An old farmhouse television, my grandmother and Brett Favre

Brett Favre-to-Sterling Sharpe in the Packers playoff win over the Lions in the 1993-94 season is my favorite Favre memory.

What if the Green Bay Packers are beating the Chicago Bears 42-0 late in the second quarter of the 2015 season opener and President Obama finally decides that he's had enough? 

At halftime, the president/Bears fan announces a new program called the "De-Favreification of America." To enact a little bit of revenge against Packers fans, Obama orders all video footage of Brett Favre destroyed. No more watching Favre torch the Bears for five touchdowns on a bum ankle. No more re-living the moment when Favre broke Dan Marino's touchdown recrod. No more jumping for joy as Favre takes his helmet off and runs around the field after throwing a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXI.

No video highlights during the Favre ceremony when the Packers play the Bears on Thanksgiving. They'll all be destroyed. Thanks Obama...

Obama orders the De-Favreification program to be implemented immediately, but after some intense lobbying and threats from Wisconsin cheese makers to discontinue nationwide cheddar production, Obama relents and says that Americans may vote for one Favre highlight to preserve. The rest must be destroyed.

Which highlight do you choose?

Here's mine: 

Favre-to-Sharpe in the 1993-94 playoffs will always be my favorite because it happened while I was hanging out with my grandmother when I was 12 years old. My grandmother's Alzheimer's had set in at that point in her life and my uncle was doing his best to take care of her.

I'd occasionally "babysit" my grandmother at her old farmhouse when my uncle had things to do. By "babysit," I mean hanging out to keep my grandmother company and make sure she didn't put herself in any danger. To a lot of 12 year olds, this might not sound like much fun, but I loved it. I didn't mind answering the same questions over and over again from my grandmother, or having conversations that made no sense whatsoever. My grandmother didn't recognize me and probably had no recollection of anything we talked about, but I knew she was better off by having me there to talk with. Even though I was a young, smart-ass 12-year-old, I also knew I needed to cherish all the time I could get with my grandmother. I wouldn't trade the time I spent with her during her battle with Alzheimer's for anything.

Anyway, the television in her old farmhouse had rabbit ears and poor reception. It picked up one channel, two on a good day. Thankfully, the Packers vs. Lions playoff game on CBS was the channel it picked up that day. It came in just good enough for me to follow what was going on.

I spent most of the game telling my grandmother about football. She would ask me for the 114th time if I needed something to eat, I would tell her about Reggie White. She'd ask where her husband was (who had been dead for several years), I'd tell her about Mike Holmgren's West Coast offense. She'd get sad or upset about something. I'd try and get her to chant "Go Pack Go."

That might sound silly, but any conversation with my grandmother was a good one at that point in her life. Anything to keep her engaged and talking. On that day it was the Packers. Other days it was hunting, farming or some family history or gossip.

Late in the game, Favre connected with Sharpe for the winning touchdown. I remember my exact feeling when Favre made that throw. "Why is he trying to throw the ball straight through the roof?"

On the old farmhouse television with its snowy screen, mismatched colors and general shakiness -- it looked like all Favre was doing was launching the ball straight up in the air. Then the ball actually came down, landed in Sharpe's hands, and I went crazy. I must have did 10 laps around the living room where my grandmother and I were sitting. I couldn't stop pumping my fists and hollering.

I finally sat back down next to my grandmother. She asked: "Are you watching ball?"

"Ball" to my grandmother typically meant "baseball," but I've convinced myself that in this particular instance, she meant football. 

I told her yes, I was watching "ball," then went on to explain how this guy named Favre just got the Green Bay Packers their first playoff win in a very, very long time.

She didn't understand the significance of the moment. But neither did I. Little did I know that that pass would be the first of many distinct Brett Favre moments in my lifetime.

I'm glad I got to witness the first one with my grandmother.

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Comments (13)

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Bearmeat's picture

July 14, 2015 at 07:33 am

Good memories Adam. Very cool to read!

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Since'61's picture

July 14, 2015 at 07:58 am

Nice job Adam. I enjoyed your story. For me there are too many great Favre memories to count because he played hard and played through many injuries. However, back in 1992 when Favre threw the winning TD against the Bengals I remember saying to my wife, "I think that after all these years (I was referring back to the Starr/Lombardi days) the Packers finally have a quarterback that they can win with, if he stays healthy". Little did I know that Favre's unbelievable streak was ahead of us. All of that to now be followed with Aaron Rodger's remarkable career. We had 21 lackluster years between Starr and Favre and 29 years between championships. Cherish what remains of Aaron Rodger's career my fellow Packer fans we have been incredibly fortunate since 1992. Thanks, Since '61

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Ibleedgreenmore's picture

July 14, 2015 at 08:12 am

To add about the Bengal game, I lived out of the area back then watching Packer games for me was about impossible I never miss them now with the tv and internet access. He said you gotta watch this guy the Packers got, I said who is it I had no clue. He starts off this guy is a bum he will never make it. I am watching the tape of it, I see him trow the TD and my brother said got you hehe that was the start of a beautiful thing so many memories.

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adamczech's picture

July 14, 2015 at 08:28 am

For most of my initial years as a Packers fan, I had to follow the team through the ticker at the bottom of the screen during Vikings games (I lived in Minnesota). I'd have knots in my stomach as I waited for the Packers score to scroll by on the bottom every 10 minutes or so (I don't think they had a continuous scroll back in those days) and a stat line for Favre, Edgar Bennett or Sterling Sharpe.

On Mondays, the Minneapolis newspaper would usually have a decent game story on the Packers game, so I relied on that for additional context. Those mid-90s playoff defeats to the Cowboys were also viewed with my grandmother at her nursing home, since we didn't get Fox at my house until the late 90s.

That's what life was like for Packers fans living outside of Wisconsin in a small town in the early/mid-90s.

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Ibleedgreenmore's picture

July 14, 2015 at 08:22 am

Its the only way I got to see football back in the day, at times the wind would blow the antenna, yeah back in that day. I remember my dad saying, fix that thing and then a TD so much old fun.

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4thand1's picture

July 14, 2015 at 09:35 pm

In my day if people had a rotor on their antenna, they where rich.

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phillythedane's picture

July 14, 2015 at 10:13 am

Coughing up blood (in the end zone?) against the Steelers. Didn't miss a down. Packers had a gamer at qb.

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zeke's picture

July 14, 2015 at 11:44 am

The second-best part of this highlight is the shot of Wayne Fontes at the end. I always assumed he must have had incriminating pictures of William Clay Ford in order to get that job. And that he then gave them to Matt Millen. What a franchise...

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D.D.Driver's picture

July 14, 2015 at 11:51 am

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Gianich's picture

July 14, 2015 at 12:58 pm

Great Story! Some of my favorite Packer moments invovled watching the games with my late Grandma Ruth. We watched that game in an TV appliance section of a Sears or Kmart while my mom and Grandma were shopping. I was about 11 or 12 and refused to leave the TVs as the game was going on. After the umpteenth time she tried to get me to tag along shopping Grandma Ruth finally gave in and watched the 4th quarter with me and was hooked on Brett and PAcker football ever since. She called me every day that summer of the "Favre Saga" to get my opinion and called me after every game to get my analysis. She fell in love with Arodge and felt so bad for him after how the fans treated him and felt even worse those first few years while Allen Babre was ole'ing D-ends right throw to demolish the future start. 2010 was Grandam Ruth's last season here with us as she passed in May. I'm so grateful for the 2010 run and one last Lombardi Grandma Ruth got to celebrate! Thanks for sharing Adam!

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adamczech's picture

July 14, 2015 at 02:29 pm

Watching at Sears or KMart? That's awesome!

RIP Grandma Ruth.

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PortlandMark's picture

July 14, 2015 at 02:40 pm

Favre to Driver in the 2007 NFC Title Game for 90 yards and a TD. That was his last great moment in GB. I was so excited when that play happened, leaping off the couch and jumping for joy. I was sure that would get GB to the Super Bowl. They would win and Favre would ride off into the sunset, a champion. It didn't work out that way but I still watch that play on youtube and feel happy all over again.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

July 14, 2015 at 04:49 pm

Do you think Baseball could persuade the President to de-PeteRose baseball video?

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