Jim Biever
Packers fans felt betrayed when Favre went to play for the Vikings.
I was fortunate to play eight years with Brett Favre leading us out of the tunnel every week. It was comforting knowing you were in a great position to win every time because you had an elite quarterback behind you.
My former teammate returns to Wisconsin this weekend for his induction into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame on Saturday and to star in Brett Favre’s Legends Game at Camp Randall Stadium on Sunday. I’ll be on Brett’s team one more time, along with such former Green Bay greats as Dorsey Levens, James Lofton, Gilbert Brown and Frank Winters. We’ll be competing in a flag football matchup against the likes of Donovan McNabb, Ron Dayne and John Randle — who during his NFL career sacked Brett more times than any other quarterback.
During a phone interview last week, Brett and I talked about his departure from Green Bay, what he’s up to now and his upcoming weekend in Wisconsin. We also had a little fun at the expense of Winters and Randle.
Mark Tauscher: Frank Winters is introducing you at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I can’t wait to hear that. Is he censoring it?
Brett Favre: Has he ever censored anything? Trying to get Frank to bleep out certain things is going to be interesting. This will be a little bit bigger crowd than he’s used to.
Were you surprised that so many people bought tickets to watch the ceremony at Lambeau?
I really didn’t know what to expect. I anticipated maybe 10,000 or 15,000. My daughter, Breleigh, came home from school, and she’s like “Dad, did you hear it sold out? They must really like you!” Even I was shocked. If there were any doubts from anyone before, there aren’t now.
The contention between you and Green Bay was probably at its highest when you came back for the Packers Family Night Scrimmage in 2008, after you announced your retirement. Earlier in the day, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated you, but you didn’t play that night. We, as players, were sitting in that locker room thinking, “What the heck is going on?” What was going on in your mind at that time?
I felt the same thing. I was like, “How did we get to this?” You look at my career, and you think “Green Bay.” After playing for so long, and having so much success there, to feel that I was not necessarily welcome in the building anymore was awkward — very awkward. That was a tough time.
It was so tense in the locker room. That whole scenario was just crazy how it played out.
It really was. And it was unfortunate that everybody had to go through that: you guys, the organization, myself. The fans, too. They have a bigger vested interest in the organization than anybody.
Then you went to New York and eventually to Minnesota. What was it like when you came back to Green Bay as a Minnesota Viking for the first time [on Nov. 1, 2009]? You guys beat us, 38-26. That experience had to just be surreal.
Coming out of that tunnel, I had never been as nervous and excited at the same time in my entire career — Super Bowls included. Of course, I wanted to play better than great. Considering the circumstances, I thought, “Boy, anything less than spectacular is going to be a bust.” I had never heard boos that loud, ever, at Lambeau, and I’ve heard some pretty loud ones. But in a strange sort of way, I felt honored by that. Of course, I’d been coming out of the other tunnel for 16 years, hearing the loudest cheers, which made me think, “Wow, they really like me!” This was totally the opposite, times 100. When the game was over I could not have been more pleased with the way I played, but I never expected that going into it.
What can the fans expect to happen at the Legends Game, besides [former All-Pro defensive tackle] John Randle sacking you?
Boy, I sure hope that doesn’t happen. You know John: He may short-circuit out there and just kill Frank [Winters], which would not be anything different than what’s happened before! I wouldn’t expect any midseason-form playing, but I don’t think people are coming to see that. These are guys who were damn good in their day but just look kind of normal now.
Edited by Michael Popke. Mark Tauscher is a co-owner of Isthmus.
