When you look at Brett Favre today, you see one of he greatest quarterbacks to have ever played in the NFL.
The Brett Favre most people know can win games simply with desire. The Brett Favre most people know is the ultimate competitor.
Brett Favre is a Super Bowl winning quarterback who once won three straight NFL MVP awards. He also holds several NFL passing records. Brett Favre has been to the Pro Bowl so many times that it would probably be cheaper for the NFL to buy him a house in Hawaii as opposed to spending money on his hotel. There’s even a Brett Favre Day honored by the state of Wisconsin.
There’s even rumors that Brett Favre may have a slight chance at getting into the Hall of Fame. We’ll let you know when we can confirm that.
Things weren’t always great for Brett Favre, though.
In 1991, Brett Favre was drafted out of the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2nd round by the Atlanta Falcons. As the 33rd overall player drafted, he was the 3rd quarterback chosen in the draft behind Dan McGwire and Todd Marinovich.
We’ll go ahead and pause for a few minutes for your ribs to stop hurting from the laughter. Actually, it might take a while for the laughter to subside, so we’re going to take a trip around the world…on foot. Maybe the laughing will be out of your system by then.
We all know hindsight is 20/20, so we won’t pick on the general managers too much.
The head coach of the Atlanta Falcons at the time, Jerry Glanville, wasn’t a big fan of Brett Favre. In fact, he said that it would take a plane crash for him to put Brett Favre into the game. Of course, Brett Favre didn’t do himself any favors when he did get on the field. His first ever throw in the NFL was an interception. The next three passes were incompletions.
Along with reports of problems with alcohol, that was basically Brett Favre’s entire career with the Atlanta Falcons.
It’s not a surprise that the Atlanta Falcons were ecstatic when then Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf came calling with a first round draft pick dangling on a hook. In 1991, Ron Wolf was the assistant general manager for the New York Jets. He pushed very hard for the team to draft Brett Favre, but the Atlanta Falcons, who drafted one spot before them, beat them to the punch. Once he got the general manager position with the Green Bay Packers, he immediately set his sights on Brett Favre.
By the way, in case you’re wondering, that first round draft pick that the Green Bay Packers traded ended up being running back Tony Smith. He has a career total of 329 rushing yards in 3 years.
If you want more evidence about how badly Ron Wolf wanted Brett Favre, take a look at the fact that he overruled the team’s doctors. The physicians had diagnosed Brett Favre with avascular necrosis, which is a degenerative hip condition that ended the career of Bo Jackson.
Ron Wolf sure looks like a genius now, doesn’t he?
In life, it’s not about how many times you fall. It’s about how many times you get up. Brett Favre now looks back fondly at his short career in Atlanta and realizes that the experience helped turn him into the champion that he is now.
Check out the Brett Favre Atlanta Falcons Jersey from Mitchell & Ness.