Brett Favre’s amazing streak comes to an end
A streak that started in 1992, 19 seasons ago has finally come to an end. The unstoppable Brett Favre had to sit out Monday Night’s game against the New York Giants. This is the first time that Favre did not start a game since
1992. He has started 297 consecutive games but the record setting streak has finally come to an end.
He has been through it all. All kinds of bruises, hits and pain but every time Favre pulled through and fought through it. Nothing could keep him down. He played through injuries, he played after his father’s death and he played
despite his age. But he couldn’t play this Monday because of a shoulder injury he received after a collision with Buffalo’s linebacker Arthur Moats.
Moats said that he did not want to hurt Favre nor did he want to see Favre’s streak end because of him but he said that it was a notable thing for Moats. As a quarterback, Favre played 297 games with a bull’s eye on his back and
survived week in and week out. “It's a tough, physical job and you aren't ever delivering the blow. It takes self-sacrifice to stand in there and take a blow to make a play for the team,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said when asked about Favre’s streak.
“He had numbness in his hand so it wasn't a hard decision,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. Favre was questionable a few weeks ago due to multiple ankle injuries. However, he played in spite of the pain and the ironman Favre
would have played again this Monday had it just been a question of pain. That is the kind of Quarterback Favre is.
The Vikings were scheduled to host the New York Giants at the Metrodome. Heavy snow caused the roof of the stadium to collapse and the game had to be relocated to the home of the Detroit Lions, Vikings’ arch rivals. The Giants
crushed the Vikings as a helpless Favre looked on.
This could mark the beginning of the end for 41-year old Favre’s Hall of Fame career. On Monday, his right hand appeared purple to TV cameras. Favre’s shoulder injury is somewhat of a rarity in athletes. Doctors said that this
kind of shoulder injury is more commonly seen in traffic accidents than sports. According to the doctors, Favre’s injury would not heal in less than 3 week. Three weeks are all that are left in the regular season and the odds of the Vikings making it to the
playoffs are next to nothing.
Unless Favre can recover by January 2nd when the Vikings face the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, last Week’s play would have been the last play for Brett Favre as an NFL quarterback. It would be a crying shame if the last
play the Legendary Brett Favre made on a football field turned out to be an interception.
Favre has ‘retired’ a few times before but this might actually be the final goodbye fans send out to Favre. After Favre, the longest active NFL streak belongs to Peyton Manning who has started 205 consecutive games. If Manning
is to break Favre’s streak it would take him five and a half 16 game seasons of consecutive starts. His younger brother Eli Manning was just 11 years old when Favre’s streak began.
Favre broke the previous record for the longest consecutive starting streak for a quarterback a decade ago. The previous record was held by Ron Jaworski. “I knew when my streak ended, it was because of a broken leg,” Jaworski said.
“I knew it was over. It was just kind of interesting following Brett this week. Now that we know it's over, we can kind of look back on it and marvel. I don't know if I can even put words on it.”
Favre and Frazier decided not to give the quarterback a ceremonial start where Favre could just throw the ball once and walk back to the sidelines with his streak still intact. He played his 20th season with two fractures,
elbow tendinitis, back pains and 10 stitches across his chin.
All good things must come to an end, it seems.
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