As most of you now know, Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre, who torched the Chicago Bears on seemingly every occasion, decided to retire.
As everyone is giving their favorite Favre moments, I'll toss in mine. It was the re-opening of Soldier Field on Monday Night Football. The Bears were fully expecting to finally beat the Packers after what seemed like forever. But alas Favre, once again was better. The all-telling image from the game was the 99-yard touchdown bomb. He just wound up and heaved it, hit the receiver in stride, who promptly scored. UGH. I said that too many times during Favre's career.
I suspect the rebirth of the Packers in some ways drove the Bears get out of the NFC basement in the late 90s and early 2000s. Lovie Smith's first of three priorities was to beat the Packers. As the Bears improved in the last few years, it actually seemed like a rivalry again.
Favre was known for his durability. He had started every Packer game since late September 1992, while the Bears had seemingly every college quarterback that was healthy starting opposite him. This is a great post from the Rumors and Rants blog. They combined all the Bears starting QB stats during Favre's tenure and found they didn't measure up.
Enjoy your retirement, Brett. You were one of the best, there's no question about it. But speaking as a Bears fan, your departure couldn't come soon enough.
1 comment:
Derrick,
Favre didn't throw a 99 yard TD pass in that game. He threw passes of 14 and 9 yards. Also, I question if the Bears (or at least the fans) really expected a win, considering the Bears were rancid in the first two games. It's actually a tribute to Dick Jauron that they finished 7-9 that year.
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