Brett Favre, arguably the greatest quarterback ever to play professional football, is believed to have announced his retirement after seventeen years in the National Football League. Favre retires as the holder of most of the career NFL quarterback performance records, including passing yards (61,655), passing attempts (8,758), passing completions (5,377), consecutive games started (253), games won as starting quarterback (160), and touchdown passes (442). Incredibly, Favre did not miss a start after replacing an injured Don Majkowski in the third game of the 1992 regular season.

The Mississippi gunslinger’s legendary career is by now familiar to most – playing high school football at Hancock (MS) High for his dad, Irvin. Surviving a car accident and the subsequent removal of thirty inches of his small intestine to lead Southern Mississippi to an historical win against football powerhouse, Alabama, only eight weeks later. Being drafted as the 33rd overall pick in the 1991 draft by the Atlanta Falcons, only to be traded to the Green Bay Packers in 1992 in a trade engineered by Ron Wolf that is acknowledged as one of the most brilliant and consequential trades in the history of professional sports.

Favre lead the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI, thereby returning the Vince Lombardi trophy to its rightful owner. He returned the Packers to Super Bowl XXXII only to lose the duel to fellow gunslinger, John Elway. Favre had one of the most impressive one-game statistical performances in NFL history on December 22, 2003, only hours after learning of the death of the inspirational father who had taught him to love the game, in the glare of Monday Night lights.

History will attest to the brilliant career of Brett Favre. While we can’t predict what the future will hold for #4, we look forward to a warm day in Canton, Ohio in July of 2013 when we will gather collectively – in spirit, if not in proximity – to relive the greatness of our legendary gridiron hero.

Through glory and heartbreak, he’s allowed us to make the journey with him. We thank you, Brett, for the moments and memories that you provided us for seventeen years, and we wish you, Deanna, Brittany, and Breleigh the very, very best.