On this episode of Our American Stories, much of what’s known about legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been kept between the goalposts. So, Greg Hengler sat down with Brett in his Hattiesburg, Mississippi, home for part five of our five-part series. In this conversation, the long-time Green Bay Packers star and Super Bowl champion reflects on the moments, challenges, and memories that shaped his life on and off the field.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is our American stories, and we tell stories about
all kinds of things on this show. And one of
our favorites has been our series of talks with Brett
Favre about life outside of the goalposts. And that's what
we do here on this show as often as possible,
tell the rest of the story and in the main
character's voice without interference from us. This is the fifth
(00:32):
part of a five part series on Brett Favre and
with Brett, and this one focuses on living and playing
in the small, blue collar city of Green Bay, Wisconsin,
and the trials he faced, trials that forced him through
the doors of a drug rehab center three times, and
the thing that happened twice which nobody knew. Here's Brett Farv.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Throughout my sixteen years in Green Bay, things happened, lost
my father, my wife got breast cancer, I lost my
brother in law, my stepfather in law, I lost him,
went through drug rehab for pain pills.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
And then immedia. After that we won.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
The Super Bowl, So I think people were kind of like, yeah,
you know, he's one of us. Sometimes. You know, I
too oftentimes, and I should know better. I look at
someone who's in a prominent, whether it be professional sports
(01:43):
or politician.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
An actor like I really like Tom Hanks.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
There's not many people I would want to meet. In fact,
he's probably the only one. If I had a chance
to meet someone, I'd love to meet Tom. He's but
he seems like just a regular guy. But also, like
everyone kind of said after Kobe died, it's like, you know,
(02:11):
he's not supposed to die. And I think people look
at athletes and celebrities and politicians sometimes as immune to whatever,
and the course that's not the case.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
And so I lived.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It, and I think being in Green Bay certainly helped
because it was a perfect fit for me.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I don't think I realized it until several years in.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
That this was Taylor made for me, not La not
New York, not Chicago, not all the cities are bigger
because people could relate to me, and I could relate
to them very similar to to where I grew up
and not a whole lot different than Hattsburgh other than
(03:04):
the climate. You know, just hard working blue collar people,
and so I think they could identify with me, and
I just.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Happened to be their quarterback. So it was a perfect
perfect fit.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
And I think you know, like with Aaron Rodgers, and
he's a friend. They love him because he's their quarterback,
but they don't really connect with him, and they can
identify and they can relate to me, and so you know, yeah,
(03:41):
like with Tony Mandrich and I saw his story. I
was actually my first year in Green Bay. He went
through training camp and got cut, so I got a
chance to know him, and I just remember it thinking
what happened to this guy? I remember doing my press
conference in nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Right before.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Well, when I got out, it was the day before
training camp. But when I went in treatment, I spent
seventy five days too, cause I was uh a little
bit rebellious. Well I didn't want them to. They told
(04:23):
me everything I needed to do. I had to sign
in and go to lunch with the group. And when
I finally realized if I want to get out of here,
I better do exactly what they say, that was about
sat seventy five days into it.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
But anyway, I remember the press.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Conference and and how difficult that was to announce that
I had not only to go to treatment, but for
pain pill addiction. Cause I had everything going that was
that that season ended up being my third MVP season
in a row, so I had two previous but it
(05:06):
was amidst the the just the.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Heart of my addiction. I mean, it was at its worst.
Surprisingly that I was able to function like that.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
You know, they play at a high level and sleep
maybe an hour a night, taking fifteen Viking and ys
at one time.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
But it was a great.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
It was great to have it happen in Green Bay
where people had compassion.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
All the things that's happened to me. I was thankful
what happened in Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
So and you know, I mean being from there, they
love They loved their packers, but they love their people too.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
People asked me because I actually went three times.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
The first time I went to a place in Rayville, Louisiana, and.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
It looked I couldn't believe.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
When I pulled up to this place, I said, this
is a rehab.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I thought it was like.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Some some Sandford Son type place. It was like a.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Little shack, but it was. It was good.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I stayed there twenty eight days. I would stop one
thing and continue another. So I wanted to drink, but
I the paint pills was a seventy five day in Tapeka, Chansas,
at Minniger Clinic.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
The Rayville, Louisiana was prior to all that, and that
was for paint pills. But I wasn't ready to stop,
and I the league didn't make me go.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
I went voluntarily, even though my arm was twisted. I'd
had two seizures in Green Bay, one in the hospital
right after ankle surgery, after the after the.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Previous season.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Ninety five season, and then during the excuse me, after
the ninety four season, And the ninety five season was
the season before we won the Super Bowl. During that season,
I had a seizure of the night before game, which
people obviously didn't know, and that really kind.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Of started the ball rolling, like why are you having seizures.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
While I wasn't asleeping, so my brain was basically short circuiting.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And you just heard a remarkable story a three time
MVP Hall of Fame quarterback running on one hour of sleep,
a serious pill habit and suffered two seizures two and
no one knew about them. And you're hearing about that
for the first time here. Not because we like breaking news,
(07:56):
That's not why you tune in here, but to hear
the real story and the real humility and he's not
kidding when he says he's glad he was in Green Bay,
because this country boy tucked away in Los Angeles or
New York Chicago, and the ending would have been much worse.
E've been listening to Brett Farv. This is the part
five of a five part series here on our American stories.
(08:18):
In his own words, by the way, Tony Manderich, what
a story. We've done that one too, in Tony's own words,
from the heights of NFL success to drug addiction and
worse and then the rise up. And we love the
redemption story here. And we're always rooting for people when
they're down, whether they're in a prison or anywhere else.
(08:39):
When they're at their low, that's what we love to
come in and love on them, and we treat them
as if they're members of our own family, just like
you would. And if you have stories like this, they
don't have to be some big, fancy football quarterback story,
because in the end, that's why people related to Brett.
He was like the rest of us, and he is.
These people are no different, and we all know that
(09:01):
it's we who treat them different and put them on
these statues and then When they fall, we rip them apart,
and it's just so wrong. Brett Favre's story here on
our American Stories
This is our American stories, and we tell stories about
all kinds of things on this show. And one of
our favorites has been our series of talks with Brett
Favre about life outside of the goalposts. And that's what
we do here on this show as often as possible,
tell the rest of the story and in the main
character's voice without interference from us. This is the fifth
(00:32):
part of a five part series on Brett Favre and
with Brett, and this one focuses on living and playing
in the small, blue collar city of Green Bay, Wisconsin,
and the trials he faced, trials that forced him through
the doors of a drug rehab center three times, and
the thing that happened twice which nobody knew. Here's Brett Farv.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Throughout my sixteen years in Green Bay, things happened, lost
my father, my wife got breast cancer, I lost my
brother in law, my stepfather in law, I lost him,
went through drug rehab for pain pills.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
And then immedia. After that we won.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
The Super Bowl, So I think people were kind of like, yeah,
you know, he's one of us. Sometimes. You know, I
too oftentimes, and I should know better. I look at
someone who's in a prominent, whether it be professional sports
(01:43):
or politician.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
An actor like I really like Tom Hanks.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
There's not many people I would want to meet. In fact,
he's probably the only one. If I had a chance
to meet someone, I'd love to meet Tom. He's but
he seems like just a regular guy. But also, like
everyone kind of said after Kobe died, it's like, you know,
(02:11):
he's not supposed to die. And I think people look
at athletes and celebrities and politicians sometimes as immune to whatever,
and the course that's not the case.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
And so I lived.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It, and I think being in Green Bay certainly helped
because it was a perfect fit for me.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I don't think I realized it until several years in.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
That this was Taylor made for me, not La not
New York, not Chicago, not all the cities are bigger
because people could relate to me, and I could relate
to them very similar to to where I grew up
and not a whole lot different than Hattsburgh other than
(03:04):
the climate. You know, just hard working blue collar people,
and so I think they could identify with me, and
I just.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Happened to be their quarterback. So it was a perfect
perfect fit.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
And I think you know, like with Aaron Rodgers, and
he's a friend. They love him because he's their quarterback,
but they don't really connect with him, and they can
identify and they can relate to me, and so you know, yeah,
(03:41):
like with Tony Mandrich and I saw his story. I
was actually my first year in Green Bay. He went
through training camp and got cut, so I got a
chance to know him, and I just remember it thinking
what happened to this guy? I remember doing my press
conference in nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Right before.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Well, when I got out, it was the day before
training camp. But when I went in treatment, I spent
seventy five days too, cause I was uh a little
bit rebellious. Well I didn't want them to. They told
(04:23):
me everything I needed to do. I had to sign
in and go to lunch with the group. And when
I finally realized if I want to get out of here,
I better do exactly what they say, that was about
sat seventy five days into it.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
But anyway, I remember the press.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Conference and and how difficult that was to announce that
I had not only to go to treatment, but for
pain pill addiction. Cause I had everything going that was
that that season ended up being my third MVP season
in a row, so I had two previous but it
(05:06):
was amidst the the just the.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Heart of my addiction. I mean, it was at its worst.
Surprisingly that I was able to function like that.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
You know, they play at a high level and sleep
maybe an hour a night, taking fifteen Viking and ys
at one time.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
But it was a great.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
It was great to have it happen in Green Bay
where people had compassion.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
All the things that's happened to me. I was thankful
what happened in Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
So and you know, I mean being from there, they
love They loved their packers, but they love their people too.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
People asked me because I actually went three times.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
The first time I went to a place in Rayville, Louisiana, and.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
It looked I couldn't believe.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
When I pulled up to this place, I said, this
is a rehab.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I thought it was like.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Some some Sandford Son type place. It was like a.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Little shack, but it was. It was good.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I stayed there twenty eight days. I would stop one
thing and continue another. So I wanted to drink, but
I the paint pills was a seventy five day in Tapeka, Chansas,
at Minniger Clinic.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
The Rayville, Louisiana was prior to all that, and that
was for paint pills. But I wasn't ready to stop,
and I the league didn't make me go.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
I went voluntarily, even though my arm was twisted. I'd
had two seizures in Green Bay, one in the hospital
right after ankle surgery, after the after the.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Previous season.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Ninety five season, and then during the excuse me, after
the ninety four season, And the ninety five season was
the season before we won the Super Bowl. During that season,
I had a seizure of the night before game, which
people obviously didn't know, and that really kind.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Of started the ball rolling, like why are you having seizures.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
While I wasn't asleeping, so my brain was basically short circuiting.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And you just heard a remarkable story a three time
MVP Hall of Fame quarterback running on one hour of sleep,
a serious pill habit and suffered two seizures two and
no one knew about them. And you're hearing about that
for the first time here. Not because we like breaking news,
(07:56):
That's not why you tune in here, but to hear
the real story and the real humility and he's not
kidding when he says he's glad he was in Green Bay,
because this country boy tucked away in Los Angeles or
New York Chicago, and the ending would have been much worse.
E've been listening to Brett Farv. This is the part
five of a five part series here on our American stories.
(08:18):
In his own words, by the way, Tony Manderich, what
a story. We've done that one too, in Tony's own words,
from the heights of NFL success to drug addiction and
worse and then the rise up. And we love the
redemption story here. And we're always rooting for people when
they're down, whether they're in a prison or anywhere else.
(08:39):
When they're at their low, that's what we love to
come in and love on them, and we treat them
as if they're members of our own family, just like
you would. And if you have stories like this, they
don't have to be some big, fancy football quarterback story,
because in the end, that's why people related to Brett.
He was like the rest of us, and he is.
These people are no different, and we all know that
(09:01):
it's we who treat them different and put them on
these statues and then When they fall, we rip them apart,
and it's just so wrong. Brett Favre's story here on
our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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