The Myth of Brett Favre

One of the things we discussed in the Modern British Identity history course I took last year was the "Myth of 1940." The idea is that the selective stories and memories associated with that fateful year helped to shape Britain's wartime identity in retrospect. The Myth of 1940 is encapsulated by events like the Miracle of Dunkirk, the Blitz, and the Battle of Britain, as well as Churchill's famous speeches ("finest hour", "blood, toil, tears, and sweat", and "never before was so much owed by so many to so few"). The conception of Britain that came out of these events was one of unity and defiance - the "stiff upper lip." Overall, the Myth of 1940 suggests a gap between that conception and reality. (Agnus Calder's The Myth of the Blitz (1992) is one of the more prominent books on this subject.)

The thing is, the Myth of 1940 is debatable. On one hand, you can punch holes in the idealistic version of the story as it is now commonly told. The miraculous rescue of the British army at Dunkirk is perhaps better explained as a bungled opportunity for Germany than as purely a result of unified effort by Brits. The vast majority of the bombs during the London Blitz of 1940 fell on East London, making it an experience for London's poor, rather than all British.

On the other hand, with Europe conquered and America neutral, Britain certainly did stand alone in 1940 and its air force managed to stave off invasion during that critical summer. Personally, I think the eventual victory proved Churchill right; that was Britain's finest hour.

As you can surmise from the title of this post, this is all one long comparison to Brett Favre. Few athletes have as great a myth surrounding them as Favre does. Gunslinger. Kid. Tough. Overcoming obstacles. Looks like he's having fun out there. Seems like a regular guy. Do you believe all that?

It has been quite clear that, from Berman to Madden, the old white male media have worshiped Favre. At the same time, you can find plenty of examples of skeptics. Bill Simmons has attacked the media at times for being overly fond of Favre. Since he announced his retirement, I have heard two other people make slightly negative comments about the retirement. Stephen A. Smith suggested that the reason Favre stuck around this long was to break more passing records. JT the Brick was skeptical of the motivation behind the retirement, offering among other theories the possibility that Favre was angry about the lack of activity by the Packers in the free agent market or that Favre simply wanted to play elsewhere and had found a roundabout way to leave the Packers without hurting anyone's feelings. I'm sure there are many NFL fans that were long ago sick of Brett Favre for various reasons.

I believe the Myth of Brett Favre.


I wish I could remember the article, but sometime this past season somebody drove the point home that there was not other star in sports who's life has played out in front of our eyes like Brett Favre. Now that he is gone, there is no other star that we know in the same way that we know Brett Favre. You can't say the same thing about Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. From the moment he established himself as an exceptional quarterback, Favre's ups and downs have been both monumental and accessible. The addiction to pain killers, his father's death, his wife's victory over cancer, and the effect of Katrina on his hometown mix with Favre's accomplishments on the field to reveal a life that, while we may not quite be able to relate to, we can certainly both sympathize with and respect. Reinforcing the story is Favre's image and personality both on and off the field. He was fun to watch on the field. He certainly had his own style. Off the field, all those life-events forced him to do more than just "say the right thing" to the media. As much as Green Bay owes Favre, perhaps Favre owes Green Bay even more. Could you picture him succeeding and being embraced to the same extent if he played in a bigger market? I think anywhere else the criticism of his pain killer addiction or his style of play would have hurt him. Even his bayou personality would not have gone over as well elsewhere. Green Bay was a comfort fit, like those Wranglers he advertises.

Thus, Favre became the anti-Jordan. MJ said all the right things like no athlete had said all the right things before. He was such a marketing force and exceptional athlete that we continue to gloss over his countless faults and probably always will. MJ, similarly to Tiger Woods (though Tiger lacks the negative skeletons in the closet so far), managed to be known around the world without really being known at all. Because of his personality, because of his background, and because he played in Green Bay, Favre had no need or desire for the protective shell of marketing those two have. I imagine that without those epic life-events that Favre encountered off the field, he would have come off as a much more guarded, private guy. Instead he became the person written about he became the person written about in the Sportsman of the Year article by Alan Shipnuck (read it if you haven't).

I have barely mentioned Favre's on-field exploits. I have to say I also appreciate and believe in the "Gunslinger" aspect of the Myth of Favre. The biggest criticism of Favre's game will always be his interceptions. In a lot of ways interceptions can be overrated as a statistic. Clearly single interceptions can be blamed for costing a team a game, as you could argue Favre's last throw did. But the Greatest Show on Turf St. Louis Rams proved turnovers could be acceptable if you were explosive. As a natural buy-product of an aggressive offense, interceptions are ok if you are talented enough at scoring. Like those Rams teams, Favre had more than enough talent to overcome the interceptions most of the time. He would not have been as great as he was if he was not aggressive with his throws. With the passing records, MVPs, and Super Bowl victory, Brett "The Gunslinger" Favre deserves to be in the conversation of greatest quarterbacks of all-time.

A Few Highlights of the Myth of Favre: with commentary by Winston Churchill

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. - September 20, 1992: Favre takes over as QB of the Packers. Green Bay would miss the playoffs that year, but would make the playoffs in 11 of their next 15 seasons.

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth [and the Green Bay Packers] last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' - Super Bowl XXXI

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender... - 2007: In what would be his last season, Favre leads the Packers to a surprising 13-3 record

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. - Packers fans to Brett Favre