Second in a series:
OnMilwaukee.com is publishing exclusive excerpts from the new book, "Brett Favre: A Packer Fan's Tribute." The book was written by lifelong Packers fan Tom Kertscher, a Milwaukee news reporter who authored "Cracked Sidewalks and French Pastry: The Wit and Wisdom of Al McGuire."
"Tribute" captures the highlights of Favre's career and features dozens of behind-the-scenes photos shot by Packers team photographer Jim Biever.
CHAPTER 2 -- COMEBACKS
"Anybody can throw a touchdown in the second quarter. But when you're late in the game, you're down, and that defense is coming at you, what are you going to do? That's when I like playing the game.
-- Brett Favre
BRETT FAVRE FANS TOOK PRIDE in knowing that -- no matter how little time was left in a game or how far the Packers had to go to score -- Favre could pull out a win.
"Some people squeeze and get a little tighter," Packers head coach Mike Holmgren said about players responding to pressure. "Brett's one of those guys who relaxes and says, 'Give me the ball.' "
Last-minute comebacks brought out the best in Favre and -- tough as he was -- even brought him to tears at least once.
Favre started the 1999 season without his mentor after Holmgren left for the Seattle Seahawks. He also faced the challenge of playing with a right thumb injury that would have stopped other quarterbacks.
The pain got so bad (and the Raiders had already made three interceptions) that Favre considered benching himself. But trailing 24-21, with less than 2 minutes and no time-outs left, Favre capped an 82-yard drive with his fourth touchdown pass and the Packers won, 28-24.
Tears streamed from the 29-year-old’s eyes as he spoke to reporters after the game.
"I'm so drained right now," he said. "I just can't believe I played. I could hardly feel the ball, but we won the game."
Through the 2005 season, Favre led the Packers to 35 wins when they were tied or trailing in the fourth quarter.
And in nine of the 35 comebacks, Favre pulled out the win with a touchdown pass, or a TD run of his own, during the final 2 minutes. The first was Kitrick Taylor’s score.
The other eight TD-winners were just as thrilling. (Three are excerpted here.)
At Detroit Lions, Wild Card Game, Jan. 8, 1994 -- The Packers and Lions had played 127 times over 64 years, but this was their first post-season match-up. The Lions had good reason to be confident.
Green Bay hadn’t won a playoff game in a non-strike season since Super Bowl II, 27 years earlier. And in the ’93 season finale, the Lions had beaten the Packers 30-20 in Detroit, with Favre throwing four interceptions. The Wild Card game would be played in Detroit, too, just six days later.
The game was close all the way. In the second half, Packers rookie safety George Teague scored on a 101-yard interception return, setting an NFL post-season record. But in the fourth quarter, with just 55 seconds left, the Lions led 24-21.
That’s when Favre made the play of the year.
Scrambling away from a heavy rush, Favre ran backward and to his left, then threw across his body -- 60 yards in the air -- to Sharpe, who was racing down the right sideline.
"I figured, 'What the heck?'Favre said, 'I'll give it the big heave-ho.' "
The pass found Sharpe alone in the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown, his third of the game, giving the Packers a 28-24 win.
"I lost my helmet, my ear pads. I started hyperventilating," Favre said. "I was looking for someone to kiss."
Atlanta Falcons, Final Game at County Stadium, Dec. 18, 1994 -- For 62 seasons, the Packers split their home games between Green Bay and Milwaukee. The final 42 Milwaukee games were played at County Stadium, onetime home of baseball’s Milwaukee Braves and Milwaukee Brewers. The tradition ended in 1994, when the Packers repaid their Brew City fans with one last exciting finish.
The finale also foreshadowed what kind of quarterback Favre would become.
The Packers hosted the Atlanta Falcons, the team with the growing regret for having given up on Favre two years earlier. With 1:58 remaining, Atlanta led 17-14. The Packers had the ball on their own 33-yard-line, but without Sharpe, their star receiver, who had been injured in the second quarter. Favre completed six of eight passes, landing his team at the Falcons’ 9-yard-line with 14 seconds left. The Packers had no time-outs, which meant that running a play was risky: If they didn't score, there might not be enough time to kick a field goal to put the game into overtime.
On the next play, Favre went back to pass, scrambled right -- and then decided to run. A touchdown would win the game -- and keep the Packers’ playoff hopes alive. Favre eluded one defender, then dived under another, crossing the goal line for the winning score.
``I probably couldn't have wrote it any better. It was either get in, or we lose it," he said.
"I kept telling everybody somebody was going to make a play. I just didn't think it would be me."
The Packers’ 21-17 victory was a dramatic farewell to Milwaukee, where they finished with a 107-63-1 record. They clinched a playoff spot with a win the next week.
When Holmgren left the field, he climbed a pile of snow near the first-base dugout, pumped his fists into the air and blew kisses to the crowd of 54,885. "Thank you, Milwaukee! Thank you!" he hollered over and over.
The win also signaled a turning point in Favre’s development as a leader.
''He came into the huddle, calmed everybody down and just took control," said tight-end Mark Chmura. "That's the first time I really saw him like that."
Defensive end Reggie White thought Favre’s play presaged a much bigger Packers’ victory.
''If he keeps playing like he's playing," White said, "he's going to take us where we want to go."
A little more than two years later, Favre would lead the Packers to a win in Super Bowl XXXI.
Oakland Raiders at Lambeau Field, Sept. 12, 1999 -- The game that left Favre in tears featured a memorable game-winning drive.
With Oakland leading 24-21, Favre moved the Packers downfield, mostly with passes over the middle. The team reached the Raiders’ 20 yard line with 20 seconds to go. That’s when Favre found wide receiver Corey Bradford on a fade route down the right sideline. He beat cornerback Charles Woodson, perhaps the NFL’s best cover corner at the time, for a 19-yard gain to the 1.
With 15 seconds left, the Packers sent in three tight-ends -- Chmura, Tyrone Davis and Jeff Thomason -- and lined them all up wide, with Davis and Thomason to the right. When the ball was snapped, Davis broke toward Thomason, picking off Oakland safety Anthony Newman. Favre hit Thomason for the 1-yard score and the 28-24 win.
Some writers ripped Oakland for losing in Ray Rhodes’ debut as the Packers’ head coach. But they missed the point. San Francisco Examiner reporter Gwen Knapp, for example, groaned about the fact that two of the last three passes in Green Bay’s winning drive were caught by two converted track stars -- Bradford and wide receiver Bill Schroeder; both of them had played only one year of college ball. Knapp also lamented how the winning TD was caught by Thomason, a third-string tight-end who had caught a total of 28 passes in six seasons prior to that game. It was Thomason’s only play from scrimmage the whole day.
The point, though, was not that the Raiders let themselves be beat by two track stars and a third-stringer -- it was that Favre could bring out the best in every one of his teammates.
The rally took a ruinous toll on Favre, who completed 28 of 47 passes for 333 yards on the day. He collapsed from exhaustion on the play before the winning touchdown and, after the score, had to be helped to the bench. At the post-game news conference, he buried his face in his hands and lightly sobbed. After a half-minute of silence, he got up and left the room, too weak to speak, apologizing to reporters on his way out.
"What he showed us is that he cares. He really cares," running back Dorsey Levens said of Favre’s emotional display. "He's not in it for the money, he's not in it for the fame, he really wants to win football games. If the guys on this team can see that he's the highest-paid player on the team and he still does it for love, then they know they need to get their priorities straight."
OnMilwaukee.com is publishing exclusive excerpts from the new book, "Brett Favre: A Packer Fan's Tribute." The book was written by lifelong Packers fan Tom Kertscher, a Milwaukee news reporter who authored "Cracked Sidewalks and French Pastry: The Wit and Wisdom of Al McGuire."
"Tribute" captures the highlights of Favre's career and features dozens of behind-the-scenes photos shot by Packers team photographer Jim Biever.
CHAPTER 2 -- COMEBACKS
"Anybody can throw a touchdown in the second quarter. But when you're late in the game, you're down, and that defense is coming at you, what are you going to do? That's when I like playing the game.
-- Brett Favre
BRETT FAVRE FANS TOOK PRIDE in knowing that -- no matter how little time was left in a game or how far the Packers had to go to score -- Favre could pull out a win.
"Some people squeeze and get a little tighter," Packers head coach Mike Holmgren said about players responding to pressure. "Brett's one of those guys who relaxes and says, 'Give me the ball.' "
Last-minute comebacks brought out the best in Favre and -- tough as he was -- even brought him to tears at least once.
Favre started the 1999 season without his mentor after Holmgren left for the Seattle Seahawks. He also faced the challenge of playing with a right thumb injury that would have stopped other quarterbacks.
The pain got so bad (and the Raiders had already made three interceptions) that Favre considered benching himself. But trailing 24-21, with less than 2 minutes and no time-outs left, Favre capped an 82-yard drive with his fourth touchdown pass and the Packers won, 28-24.
Tears streamed from the 29-year-old’s eyes as he spoke to reporters after the game.
"I'm so drained right now," he said. "I just can't believe I played. I could hardly feel the ball, but we won the game."
Through the 2005 season, Favre led the Packers to 35 wins when they were tied or trailing in the fourth quarter.
And in nine of the 35 comebacks, Favre pulled out the win with a touchdown pass, or a TD run of his own, during the final 2 minutes. The first was Kitrick Taylor’s score.
The other eight TD-winners were just as thrilling. (Three are excerpted here.)
At Detroit Lions, Wild Card Game, Jan. 8, 1994 -- The Packers and Lions had played 127 times over 64 years, but this was their first post-season match-up. The Lions had good reason to be confident.
Green Bay hadn’t won a playoff game in a non-strike season since Super Bowl II, 27 years earlier. And in the ’93 season finale, the Lions had beaten the Packers 30-20 in Detroit, with Favre throwing four interceptions. The Wild Card game would be played in Detroit, too, just six days later.
The game was close all the way. In the second half, Packers rookie safety George Teague scored on a 101-yard interception return, setting an NFL post-season record. But in the fourth quarter, with just 55 seconds left, the Lions led 24-21.
That’s when Favre made the play of the year.
Scrambling away from a heavy rush, Favre ran backward and to his left, then threw across his body -- 60 yards in the air -- to Sharpe, who was racing down the right sideline.
"I figured, 'What the heck?'Favre said, 'I'll give it the big heave-ho.' "
The pass found Sharpe alone in the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown, his third of the game, giving the Packers a 28-24 win.
"I lost my helmet, my ear pads. I started hyperventilating," Favre said. "I was looking for someone to kiss."
Atlanta Falcons, Final Game at County Stadium, Dec. 18, 1994 -- For 62 seasons, the Packers split their home games between Green Bay and Milwaukee. The final 42 Milwaukee games were played at County Stadium, onetime home of baseball’s Milwaukee Braves and Milwaukee Brewers. The tradition ended in 1994, when the Packers repaid their Brew City fans with one last exciting finish.
The finale also foreshadowed what kind of quarterback Favre would become.
The Packers hosted the Atlanta Falcons, the team with the growing regret for having given up on Favre two years earlier. With 1:58 remaining, Atlanta led 17-14. The Packers had the ball on their own 33-yard-line, but without Sharpe, their star receiver, who had been injured in the second quarter. Favre completed six of eight passes, landing his team at the Falcons’ 9-yard-line with 14 seconds left. The Packers had no time-outs, which meant that running a play was risky: If they didn't score, there might not be enough time to kick a field goal to put the game into overtime.
On the next play, Favre went back to pass, scrambled right -- and then decided to run. A touchdown would win the game -- and keep the Packers’ playoff hopes alive. Favre eluded one defender, then dived under another, crossing the goal line for the winning score.
``I probably couldn't have wrote it any better. It was either get in, or we lose it," he said.
"I kept telling everybody somebody was going to make a play. I just didn't think it would be me."
The Packers’ 21-17 victory was a dramatic farewell to Milwaukee, where they finished with a 107-63-1 record. They clinched a playoff spot with a win the next week.
When Holmgren left the field, he climbed a pile of snow near the first-base dugout, pumped his fists into the air and blew kisses to the crowd of 54,885. "Thank you, Milwaukee! Thank you!" he hollered over and over.
The win also signaled a turning point in Favre’s development as a leader.
''He came into the huddle, calmed everybody down and just took control," said tight-end Mark Chmura. "That's the first time I really saw him like that."
Defensive end Reggie White thought Favre’s play presaged a much bigger Packers’ victory.
''If he keeps playing like he's playing," White said, "he's going to take us where we want to go."
A little more than two years later, Favre would lead the Packers to a win in Super Bowl XXXI.
Oakland Raiders at Lambeau Field, Sept. 12, 1999 -- The game that left Favre in tears featured a memorable game-winning drive.
With Oakland leading 24-21, Favre moved the Packers downfield, mostly with passes over the middle. The team reached the Raiders’ 20 yard line with 20 seconds to go. That’s when Favre found wide receiver Corey Bradford on a fade route down the right sideline. He beat cornerback Charles Woodson, perhaps the NFL’s best cover corner at the time, for a 19-yard gain to the 1.
With 15 seconds left, the Packers sent in three tight-ends -- Chmura, Tyrone Davis and Jeff Thomason -- and lined them all up wide, with Davis and Thomason to the right. When the ball was snapped, Davis broke toward Thomason, picking off Oakland safety Anthony Newman. Favre hit Thomason for the 1-yard score and the 28-24 win.
Some writers ripped Oakland for losing in Ray Rhodes’ debut as the Packers’ head coach. But they missed the point. San Francisco Examiner reporter Gwen Knapp, for example, groaned about the fact that two of the last three passes in Green Bay’s winning drive were caught by two converted track stars -- Bradford and wide receiver Bill Schroeder; both of them had played only one year of college ball. Knapp also lamented how the winning TD was caught by Thomason, a third-string tight-end who had caught a total of 28 passes in six seasons prior to that game. It was Thomason’s only play from scrimmage the whole day.
The point, though, was not that the Raiders let themselves be beat by two track stars and a third-stringer -- it was that Favre could bring out the best in every one of his teammates.
The rally took a ruinous toll on Favre, who completed 28 of 47 passes for 333 yards on the day. He collapsed from exhaustion on the play before the winning touchdown and, after the score, had to be helped to the bench. At the post-game news conference, he buried his face in his hands and lightly sobbed. After a half-minute of silence, he got up and left the room, too weak to speak, apologizing to reporters on his way out.
"What he showed us is that he cares. He really cares," running back Dorsey Levens said of Favre’s emotional display. "He's not in it for the money, he's not in it for the fame, he really wants to win football games. If the guys on this team can see that he's the highest-paid player on the team and he still does it for love, then they know they need to get their priorities straight."
