there were other people involved in all this that were directly affected or indirectly affected by the trickle-down effect if you will the one constant through all that was football and it was a for me it was a good place to escape and I shouldn't say hide, but I was able to just, it was kind of like talking to someone when I played football.

58:32It was kind of like going back to, you know, talking about when my dad passed away. I would much rather have been playing than to sit in a funeral home. And that's just me. It gave me a way to escape, but also feel like I was actually doing something good, you know, or trying to do something good. You know, and it just so happens that that was the year we won the Super Bowl. You know, go figure. You know, and I say this more so lately, that as I've gotten older, you know, my belief in God has gotten stronger, but God's timing is not our timing.

59:23And, you know, that's a perfect example of, you know, why me? And then all of a sudden, you know, like you go from the worst to the best feeling. and you say, oh, sorry, God, you know, but life goes on. And we sure have, and I sure have faced my demons and circumstances, you know, not unlike a lot of other people. It's just that some people you don't know about. But being able to overcome those and doing something positive with your life is the most important thing. Not necessarily, I mean, football games you've won, but just, I think, a daily walk with the people you confront. What type of impact do you leave on them?

1:00:21And so I felt like football was a way to, it wasn't really my focus, but I realized that over time that I made a positive impact on people. Now, if I sucked, it would be different. But fortunately, I didn't suck enough that I was able to withstand. You know, I read the book you wrote many years back, and I was really surprised by how open and honest you were about the Vicodin addiction, which also, you know, 96, same period. What led to all of that happening, in your opinion? I don't think I can put my finger on one particular thing other than pain pill addiction obviously started because of pain.

1:01:11Now, there came a point, and I don't know exactly when that point was, where it wasn't about the pain anymore. It was about the effect. and what started out as harmless, I say harmless, I mean I have a sprained ankle, my ankle's killing me, or a separated shoulder, you take, rightfully so, you take a couple pain pills, get through the night, and by no means am I blaming it on any person or football itself. It's just, and some people are more prone to addictions than others. I mean, I could almost teach a class on addictions, not that I'm an expert, but somewhere in your genetic makeup, you're probably more susceptible to addictions than others, and you just need the right opportunity to kickstart it.

1:02:02And in my case, that probably was first separated shoulder or ankle. Then it got to where you become a great manipulator. In what ways? When you were not hurt, I needed a couple more pain pills. Man, my shoulder's killing me. Who's going to argue? To what extent did you feel like at the time that you needed it to play well? I don't think I needed it. Well, it's been a long time, but I knew what I was doing. I knew that I didn't necessarily need it, but I sure liked the way it felt. And I knew it was wrong. How did it feel? Well, you know, I tell people all the time, I took 15 biking an ES at one time, and they were like, that didn't knock you out?

1:03:01And I said, it did totally the opposite. I was up. And that's kind of the way with addictions, too. What it's supposed to do, it doesn't. So when you take two pain pills, you're knocked out, and you don't feel pain, you wake up, what, four, five, six, eight hours later. I would be up just talking. I mean, I didn't want to sleep until about 10 o 'clock the next morning when we were in offensive meetings. It was about the only time I wanted to sleep. Not a good time to want to sleep. And I'd doze off, leaning back into like a coat rack in our quarterback's meeting room. So, I mean, it was, and this went on for a long time.

1:03:49It wasn't just 96. How long? That's when people knew about it because of the announcement. I don't know. I mean, it started. three years before maybe. I mean I was taking pain pills before that but maybe not abuse them. It took a while before maybe there's probably this period where you don't really know that you're abusing them. You don't really know that you're manipulating the system. And then there comes a point where you go, I really don't need these. But when that exactly was, I don't know. Again, it was a long time ago. How long were you taking 15 a day for? You know, I don't remember how the dynamics of it worked.

1:04:34but say two gave me an effect that I liked. After a month, two didn't do anything, so you needed three, and it may have been less than that. And then four, and so on and so forth. And again, I don't remember how long it took before you had to graduate up to more, but I knew that 15 was hard to come by. It was hard to get access to. A month's prescriptions was 30 pills or something, depending on what they prescribe for you. And I was going through that in two days. Wow. So I was having a hustle. I'd ask this guy for pills and that guy for pills and that guy for pills. After a while, I was going back around pretty quickly.

1:05:25Did people start scratching their heads? I thought no. I was the last one to know. You know, it's one of those things that no one knows what's going on. But like my wife says, she goes, everyone knew. But I thought no one knew. You mentioned sleep. I think one of the side effects was you only sleep like an hour, two hours a night. It caused you to throw up a lot. You would drink like gallons of water, yet you wouldn't even be able to pee apparently. You know, the adverse effects probably, it was probably good that I was 23, 24, 25 years old because you can overcome a lot because of your age. If I sleep five hours now, I'm terrible the next day.

1:06:17It's harder as a 40-year-old or more to get a good night's sleep for whatever reason. You wake up. I guess you've got to go to the bathroom. But now, not drinking, not taking pain pills, all that stuff, I feel pretty good. But even then, I think back and I go, wow, how in the world did I do it? What happened at the 96 ESPYs that made your wife confront you about it? Probably about like some of the other times where I just had taken too many pain pills and drank at the same time. Not a good combination. One of them is not a good thing to do. And just, I vaguely remember that situation, but I mean, I probably had promised her that I wouldn't take pain pills and again thought I had everything under control and probably was throwing up and self-destructing, much like I had before.

1:07:27And I'd had two seizures after this incident that you're talking about. One was in the hospital in Green Bay after an ankle surgery. And I woke up, all these doctors, and Deanna and our oldest daughter, Brittany, looked like someone had died. And I'm like, what's the deal? and they said, you just had a seizure. I'm like, for what? And then I had another one at our house in Green Bay two nights before one of our games. And all this was a result of a lack of sleep, which was brought upon because of pain pills. So, I mean, I was getting, and I just remember meeting with all kinds of doctors and neurologists and not to sound like a doctor, but more or less what I was told was your brain is a computer.

1:08:21Yours is short-circuiting because of the lack of sleep. You need sleep, and so I like to sleep as much as the next person, but I like the effect of pain pills more at the time. So it was a dangerous game. So the second one really, you know, you think the first one would scare you enough. It was the second one? The second one scared me enough, I thought, because it wasn't that far apart from the first one. And one seizure, when you're not a seizure person, should be scary enough. But that really struck fear in me. How did you quit? You know what? I'd love to give you some big formula on how I quit.

1:09:10But I just, I had about four pills left and was trying to figure out how I was going to get more pills again. And I don't remember the day or the exact moment, but it was, you know, not long after, actually right before we won the Super Bowl, somewhere in that time frame. And I just, I mean, I had kind of hit rock bottom. I mean, I shouldn't even say kind of. I mean, even though things around me seemed like they were good, internally I'd hit rock bottom. And I said, I'm going to flush these down the toilet, the remainders. And I remember when I poured them in the toilet and it started to flush, I almost crawled in the toilet to go after them because I thought, what in the world did you just do?

1:10:03I mean, I just had such a dependency on those. and it's not I was taking 15 a night any expert would tell you that's not the way to wean yourself off of you should start with 12 maybe in the 10 and slowly decrease I just went cold turkey and I'm not I don't say that braggingly but I know that that was the worst month as far as any kind of recovery that I've ever went through. I shook every night, cold sweats, and just, it was a constant battle, a month or two of what I do now. And then, now I can't believe I ever drank. So, you know, there's that window that if you can get past, that's the way I look at it, if you can get past that hump, and it's different for everyone.

1:11:00But you can do it, you know. I mean, And it's been so long that I think people who are close to me even would almost say, you know, it wasn't that bad. People have forgotten. Well, I mean, it's been over 20 years. You know, drinking is closing down 20 years. I mean, I quit 98. I haven't had a drop since. I haven't missed it. First couple months I did. But now, I mean, you can drink. I mean, it doesn't bother me. I'm not going to drink. I don't want to. I'm not gonna I can say that in front of you or when I'm by myself driving home I don't say well maybe one I just I'm to a point where I'm beyond that I've had it's been a long time ago but had my wisdom teeth cut out after I'd quit taking pain pills and I wanted to take pain pills that had to be hard right that was extremely hard that was that was probably the toughest test I'd ever had.

1:11:54My mouth hurt so bad, but I just, you know, I think you gain something in those times. I don't recommend, you know, putting yourself through those struggles all the time, but when you win those battles, you become stronger. And I can't tell you how many times after games since I had quit taking pain pills that it crossed my mind, and I was like, Nah, you know, just it wasn't. I mean, I had I had the upper hand on it by that time. What do you remember from blacking out on the final snap of your career? I just remember when I got there was no pain. God pushed me. We were playing the University of Minnesota, playing Chicago, harmless.

1:12:41You know, I'd love to say that the guy hit me hard, but it was just a push and the field was solid ice almost. Hard, cold, threw a little swing route to the left. The guy pushed me and I just kind of slipped and lost my footing. And I fell over and just hit the left side of my head, which that's probably been done thousands of times. And the next thing that I remember, I was snoring. Our trainer had came out on the field, Eric Sugarman. We call him Shug. And he's like, hey, buddy, you all right? I was kind of laying on my stomach, my head on, turned to my right a little bit, and I was snoring.

1:13:22I was taking a good nap. And he says, you're all right? And I said, hey, I was snoring. It's kind of like he woke me up. And he said, I know, buddy, you had a concussion. And I thought, no pain, nothing. It was just, in fact, I kind of warmed up a little bit. I was freezing before then. And I got up and I kind of looked over and I said, well, a couple of bears, Erlacher and Lance Briggs, a few of those guys are clapping. I said, what are they doing here? And I think I took one step towards the bear sideline and Suge said, oh, come over here with me, buddy. And went straight to the sideline and I said, let's go on into the locker room.

1:13:58I figured after 20 years I should be able to say what I want to do. Went right in, took a shower, put my street clothes on, got a jacket, got hot chocolate and a chili dog, and I never looked back. Never missed it since. Versus New England in 2010. Tell about why you were thinking fireworks were going off. Oh, yeah. Really, well, it was the only time, first of all, in 20 years that I was ever cut anywhere. And I was cut right here on my chin, which you would think as a quarterback, you play 20 years, you'd catch a helmet to the chin. Sure. That would happen more than one occasion. But no. It was kind of like the writing on the wall.

1:14:44The week before against Green Bay, I broke my foot, broke my calcaneus, which I didn't even know what a calcaneus was. It's your heel bone. Okay. Give you a little. Learn something new every day. Anatomy lesson. But the next week I go and I play against New England. We don't have a chance for playoffs. My foot's broken. I'm thinking, why am I even trying to play? Who am I trying to impress here? John Wayne. So I play and I ended up playing well. We got a chance to win. We're driving late in the game. My good friend Steve Hutchinson, a great player. He's our left guard. Been a great player for a long time.

1:15:23Was outstanding. He, one of the few times in his career he ever whiffed on a guy. He misses his guy completely. I'm like on the three yard line. I see his guy coming and I throw it. But as soon as I throw it, man, the lights went out and then kind of like fireworks went off. And I get hit right in the chin. And Steve's like over the top of me. I look up and he's like, hey, man, you all right? And I said, what is fireworks going off for? And he's like, oh, you just got hit in the chin. I'm sorry. And he said, man, you're bleeding bad. And I was like, man, my chin was killing me. And I had a gash like that had opened up like that wide and there was meat hanging out of it.

1:16:03went right in and got it sewed up my oldest daughter was there um at the game um she came down while they were sewing me up and i remember looking at her said britney this is it you know i mean i of course um i think everyone else knew it was it too but i i knew broken foot first time i've ever been cut not along along with that a concussion um i mean it was it was not to mention age, it was just time. It seems like, you know, when it rains, it pours and the injuries. Injuries at 21 are a lot easier to deal with than they are at 41. How many concussions do you think you got during your career?

1:16:47Here's where the problem to me lies. Not that it really matters at this point. What's done is done. But what is technically, scientifically, or medically a concussion? We know when you see a guy or a boxer, for example, get knocked out, that's a concussion. But what about when you get hit and, like in football, a lot of times you don't know it. Even I'm watching now and I may, I think to myself, he may have had a concussion. You'll see a guy get up and it's when bells are ringing a little bit or flash bulbs are going off. And that's stuff that people don't see. You see when someone's out cold and they get up and they don't know what sideline to go to.

1:17:35That's easy. I guess my point is, of the true, he's got a concussion. Were the outside looking in those? Two, three, maybe. Maybe. But what about the ones that I got up, ran the next play? You never thought anything of it. But the old saying, bell was ringing. Endless. Endless. No telling. And my understanding, as we find out more about those, the toll of those may be even greater than the big ones. But again, there's nothing you can do about it. How would it affect you when, whether you got a concussion that everybody knows about or you got one that nobody knew about? You know, I didn't think much about it.

1:18:20I mean, this was at a time, and it's not that long since I retired, but I'm talking about back in college. early part of pro career that you were a sissy, pardon my term there, but you were a sissy if you if your bell was rung and you let that keep you out. And you know everyone reacts to different, to pains or hits or something differently. What may keep one guy out of a game, the next guy may not be out of play. And, you know, early in my career I was so, I mean, I was taking pain pills. I don't know what normal felt like. I couldn't tell you if I had a concussion and I felt woozy because of a concussion or if it was because of pain.

1:19:10I have no idea. I would probably say the pain pills. But there were times after I'd gotten clean and sober that I did have what would be borderline concussion, I guess. And I had headaches for a day or two. I don't know if it's hard to say if it ever affected the way I played. I'd have to go back and, you know, maybe too far gone to see if that day or two after, if there's really... They're just starting to learn the effects of concussions, and it's not good. That's a scary thing. How concerned are you about the long-term side effects? You know, only when I do interviews like this. Okay. When us dumb media types bring it up.

1:19:57I jokingly say, but that is partly, there's really not a whole lot I can do. Worrying, as I tell, or we tell our youngest daughter all the time, no sense in worrying about something you can't control. Right now, you know, there's no sense in worrying. I mean, I feel, I can't say I feel normal. I don't know what normal, but I feel pretty good mentally and physically. And so cross that bridge when we get to it. Do you have any side effects now? I don't know. I don't know.

1:20:35it's like after you have a concussion in the national football league you have to take a baseline test but you have to have a starting point and for us older players they started this like when I was in my 15th year so there's 15 15 years of wear and tear that we don't know now if you're you know if you've never had a concussion you take this test you got a pretty a starting point. And you get what we think is a concussion and next time you take the test you score considerably lower, your motor skills are out of whack, we kind of know where you are and what the effect of getting hit in the head has on you.

1:21:18With me it's the way it is. The protocol now is a lot better but it doesn't help the older guys a lot.

1:21:29You In fact, coming back from the movies last night, Deanna said, you know, you tell, I was telling, I was talking about an old story that she knew about that I don't know how it came up. And I was like, yeah, and she goes, that's not the way it went. And I said, surely it is. I'm the one who the story's about, but I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember, but it's not right. And she said, well, I got news for you. All the stories you tell are not right. who might argue but is that is that a is that age is that concussions is that both or is that just I'm a terrible storyteller right I say all of the above I think I'm a pretty good storyteller even though they're not necessarily right all the time so there isn't though any obvious memory loss or pain that no okay no you said before if you had a son you probably wouldn't let him play football i don't know yeah i mean i told matt lauer that um and maybe maybe what i should have said is and maybe i did say it but it would be tough i i don't see how i could not let him play um because i'd always i mean i can't make him not play, but if he chose not to, I don't think I would be that upset.

1:22:54And for two reasons. The expectations would be if he never, in my mind, I may be proud of him, but to everyone else, if he doesn't exceed what I did, then he's a failure. Not everybody I can be Peyton and Eli, you know, and outdo what their dad did. So from that standpoint, I would hate for him to be faced with that. You know, your dad did this, why didn't you do that? So on and so forth. But also the physical effect as we're just finding out. I mean, I know football is a violent sport, and I would have trouble watching him as a – You know, it's kind of talking earlier about things we did as a kid.

1:23:44And now as an adult, I'm thinking, my goodness, I can't believe I did that. I'd be worried sick about my kids. That's the way I would feel as I watched him play. Just hate for him to get hit. Worried about him getting up, not getting up. The cumulative effect of that, not to mention the pressure he would face daily to be the best. Aaron Rodgers, he has made it pretty clear that when you guys were playing, when you were the starter, when he was the backup, you guys really didn't have much of a relationship. Why do you think that was? That's not uncommon. You know, we watched film together. His locker was, you know, like right there from mine.

1:24:39We were in meetings together daily. Other than that, that's not uncommon. You know, a lot of the guys that I played with quarterback-wise, I probably spent more time with Aaron than I did with those. I mean, the exception would be Doug Peterson, who was a longtime backup and great friend, and Matt Hasselbeck. and those two played with me for 10 years or more. And, you know, they wear on you, or I wear on them. I mean, you can't help but be around each other, but that's not uncommon. That's not, that has nothing to do with, I mean, not to mention I'm much older than him. I shouldn't say much, but I'm considerably older than him, and what he does and what I do are different when you leave the building.

1:25:34His likes are different than my likes, But I would always, if I was watching film, which I watched a lot of film by myself, I could remember on numerous occasions, hey, what you watching? Come on in. I wouldn't say, hey, no, that's just not me. I never felt threatened my job, although I knew that at some point I would not be the starter in Green Bay. I knew that. Well, that's, I guess, the question that some people would have. Do you think there was any hesitation on your end to be closer because you knew this was a guy that was brought in to ultimately take over for you? No. Okay. No, I really didn't.

1:26:17When they drafted him in the first round, that's usually a good sign that they're preparing for the end and the beginning, if you will. How did you feel about it when it happened? I was surprised it took that long, really. But I was proud of the fact that it took that long. I've seen a lot of first-round picks come and go at different positions, but quarterback was not one of them. So I was proud of that. First-round pick comes up, they don't pick a quarterback. It wasn't like I was like, yes. I just didn't think twice about it. And that went on for a long time. So the one constant was I was going to be the quarterback, and everyone was okay with that, and that was a good feeling.

1:27:05To what extent do you think you could have been a better mentor to him than you were? I think I was. I think a lot of it falls on, you know, I don't know what the consensus feeling is of the general public in this regard. I mean, I've kind of been asked this question. It's been talked about in the past. and I don't know where the present starter like myself in that case is paid to be a mentor, so to speak, or if that's part of the job description. I don't think that that, well, I think there's a misconception. Maybe there's a misconception. I don't know him or anyone else anything other than, in my opinion being a nice guy and being thoughtful and all this stuff.

1:27:59I don't have to give him any insights to what I do or don't do. That being said, I was I guess backing up, I think the mentorship, whether you're the mentor or the one being mentored so to speak, I think it falls more on the person who is being mentored or wants to be rather than the old vet. I think the young guy, it's up to him to at least ask. And I have no opinion in this argument, but there are some that would say, well, you're the legend, the face of the franchise. It should be on you to be the one reaching out. Why? I ask that. Why? Well, he's a young guy, doesn't maybe have the confidence to go up to a Brett Favre.

1:28:55I think as a starter, my job's hard enough to win ballgames and be a leader. And I'm not, you're not a babysitter. And I'm not by no means talking about Aaron, but he's the starter now. So the next quarterback comes in, whether he's a first-round pick or third-round pick or a free agent, but they like him. Nowhere does it say that you have to take that guy under your wing and teach him the ropes. You don't have to do anything. But win ballgames for whoever it is you're the starting quarterback for. Ultimately, that's what keeps you around or doesn't. Right. That's the bottom. Whether or not you take a guy under your wing means really nothing.

1:29:39And so, you know, if there is a belief out there that I did not help not only Aaron Rodgers or help other players, first of all, that's wrong. To what extent did I help him? Heck, I don't know. How does that compare to other guys across the league? I don't know. How much do you think all of it's just been fed by the media? I think most of it is. Okay. You know, and I could be a lot of stuff.

1:30:16Controversy sells. It's interesting. You know, like the two guys that get along and work well together, who wants to read about that? Right. Who cares? But the two guys who are giving each other the finger and talking bad about this, that's what we want. So I think in that regards, yeah, I mean, the media fuels a lot of it. Well, and it's interesting you say that, too, because it leads in perfectly to this topic and that being retirement. You have to wonder how much of that was really fed and progressed by the media. But why do you think you went back and forth so much about whether to retire?

1:30:55Peyton is sort of, in some ways, is facing kind of what I faced. I mean, a terrible loss. The questions are just bombarding you. Even if he's not in a press conference, wherever he goes, there was a time, and believe it or not, still to this day, may go somewhere, and it's few and far between where someone said, I'm hoping you'd come back. I mean, it's crazy, but I still get that. So imagine like when I first retired. Well, it's not that crazy. You got called by the Rams not too long ago. Yeah, well, but just the constant willy, and not to mention your own. You look in the mirror and you go, what am I going to do?

1:31:38I don't know. You have to face that with everyone. You leave out of the house, hey, well, you're coming back for another year. I mean, it's just, and when you're at, and there's no way I can explain to you the feeling because it's only happened to a few guys. but when you're 40 years old 37 38 30 whatever and you lose a game like peyton lost or i lost against new orleans the last thing you want to think about is football even though that's the only thing you're going to think about unfortunately you're going to think about what you should have done how you could have done it the redemption part of it comes to mind like we were so close i I know, but do I want to put myself through that again and have heartbreak yet again?

1:32:27Do I want to go through, do I want to start over and do all this again? And then you stop and you go, and can I do it daily and physically like I want to do it? Because each year, you know, that becomes tougher and tougher. Your mind tells you you can, but maybe your body's not cooperating. And so that was my dilemma.

1:32:57I mean, I didn't want to think about it. And so when I was asked, I was asked, and I was asked, and I was asked. And you almost hate the question, and you almost hate the answer, whatever it may be, yes or no. You know, I am coming back. Then you, do I really want to do this? Then you say, no, I don't want to come back right now. And then later on, you're like, you know, maybe I do have a little bit. So there's no way I can explain to you what that feels like. Because obviously, I don't have it figured out myself. It was interesting, though, watching an appearance you made on Letterman around that time.

1:33:33I think you'd just retired from the Packers. And I was watching the appearance the other day, and he's asking you about it. And even though you'd retired, it really didn't seem like you were confident in your decision to stay retired. But you retired, and then June 2008, you called the Packers head coach up and say you want to come back. What was said on that call? Not a lot on my end. Mike was not too happy, but understandably so. What did he say? They had gone in a different direction, as you would imagine. and I threw a kink into the whole situation because the offseason is not necessarily offseason.

1:34:21You're preparing for next season, and you're kind of correcting and doing all the things that happened the previous season. Well, you can imagine. I'd been there 16 years, and now you're shifting gears. I mean, this is a big deal in going in a different direction with a different quarterback and probably a philosophy to a certain degree. So that was more or less what Mike was saying in his way. And, of course, there's two hard-headed people on the phone. I felt like I could still play, and I was wrong for retiring early. But I should have known, and he should have known. That was my thought process.

1:35:06You know, no one loves football in April. or March. Better yet, a 40-year-old guy, a 37-year-old guy, I don't know of too many of them who go, I can't wait for minicamp. I can't wait for OTAs. You know, I just, gosh darn it, I love this. I don't know of too many. And when you've suffered a tough loss and a great season, but a devastating loss to end. I don't know of too many that then that are or care anything about it but given time you you know that that itch will come back a little bit. Nez hasn't come back in four years so I know I've made the right decision. I don't miss when I saw Peyton lose the other day I don't miss that one bit.

1:35:55I don't you know there's always a chance you win there's always a chance you lose. I don't want to take that chance. I know that. But then I did. How much did you feel like you were forced into making your retirement decision initially? Well, there's a time when you let your emotions, rather than stopping and thinking, which is what I should have done, you don't do that. And I can only speak from my end. I should have stood my ground and not retired early. And gave it more times. Stood your ground, what do you mean? There was pressure? Well Mike wanted to know and that's as his as the head coach of the team or Ted Thompson's job as a GM I think rightfully so they need to know which direction they're going to go in.

1:36:50but there was nothing in the rule books that said I had to give them an answer until the day of the training camp quite frankly I could day of training camp say you know I decided I don't want to play that'd be kind of a cruel way to do it you know like you could have told us early so we could have prepared for this or you know I could retire early and and then have four months to think about it and then all of a sudden right when training camp starts I could go you know I kind of want to be there again the last four years I haven't wanted to be at training camp I haven't missed it so there wasn't this boy you know I wish I could no but once I kind of got over if you want to call get over the the loss to the Giants and and thought I mean it was my best year if you really want to think in 16 years it was my best year based on all the circumstances and stuff that last year in green that was my best year in 16 years so you can imagine like mentally i'm you're thinking i'm still pretty good right um whether you are or not it's hard not to think that way now that doesn't you were i think i'm thinking i still was pretty good i mean Do I want to play or go to minicamp right now?

1:38:13No, I don't. So when Mike asked, and he asked several times, I mean, do I think, you know, what do I think? And I said, well, I don't know. I was good at that. And I knew a week was not going to change. I mean, Peyton, in five weeks, because I heard what Elway said, in five weeks we'll readdress this. in five weeks if he has a clear cut I know what I'm going to do. It's no ifs ands buts. He's better at it than I am. But that was the case of me. I knew that probably come July I would have a pretty good maybe June I'd have a pretty good idea if I wanted to go through it. Not March or April.

1:39:04At the time they wanted an answer. They were hammering you. And again, they're not wrong. And there is no right, I mean, there's nothing in the rule books that said, okay, if you don't give us an answer, they could have cut me if I didn't give an answer. Or they could have just waited it out. And I just, honestly, at the time, I was not. I remember saying, Mike, you know, if you really want an answer, right now I'm not 100 % committed. I cannot commit. If you want to know right now, I'm not 100%. Can I be all in? No.

1:39:40Could I be in July? Maybe. But that's not an answer that was doable. So I don't blame them. I mean, yeah, it was bad for a while, pointing fingers and all the stuff. But that's really how it went down. I mean, there was a better way to handle it. But it all worked out. What was said in that several hour meeting that you had in Green Bay? Well, you know, again, I don't want to stoke the fire because it is what it is and everything is fine now. Because time heals everything. And I think for me, I felt like I admit that I was wrong in retiring early. And I was okay with the fact that they wanted to move on in a different direction.

1:40:30I really was. But I felt like, I think for me, it was like, I'm not good enough to play here, but I'm too good to play against you mentality. That's kind of how I felt. That, you know, they didn't want to cut me because anyone could pick me up. And, yeah, I could compete for the job in Green Bay, which was fine. but I just felt like I was not gonna play there because they had already gone in a different direction if you know what I mean even though they were not gonna cut me if I put them in that position and that and I was again I was wrong and so that's kind of what we talked about in that meeting and there was no easy resolution put it that way because I now as I look back I try to put myself in their their position now I kind of see it from their perspective that it wasn't that I wasn't good enough to play for the Packers, but they had to figure out what they were going to do with Aaron.

1:41:35At some point, you have to go in a different direction. That means, at times, making tough, hard decisions that not everyone agrees with. And that may be the fans or the player himself. And that was the case. But yet, in saying that, he played too well last year from a public standpoint to just let him go. So we're kind of, it's catch-22, you know, you do, damn if you don't. And I saw it more from just a selfish standpoint. like what well you felt I mean based on the success you'd had there and for the 15 plus years you'd had it that you'd earned yeah yeah and in the business world that's not necessarily the case um yeah you may have been our best salesman for years but you know you're getting old you don't move around like you used to um you're good but we have to kind of we can save money and see what our young guy can do or we can hang on to the old mayor.

1:42:45But it's all good now. You end up going to the Jets, play one season there, then play two seasons for the Vikings. Before the final season with the Vikings, I think you retired, then you unretired. There were three Vikings players, I think, that in August fly down to see you here in Hattiesburg to try and convince you to come back. Why ultimately decide to come back? Well, you know what?

1:43:16We lost the Saints in the championship game. It was devastating. I was beat to hell. It was tough. But boy, we were close. I mean, really close. We were closer than Denver was against the Colts the other day. We were that close. and we it was right there

1:43:39and it goes back to what I was saying earlier that is so devastating if you're 21 25 years old by the time you get back home from the trip you almost forgot about it you just it's like your kids you spank them, they cry an hour later they forgot what happened But as an adult who's played 19 years, I knew how hard it was. I knew that getting to that point in itself was such a good thing. Almost not impossible to repeat, but hard. 20 years, I was fortunate to win the Super Bowl one time, went one other time. but I would have thought we'd have gone 12 other times. But that's what you get for thinking.

1:44:36So part of me was like, it's impossible to have this year. But then there was this other part of me that said, if you don't go back, you're always going to wonder what if. And that is true. You know what people would have said? Had you come back, we'd have done it. We'd have gone to the Super Bowl. And I would have wondered what if. Well, by going back, it was not a good year. We didn't even have a winning record. But by going back, there is no what ifs. I will never have that looming. So I'm glad I went back. I wish the season would have ended up differently. But I know now. I know. There is no if you'd have came back, we'd have won.

1:45:22Are you really glad, though, you came back? Because you look at that season. I mean, it was bad for a while. I am. I really am. I mean, you know, obviously not a fun topic, but there were sexual harassment allegations. Then you have, you know, you apparently clash with the head coach. You had your worst quarterback rating in most interceptions, a season after having the best in both categories. So, I mean, just all things considered. I was beat to heck. I mean, I broke my foot, got my jaw, collarbone. But you know what? If we were sitting here right now and I didn't go back, I know what I would be thinking.

1:46:05You know, if I went back, we may have had a shot. And other people would. And I think that would eat at me forever. That if I went back, we may have won it. Well, I know that now. That's not the case. But I'm able to live with that easier, I think, than always wondering what if. embarrassed at all by no less no you know I mean I'm not I'm not you know from there's four years and you you want to be remembered as something and I think that I've done that. I'm not perfect. I don't claim to be.

1:47:02I'm not. I'm content with where I am. Hard on the family at all? Yeah, it was. Extremely hard.

1:47:17Just like the football family, they rely on you. and you let them down. You don't live up to expectations at times. That's life in general, but things are much better now. Your mom, and I love her because you read all these articles and she's a great quote. She said she thought you should have retired after the final year in Green Bay. What do you think? You know what I think? it doesn't matter and I say this to like when I was coaching kids or to our youngest daughter all the time I'm like really because people will say and you may or or at least heard people say like if you could go back and you could do people do that and I I'm one of those that goes I don't want to go there because you can't do it it doesn't matter whether I should have retired or not I mean that's not even for her to say that's her opinion but the bottom line is I didn't I played three more years yeah that we know it your second to last season and one of your best you know what that's that's what matters is what you know what happened not what we think could have happened or should have happened that really doesn't matter so I don't even go there what made you really realize it was time to retire well I knew it 20 years that if I'd had another good year there would always been this boy you still got a little bit left in the tank and I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing because the fact that it takes on the body and mentally just over and over and over again, at some point you've got to stop.

1:49:17The competitive spirit was always there, but I realized my last year more than anything, I got hit a bunch. It seemed like really tough hits, but I realized I didn't like them. And for 19 years, I don't want to say I liked getting hit, but it really didn't bother me a whole lot. In fact, I kind of thrived on it. Like, oh, yeah, that's all you got? Well, the last year, I was like, I didn't like that. And I didn't have a lot of fight to prove them otherwise. And so when I would get hit, I would probably bounce up, maybe a little slower. but what I was thinking mentally was like the benefit or the reap, the reward, the ups and downs, whatever you want to say are not in the this is okay favor.

1:50:20You know, it's more of the I don't particularly like this. I don't, whether we win or not, I don't know if that offsets, you know, getting beat up. It just, I was started to weigh in the pros and cons. And every time I got hit, I was like, okay, I could throw a touchdown pass after this. I don't know if that really outweighs the physical part of it. But it took 20 years for me to feel that way. You're obviously one of the most iconic players in the game. and above and beyond the stats, you're the type of player that a parent who's coaching or has a young kid would encourage their child to be like because the mentality, the toughness.

1:51:05The Packers, obviously, in July are going to be honoring you, inducting you into the Packers Hall of Fame, also retiring your number. How much will that mean to you? It will mean as much as anything I've accomplished in my career. Because that, you know, obviously that's a culmination of a, that says not that I need it to be said, but that really is the exclamation point on a wonderful career. And not that I ever needed that, but I'm honored to have played in Green Bay. But to be with Bart Starr and Ray Nitschke and, you know, Jerry Kramer, Herb Batterley, Willie Wood, Willie Davis. I mean, I can go on and on and on and on.

1:52:06Because I remember sitting on the sidelines, and I always consider myself a historian of the game. I mean, I knew a lot about the game. I didn't really know where Green Bay was growing up. I knew it was cold and it was up north, but I couldn't really find it on the map. But I knew who all – Paul Horning and Max McGee, you know, and Jim Taylor. I mean, Fuzzy Thurston, the list goes on and on. I knew who all those guys were. And so I was one of those when I was still on the sidelines. I looked up and saw the stadium, the ring of honor. I mean, it meant something. It really did. It may not mean a lot to some guys today.

1:52:52That's not for me to say, but for me it meant something. So to be thought of, and Green Bay to me is, I guess Dallas and Pittsburgh could say the same thing, but their own tradition and history is as big as the NFL's almost. Bears could say that as well, where, you know, they got a long laundry list of not only Packer Hall of Fame, but that are also in the NFL Hall of Fame. And that says a lot. I mean, you have to, first of all, be around a long time. But the tradition and history is there, and to be thought of as one of the best in that, you know, that franchise is, I mean, it's truly an honor.

1:53:37It really is. What do you think the day will be like? Nervous, probably. Nervous? In a good way, though, in a good way. Just almost kind of like before the first game type of. Very excited. I was like that before every game. I was excited. I was a little nervous about how's it going to play out. Am I going to play good? Am I going to play bad? I mean, hopefully we can block them. Hopefully. And so I'm sure there'll be some of those emotions that that sort of like before a game. Well, it's interesting you say nervous because, you know, in reading about it, you said you want Bart Starr to be part of it.

1:54:16And obviously, Bart, one of the greatest Packers of all time. But in reading that, I'm like, well, this is this is Brett's day. You know, I wonder if he just, you know, wants somebody. Well, I kind of like someone to hold my hand. Right. Right. You know, right. Which which is really the truth. You know, I mean, I've never been real good, believe it or not. Being even though I love being a quarterback and the pressure being on me, I'm not really good. Like when the spotlight is like, OK, everyone else just moved to the side. Right. it's kind of like okay but here's Bart you know right and that's not to mention it goes back to this tradition and history and respect for the game that I've always had and I always wanted those guys to know as when I was playing that now that I'm one of the guys you're nobody because that was never the way I know that people like Bart paved the way for for my career.

1:55:24I read an interview that you did and you were asked for like the favorite moment from your career and I thought what you said was interesting you said it would have to include the interceptions the you know and the tough losses explain why you know it's I I just don't look at my career and think of the good you know unfortunately there was some bad but I but I think that's what shapes us you know into the type of people we are the character and the type of player if I was in 20 years if I never lost a game How would I really know what winning a big game or coming from behind or a Super Bowl? How would I really appreciate what that felt like if I've never experienced the down?

1:56:22Because then when you do, you really appreciate a last-second throw or a season in which you endure and you're fortunate enough to win a Super Bowl. or you do some unbelievable things that early in the year or the previous year seemed impossible. If you win every game, how do you know what impossible is? Or possible, I mean, it's just, it's kind of like giving your kids everything, giving them everything. How will they ever know what hard work and having to go without something is really like? And so that's the way I look at my career. people say, well, would you change anything? Would you do this?

1:57:05Would you have played different? All that stuff. And I said, you know, it is what it is. First of all, I can't change it. And it sure made me appreciate not only the football part of life, but just life in general. You know, how quickly things can change and people can be taken away. How quickly you can become the starter. How quickly you can not be the starter. and that's just, that's the way I look at things. And so it's not perfect. It was, you know, but it's my career and you take the good with the bad and it makes you appreciate the good a lot more. What would you say is the most satisfying moment from your career?

1:57:50You know, I don't think that there is a game or a moment more so than the fact that, You know, when people say, how do you want to be remembered or what? And it's like a retirement ceremony and Hall of Fame and all that stuff. It's truly an honor. But I'd like to think that the body of work, not so much what was given after the fact, but the body of work speaks for itself. I could care less of where I rank in the experts, top ten or whatever. it's just the way I played. I know I played with desire and love and passion for a game. That, in my opinion, is not equaled by anyone. Was it the prettiest?

1:58:38Was it the best pocket passer? Look, I don't care about that. I just played as hard as I possibly could. The most satisfying thing for me was that I did it, that I was able to dress out in the National Football ball league uniform for one game, better yet, 20 seasons. And again, not perfect, but I played every game like it was the last. I really did. Really a pleasure. Thank you. Thanks for making the time to do this. That's all for my chat with Brett Favre. You can watch video of that content, plus a whole lot more on YouTube.com slash Graham Bensinger. and if you get a chance, give us a rating and review.

1:59:20Thanks again for listening.