Watching Brett Favre win last night against Green Bay was a surreal moment. Not only was there the drama of the match-up and the history of the event (he became the first QB ever to win against every franchised team in the NFL), but there was the very personal side for me.
Brett and I were next door neighbors at USM. Back then he was the Golden Eagles quarterback and I was prototypical student guy, but we became friends simply by circumstance. He and his brother Scott lived next door and, um, lived hard. If you read the “College Career” section of his Wikipedia page, you will get an idea of what I mean. I got to know the whole team, his future wife Deanna, etc., in those frivolous times (think crazy and hottub and know that we had way too much fun) and so have followed his career with interest over the years. He has certainly done well.
Over the years I had thought about doing either a biography or self-helpish type book with him. When I lived in Baltimore I outlined a substantial project with him but then let it go fallow. Since then we’ve both had more children and lost our parents. Lived a lot of life.
These past years though of retiring not retiring antics have got me to thinking he is hunting a glorious exit, a last Super Bowl ring. He is too mcuh of a competitor to ever simply walk away. He would love to go out on top. I think with this Vikings team he might have found his vehicle. I wish him luck.
That game last night seemed to solidify it all in my mind.
That’s why after the game I started working on a new book about Favre I’ve titled Go Out Like a Viking. We’ll see how it progresses.