Winter storm warnings in northern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI and NOAH TRISTER, AP Sports Writers


      Brett Favre was the NFL's ultimate iron man for 19 years,
inspiring coaches and teammates with extraordinary toughness and
thrilling fans with a daredevil's verve and a showman's sense of
the moment.


      Yet the once-irrepressible Favre never looked older or more
fragile than in year No. 20. The magic of last season, and most of
his brilliant career, never seemed farther away.

      It had to end some time. And Favre says that time is now.


      The 41-year-old quarterback sat out Minnesota's season-ending
loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday because of a concussion, and it
appears his career ended not on the field trying to rally the
Vikings to another victory, but on the sideline as a third-string
rookie floundered in Favre's place.


      No one - not even Brett Favre - can play forever.


      "I know it's time, and that's OK. It is," Favre said after the
20-13 loss. "Again, I hold no regrets, and I can't think of too
many players offhand that can walk away and say that. Individually
and from a team standpoint, it was way more than I ever dreamed
of."


      He also retired in 2008 with the Packers and 2009 with the Jets,
only to return both times when the football bug bit him in the
summer. He knows that there will be doubters again.


      "I don't know for me if it's ever easy," Favre said. "I'm
sure throughout this year, the comment has been made that, 'We'll
wait and see in August or September' and that's fine. It's time.
I'm OK with it."


      There appears to be one big difference this time. Even if he did
want to come back next year, would anyone want him? The Vikings are
going to start over. And the market for a 42-year-old quarterback
coming off one of his worst seasons - both personally and
professionally - doesn't figure to be hot.


      If this indeed is the end - for real, this time - for Favre, one
of the most colorful and celebrated careers in NFL history
concluded with a season filled with interceptions, injuries and
insults.


      He threw 19 interceptions and his 69.9 quarterback rating is the
lowest of his career. The Vikings sunk to the bottom of the NFC
North after starting the season with Super Bowl aspirations, coach
Brad Childress was fired during the season and Favre was fined
$50,000 for failure to cooperate with an NFL investigation into
allegations that he sent lewd photos and messages to a game-day
hostess when both worked for the Jets in 2008.


      Favre's reputation took a serious hit from the humiliating
scandal, which tarnished the image of one of the league's most
popular players. He declined to comment on the fine after the game.


      His long-awaited union with receiver Randy Moss also was a
spectacular failure and his cherished streak of 297 straight starts
ended three weeks ago, with a sprained throwing shoulder making it
impossible for Favre to let those famously zip-filled passes rip
from his right arm.


      And just for good measure, the Metrodome roof caved in to
provide a perfect metaphor for Favre and the Vikings' 2010, forcing
the Vikings to play "home" games at Detroit and at the University
of Minnesota's outdoor stadium in December.


      "It's been a wonderful experience for me," Favre said. "This
year did not work out the way we would have hoped, but that's
football. I don't regret coming back. I enjoyed my experience
here."

      He was listed as doubtful against the Lions, having failed to
pass the necessary tests to be cleared to play during the week. The
Vikings announced that he was inactive about 80 minutes before
kickoff, and Joe Webb started his second straight game at
quarterback.


      "He's a guy who loves football to death. You can tell. He
played up until he was 41 years old," Webb said. "I admire him,
he's a great mentor for me. I'll always keep in contact with him."


      The season started reluctantly, with Favre having serious
reservations about coming back after having surgery on his ankle
last summer. He also wondered if he could duplicate his incredible
2009 performance, which he called the best of his career.


      Childress had to send three of Favre's closest friends on the
team - Ryan Longwell, Jared Allen and Steve Hutchinson - on a
private plane to Hattiesburg, Miss., to coax the old man into
coming back for one more shot at a Super Bowl.


      But that sensational 33-touchdown, seven-interception
masterpiece he put together to help the Vikings reach the NFC title
game last season was doomed from the start. Injuries to his two
best receivers made it difficult for Favre to get going, and that
seemingly indestructible body of his finally started to break down.


      "All indications, when I talk with him, and we've had many,
many discussions - this is it," interim coach Leslie Frazier said.
"I don't even think it'll be an issue in the future. I don't see
any situation that's going to change his mind. You might say,
'Well, we've been down that road before," but it's different now.
Things are different, in his life and in the organization's life as
well."


      The website Deadspin published the tawdry allegations about
Favre's supposed advances on Jenn Sterger in October, and he spent
the next two months sidestepping questions about it while being
exposed to the kind of public humiliation that he's never had to
deal with before.


      His record starts streak ended against the Giants on Dec. 13. He
was knocked out of three games this season - against New England on
Oct. 31 with a gaping wound on his chin, Buffalo on Dec. 5 with the
shoulder injury and Chicago on Dec. 20 with the concussion - and
also played through two broken bones in his foot, tendinitis in his
elbow and injuries to his neck, back, ribs and calf.


      Renowned for his ability to recover quickly, Favre missed three
of his final four games and played a total of less than two
quarters over the final five games as the Vikings fell apart.


      Childress was fired after a 3-7 start and the Vikings finished
6-10, putting them in last place for the first time since 1990.
Favre's team also finished with a losing record for just the second
time in his 19 years as a starter.


      "One game, one season does not define me," Favre said. "There
will be people saying it's a shame you went out that way, this and
that.


      "I am truly grateful for the opportunity that, by the grace of
God, I got a chance to play this game and play it at a high level
and I'm honored. I hope that people admired the way I played, my
passion for it, because I hold no regrets."


      Assuming this is the end, Favre departs as the career leader in
victories (186), yards passing (71,838), touchdown passes (508),
attempts (10,169), completions (6,300) and interceptions (336). He
was drafted in 1991 by Atlanta but never completed a pass for the
Falcons before moving on to Green Bay, where he spent 16 seasons,
won three MVP awards and led the Packers to a Super Bowl title in
1997.


      After the Packers grew weary of his indecisiveness about
retirement, they traded him to the Jets. He spent a forgettable
season in New York before joining the Vikings in 2009.


      There were a few highlights for Favre in 2010. He threw his
500th TD pass against the Jets on Oct. 11 and threw for a
career-high 446 yards to rally the Vikings from a 14-point deficit
with less than 5 minutes remaining to beat the Cardinals on Nov. 7.


      Favre got one last victory under his belt when he won the coin
toss before the game on Sunday. When the final whistle blew, Favre
waved to the fans and jogged past his teammates, up the tunnel and
into the locker room.


      "That's the thing every player and former player that I've
talked to ... will tell you that what you miss is the guys, the
fellowship, the bus rides, locker rooms, winning and losing
together, celebrating together," Favre said. "That's the things
you're going to miss. If I sat here and told you I would not miss
that, I'd be kidding myself. From a playing standpoint, there's
nothing else left to do."

Gallery

Brett Favre was the NFL's ultimate iron man for 19 years,
inspiring coaches and teammates with unparalleled toughness and
thrilling fans with a daredevil's verve and a showman's sense of
the moment.

End of the line? Favre says it's time to retire

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox