April 30, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, in part three of our five-part series, Brett Favre gets very personal about his miraculous Monday Night Football game, which occurred immediately after his father’s passing.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
This is our American Stories. Much of what's known about
legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been kept between the goalposts.
But our own Greg Hangler took a drive three hours
south to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We broadcast from here in Oxford
to learn the rest of the story, as we do
so often here at Our American Stories are Brett's life,
(00:33):
and what we come up with is a five part
series about a lot of things.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
This one has to do with the day.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
On December twenty two, two thousand and three, the day
after his father's fatal heart attack, and his father's name
was Irvin. Brett Farv played and it must win Monday
night football game against the Oakland Raiders. Farv dealt with
the grief and the best way he can imagine, he
played his heavy heart out here again. He's Brett fav
(01:01):
with Part three of our five part series.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
That game.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Of all the games I played, I played in three
hundred twenty one games, played in two Super Bowls by far,
not even close. The most pressure and the most nervous
I've ever been was an Oakland game. And it wasn't.
It had nothing to do about will I or will
(01:29):
I not play? As people were thinking leading up understandably, so,
I mean, do you think he'll play? I knew I
was going to play, but I was so afraid that
I wouldn't play. I wanted to honor my dad by
playing the lights frigging out. I didn't want to just play,
(01:51):
even though I would have gotten a free pass to say,
you played, we win. He played crappy. People said, what
do you expect? I didn't want. I didn't want to
even go down that road. I wanted to play like
I've never played.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Before, and.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
The odds of that happening just because I want it.
I wanted to do that all the time, but this
time more than ever. So the pressure was enormous. And
and in my experiences, when the when the pressure is
(02:33):
almost too big to bear, it's hard to perform, very
hard to perform. You you know, you just can't just
settle down and everything's moving so fast, which is what
was going on that night. But it was like as
the game unfolded with each play, it was like, man,
(02:58):
that this is this is.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I knew then. I mean, I've always been.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
A Christian, some days better than others, some years better
than others, but you know, we were born and raised,
went to church, and as kids we didn't pay attention,
and you know, we got weapons and got chewed out,
you know, sent to the cry room. And then you know,
(03:28):
through my trials and tribulations, I've leaned on the Lord
more at times than.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Other times, I think, like most people.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
But I knew that night, based on what I just
told you, there's no way.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
That was a sign. I've used this several times.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
I didn't realize at the time, but at halftime, I mean,
I knew statistically that this was was unbelievable, but I
wanted to win the game. But I was well aware
of like that, you gotta be kidding me. I mean, this,
this is crazy. But at the end of the game,
(04:11):
it didn't dawn on me. Then it didn't dawn on
me that year. It didn't dawn on me a year later.
It dawned on me years later that you know. And
I spoke to a group at Murphysboro, this high school
up there.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
It was a Christian group last year.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I spoke at Liberty University this year or actually October,
I think, and talked about it there. I said, you
know what I don't know about and I was kind
of really asking a question to the audience. I said,
do you ever like find yourself saying I want to sign, Lord,
give me a sign, show yourself, or you know, make
(04:50):
this curtain move or whatever. You know, all of a sudden,
this billboard says, you know I am real, or you look,
give me a sign. And I said, and it never
works out that way, right, And you got and you
forget about it, you go on, and then maybe you
do it again. I said, I was that happened to me?
(05:13):
And I said, one day I realized that the sign
was how I played. I said, you know, you have
to keep in mind that I played at halftime.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I had already If.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
That game would have ended, I it would have been
the best game in my history, statistically speaking.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
And it's just a half.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Now, keep in mind that my father just died. I
ever studied, because when I've got the news that he
had died, I mean, I you know, my mind was
elsewhere and we needed to win this game, and I
needed to play and play well. But I didn't need
to play that well. And I prayed and prayed and prayed. Lord,
(06:03):
I want to I want to honor my father. I
want to play well, I don't want to just play.
I want to and I don't even know if I was.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Really specific, but I think he knew what I was asking.
And that's the sign that the God is real.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
It wasn't some little angel comes flying in and drops
a football, although angels may have been placing the balls
in certain places. But two touchdown through four touchdowns be halftime,
which is not not unheard of. But two of the
touchdown passes were two of the best passes.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I've ever thrown. Now, people watching probably wouldn't know that.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
They'd have to know that why angle on precision had
to be perfect when you're when you're when you're not
running out of the pocket, and h you add run
running out of the pocket, and so one's chasing you
have to turn to the and then make it over
the shoulder throw to a guy in the back corn
(07:08):
of the end zone that has to drop only one spot,
and it did. And then there was two more that
we're just totally opposite. Oakland could have caught it just
as easy as our guys, and they didn't even come
close to it. They were in positioned like just fell down.
So that's you know that that game is important. For
(07:33):
a lot of reasons. At the time, we needed to
win the game to continue playoff hopes. But when I
came back for the funeral, it sure made life easier
for everyone because that's what people were talking about.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
And I'm not I don't know.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Many people that are good at funerals or wakes, I particularly,
I'm not very good.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
In fact, I like to if I go to one.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
And my wife's aunt passed away about a month and
a half ago, and we were real close with her.
But my way of handling those situations and being in
that environment is to make light of the situation, talk
about stories.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
That made us laugh.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I don't I I don't like being down, never have
and so that had I played bad, coming back home
would have been even worse. All people, I know what
they would have said, maybe, hey, you you play you
did your best.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
I don't. I didn't want to hear it.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I wanted to come home and be able to celebrate,
and so I'm thankful that we were able to.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Kind of enjoy and rejoice about it.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And you've been listening to Brett fav talking about his
performance on December twenty second, two thousand and three, the
day after his father, Irvin, suffered a fatal heart attack
and died. And Brett that night was twenty two for thirty,
had three hundred and ninety nine yards, four touchdowns and
three yards shy of his best game ever, and in
(09:20):
the biggest night of his life, God.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Showed up for him.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
And we'll bring you this story because as you could tell,
there was a lot more going on here than just
the material world grass and turf and x's and o's
and plays, and we all knew it when we were
watching it. Brett Favre's story, a story of a game,
a story of a love affair with a sport, and
a story of a love for a father and a
son and God here on our American stories
This is our American Stories. Much of what's known about
legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been kept between the goalposts.
But our own Greg Hangler took a drive three hours
south to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We broadcast from here in Oxford
to learn the rest of the story, as we do
so often here at Our American Stories are Brett's life,
(00:33):
and what we come up with is a five part
series about a lot of things.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
This one has to do with the day.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
On December twenty two, two thousand and three, the day
after his father's fatal heart attack, and his father's name
was Irvin. Brett Farv played and it must win Monday
night football game against the Oakland Raiders. Farv dealt with
the grief and the best way he can imagine, he
played his heavy heart out here again. He's Brett fav
(01:01):
with Part three of our five part series.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
That game.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Of all the games I played, I played in three
hundred twenty one games, played in two Super Bowls by far,
not even close. The most pressure and the most nervous
I've ever been was an Oakland game. And it wasn't.
It had nothing to do about will I or will
(01:29):
I not play? As people were thinking leading up understandably, so,
I mean, do you think he'll play? I knew I
was going to play, but I was so afraid that
I wouldn't play. I wanted to honor my dad by
playing the lights frigging out. I didn't want to just play,
(01:51):
even though I would have gotten a free pass to say,
you played, we win. He played crappy. People said, what
do you expect? I didn't want. I didn't want to
even go down that road. I wanted to play like
I've never played.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Before, and.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
The odds of that happening just because I want it.
I wanted to do that all the time, but this
time more than ever. So the pressure was enormous. And
and in my experiences, when the when the pressure is
(02:33):
almost too big to bear, it's hard to perform, very
hard to perform. You you know, you just can't just
settle down and everything's moving so fast, which is what
was going on that night. But it was like as
the game unfolded with each play, it was like, man,
(02:58):
that this is this is.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I knew then. I mean, I've always been.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
A Christian, some days better than others, some years better
than others, but you know, we were born and raised,
went to church, and as kids we didn't pay attention,
and you know, we got weapons and got chewed out,
you know, sent to the cry room. And then you know,
(03:28):
through my trials and tribulations, I've leaned on the Lord
more at times than.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Other times, I think, like most people.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
But I knew that night, based on what I just
told you, there's no way.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
That was a sign. I've used this several times.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
I didn't realize at the time, but at halftime, I mean,
I knew statistically that this was was unbelievable, but I
wanted to win the game. But I was well aware
of like that, you gotta be kidding me. I mean, this,
this is crazy. But at the end of the game,
(04:11):
it didn't dawn on me. Then it didn't dawn on
me that year. It didn't dawn on me a year later.
It dawned on me years later that you know. And
I spoke to a group at Murphysboro, this high school
up there.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
It was a Christian group last year.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I spoke at Liberty University this year or actually October,
I think, and talked about it there. I said, you
know what I don't know about and I was kind
of really asking a question to the audience. I said,
do you ever like find yourself saying I want to sign, Lord,
give me a sign, show yourself, or you know, make
(04:50):
this curtain move or whatever. You know, all of a sudden,
this billboard says, you know I am real, or you look,
give me a sign. And I said, and it never
works out that way, right, And you got and you
forget about it, you go on, and then maybe you
do it again. I said, I was that happened to me?
(05:13):
And I said, one day I realized that the sign
was how I played. I said, you know, you have
to keep in mind that I played at halftime.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I had already If.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
That game would have ended, I it would have been
the best game in my history, statistically speaking.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
And it's just a half.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Now, keep in mind that my father just died. I
ever studied, because when I've got the news that he
had died, I mean, I you know, my mind was
elsewhere and we needed to win this game, and I
needed to play and play well. But I didn't need
to play that well. And I prayed and prayed and prayed. Lord,
(06:03):
I want to I want to honor my father. I
want to play well, I don't want to just play.
I want to and I don't even know if I was.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Really specific, but I think he knew what I was asking.
And that's the sign that the God is real.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
It wasn't some little angel comes flying in and drops
a football, although angels may have been placing the balls
in certain places. But two touchdown through four touchdowns be halftime,
which is not not unheard of. But two of the
touchdown passes were two of the best passes.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I've ever thrown. Now, people watching probably wouldn't know that.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
They'd have to know that why angle on precision had
to be perfect when you're when you're when you're not
running out of the pocket, and h you add run
running out of the pocket, and so one's chasing you
have to turn to the and then make it over
the shoulder throw to a guy in the back corn
(07:08):
of the end zone that has to drop only one spot,
and it did. And then there was two more that
we're just totally opposite. Oakland could have caught it just
as easy as our guys, and they didn't even come
close to it. They were in positioned like just fell down.
So that's you know that that game is important. For
(07:33):
a lot of reasons. At the time, we needed to
win the game to continue playoff hopes. But when I
came back for the funeral, it sure made life easier
for everyone because that's what people were talking about.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
And I'm not I don't know.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Many people that are good at funerals or wakes, I particularly,
I'm not very good.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
In fact, I like to if I go to one.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
And my wife's aunt passed away about a month and
a half ago, and we were real close with her.
But my way of handling those situations and being in
that environment is to make light of the situation, talk
about stories.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
That made us laugh.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I don't I I don't like being down, never have
and so that had I played bad, coming back home
would have been even worse. All people, I know what
they would have said, maybe, hey, you you play you
did your best.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
I don't. I didn't want to hear it.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I wanted to come home and be able to celebrate,
and so I'm thankful that we were able to.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Kind of enjoy and rejoice about it.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And you've been listening to Brett fav talking about his
performance on December twenty second, two thousand and three, the
day after his father, Irvin, suffered a fatal heart attack
and died. And Brett that night was twenty two for thirty,
had three hundred and ninety nine yards, four touchdowns and
three yards shy of his best game ever, and in
(09:20):
the biggest night of his life, God.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Showed up for him.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
And we'll bring you this story because as you could tell,
there was a lot more going on here than just
the material world grass and turf and x's and o's
and plays, and we all knew it when we were
watching it. Brett Favre's story, a story of a game,
a story of a love affair with a sport, and
a story of a love for a father and a
son and God here on our American stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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