The Inner Life of Brett Favre

We interrupt the usual dawging to give a special thanks to one of the gutsiest athletes ever: Brett Favre. Here's a look inside the mind of the man himself.

PRESEASON
"I don’t think anyone needs six week of camp for maybe five preseason games. It’s ridiculous. Too many guys get hurt over a game that means nothing. I go back with all the young guys, and they start from day one. And I’m just sitting there thinking about hedging, weeding, or golfing.”

FACING THE BURNOUT
“I think a lot of players – not necessarily athletes; people who’ve been successful for a long period of time, whatever field they’re in – probably face the same challenge. Maybe you’ve had numerous albums and No.1’s, and finally you say, ‘Who cares?’ Like Garth Brooks, who walked away from it. I think everybody faces that time.”

NEON DEION FADING
“I talked to Deion Sanders right before he retired. He said, ‘You know what Brett? I knew it was time for me to retire when I was playing and I looked up in the third quarter’, and regardless of who he was covering, he’d like up at the clock and say, ‘Man, this game can’t get over quick enough.’”

MOTHERS HIDE YOUR BREAD LOAVES
“The only reason I am there is my right arm. If I had a great will to win, and I was a great leader, but I couldn’t dent a loaf of bread from 10 yards, I wouldn’t be there.”

YOU KEEP ON PLAYING THOSE MIND GAMES
“Time and time again, I go into training camp and I think part of it is, I’ve challenged myself subconsciously. I go into training camp and say, ‘I just don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I can make this throw work.’ That’s always worked in my favor – those doubts, letting those doubts creep in the back of my mind. I wouldn’t say I’m a pessimist. But I also wouldn’t say I’m an optimist. I’m sure a lot of people would think, ‘Brett Favre, he’s probably got the most confidence – off the charts.’ It’s not that I don’t. But I’m a realist. I’m not going to go out there and light it up week in and week out.”

THE HURT
“We won the Super Bowl and then lost it the following year, within a year’s time. The feeling I got when we lost easily outweighed the jubilation I had when we won it.”

THE HONOR
“To be a pro football player in general is special. To be a star quarterback…goes without saying. But to be a starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers – I knew that was special. I couldn’t be playing in a better place. It would be like playing baseball for the Yankees, or basketball for the Celtics. It’s a dream come true.”

HOW TO REMEMBER A LEGEND
“When it's over, all I care about is that people say: ‘If I can play, I want to play just like him. The way he plays, the way he carries himself.’ I would hope they say, ‘I like the way that guy plays. You can’t help respect the guy.’ I want people to say that and nothing more.”