June 16, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, NFL legend Brett Favre reflects on one of the most emotional games of his career. After the passing of his father, Irvin Favre, in December 2003, Brett took the field and threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns in a memorable Monday Night Football victory over the Oakland Raiders. During his 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, he shared the story of that unforgettable tribute to his dad.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And we continue with our American stories and up next.
Brett Favre, back in twenty sixteen, gave a Hall of
Fame speech that anyone who'd seen it well couldn't forget it.
He spent his time thanking his entire family, his wife Diana,
his mother in law, but the ex Packer saved his
most passionate words for his father, Irvin, who died on
(00:33):
December two thousand and three, a day the Green Bay
quarterback threw for three hundred and ninety nine yards and
four touchdown passes in an unforgettable win over the Oakland Raiders,
which was broadcast live and nationally. We like to thank
the folks of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton,
Ohio for generously allowing our American Stories to use their footage.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Let's take a listen to Brett.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'm not surprised one bit at the Packer fans here.
This is incredible, incredible, So I thank you, Thank you Canton,
thank you Hall of Fame, Thank you Jesus Christ, my
Lord and Savior.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Believe me, I'm blessed.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
I'm an extremely blessed man.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I look at my family.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
What a lucky man to play a game that I
love so much for twenty years. To have all the
wonderful things happen, What a blessing to share and that
joy with you guys here tonight. What an incredible night,
what an incredible week. I'll tell you a story. My
(01:53):
father would have introduced me here tonight. And Deanna and
I had after the game in Oakland, had chartered a plane,
our two daughters had went to Mississippi. She flew out
late Saturday night and was there throughout.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
We had chartered a.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Playing back from Oakland to get Christmas gifts back in
Green Bay, take a brief nap and go to the
service and Christmas back in Mississippi and on the And
let me say this first about NFL fans, Oakland Raider
fans in particular that night. And I have played in
Oakland before, and I think everyone here who has played
(02:31):
in Oakland, either as the home team or the away team,
will all agree they can be downright nasty. I've seen it,
I've witnessed it. But I'll say this that night, the
tremendous respect and honor that was shown to me and
my family from the Oakland Raider fans.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
With spectaclear and although we didn't ask for it.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Dan and I got a police escort to the airport
that I could promise you would have made any president problem.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
So I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
But our on our flight back, it was a long flight,
and as you can imagine, there was a lot of
emotions as we had just won the game and it
was probably the best game that I had ever played in,
but that really didn't matter at that point. And we laughed,
we cried, and we tried to sleep. We laughed and
(03:28):
we cried. And one time in particular, Deanna says to me,
and you'd had to know my father. My father was
short on praise and along on tough love. If he
was ever to praise me, I was not to hear it.
It was always you can do better. He was always
pushing me to be better. That was okay. Never did
(03:54):
I hear him say, son, you've arrived, You're the best.
That was awesome, great game. It was always yeah. But
so Deanna says to me on the plane, you know,
your dad had said to me that he had hoped
or could not wait for the day that you were
inducted to the Hall of.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Fame so he could introduce you.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And up until that moment, I had never thought about
the Hall of Fame. And I mean no disrespect to
the Hall of Fame. I say this with the utmost
respect for all of you guys. I had dreamed of
playing the NFL. Believe me, way more than I thought
about my schoolwork. I thought about being Archie Manny running
(04:40):
around throwing underhand passes. I thought about being my childhood
favorite Roger Staubach throwing it to Preston Pearson or Drew
Pearson handing it off to Tony dor Set, being Kenny
Stabler coming out of the tunnel. I had thought of
those things so many times, but I never thought of
the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Until that moment. And so a new goal had entered
my mind.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Then in there, and I said to myself, I will
make it to the Hall of Fame. That I would
make it to the Hall of Fame so I could
acknowledge the fact of how important he was.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
This is tougher than any third and fifteen, I can
assure you.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
So I could not acknowledge the importance of him in
my career, in my life, which he was a tremendous
part of my life.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
He taught me toughness. Boy did he teach me toughness.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Trust me, there was no room for cry babies in
our house. He taught me teamwork, and by all means,
no player was ever more important than a team. And
my father, for those who don't know, chose to run
the wishbone, which some of you younger generation people do
(06:16):
not even know what that is.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
But it never entailed throwing.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
But that was the type of coach he was, and
that was the type of dad he was.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
He would never showcase his.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Son's talents or anyone else's talents for their.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Good rather than the team's good. And so.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Then in there, in that moment, on that plane, I
was determined, for selfish reasons to get to this point,
to acknowledge how important he was. I would not be
here before you today without my father.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
There's no doubt whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
And one more thing about my father, and this is
something I've never told anyone, including Deiana. My dad was
my high school football coach. He was the head football coach.
He coached me and my two brothers. But I never
had a car growing up. I always rode to and
from school with my father in his truck, and so
he was always the last to leave the building because
(07:21):
he had to turn the lights off, lock up, and
then we made our way home. So it was the
last high school football game of my high school career.
And although I don't remember how I played before, and
I don't remember how I played in the last game,
what I do remember is sitting outside the coach's office
(07:43):
stay on a Wednesday, waiting for my father to come
out so we could leave. It was dark, and I
overheard my father talking to the three other coaches and hurting.
And I assume I didn't play as well the previous
week only because of what he said. And he said,
I can assure you one thing about my son. He
(08:05):
will play better. He will redeem himself. I know my son,
he has it any and I never let him know
that I heard that. I never said that to anyone else,
but I thought to myself, that's a pretty good compliment.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
You know my chest kind of swoll up.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
And again I never told anyone, but I never forgot
that statement, that comment that he made to those other coaches.
And I want you to know, Dad, I spent the
rest of my career trying to redeem myself.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
And make him proud. I hope I succeeded. Thank you.
Thank you so never discount importance.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Of being a father and statements that you make, whether
you thank your kids here, just you're very important to
your children. And the lesson is we come and go
very quickly. So love them meeting every day.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
And thanks to Greg Hengler for securing this material for us.
And my goodness, Brett Favre well, he was just so
he was so emotional and he tried so hard to
keep it together. This is the first time he'd talked
publicly about his dad, and in front of this large
football audience.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
This was a beauty.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Brett Farre's tribute to his father, Irvin at the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in twenty sixteen.
Here on our American Stories
And we continue with our American stories and up next.
Brett Favre, back in twenty sixteen, gave a Hall of
Fame speech that anyone who'd seen it well couldn't forget it.
He spent his time thanking his entire family, his wife Diana,
his mother in law, but the ex Packer saved his
most passionate words for his father, Irvin, who died on
(00:33):
December two thousand and three, a day the Green Bay
quarterback threw for three hundred and ninety nine yards and
four touchdown passes in an unforgettable win over the Oakland Raiders,
which was broadcast live and nationally. We like to thank
the folks of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton,
Ohio for generously allowing our American Stories to use their footage.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Let's take a listen to Brett.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'm not surprised one bit at the Packer fans here.
This is incredible, incredible, So I thank you, Thank you Canton,
thank you Hall of Fame, Thank you Jesus Christ, my
Lord and Savior.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Believe me, I'm blessed.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
I'm an extremely blessed man.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I look at my family.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
What a lucky man to play a game that I
love so much for twenty years. To have all the
wonderful things happen, What a blessing to share and that
joy with you guys here tonight. What an incredible night,
what an incredible week. I'll tell you a story. My
(01:53):
father would have introduced me here tonight. And Deanna and
I had after the game in Oakland, had chartered a plane,
our two daughters had went to Mississippi. She flew out
late Saturday night and was there throughout.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
We had chartered a.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Playing back from Oakland to get Christmas gifts back in
Green Bay, take a brief nap and go to the
service and Christmas back in Mississippi and on the And
let me say this first about NFL fans, Oakland Raider
fans in particular that night. And I have played in
Oakland before, and I think everyone here who has played
(02:31):
in Oakland, either as the home team or the away team,
will all agree they can be downright nasty. I've seen it,
I've witnessed it. But I'll say this that night, the
tremendous respect and honor that was shown to me and
my family from the Oakland Raider fans.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
With spectaclear and although we didn't ask for it.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Dan and I got a police escort to the airport
that I could promise you would have made any president problem.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
So I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
But our on our flight back, it was a long flight,
and as you can imagine, there was a lot of
emotions as we had just won the game and it
was probably the best game that I had ever played in,
but that really didn't matter at that point. And we laughed,
we cried, and we tried to sleep. We laughed and
(03:28):
we cried. And one time in particular, Deanna says to me,
and you'd had to know my father. My father was
short on praise and along on tough love. If he
was ever to praise me, I was not to hear it.
It was always you can do better. He was always
pushing me to be better. That was okay. Never did
(03:54):
I hear him say, son, you've arrived, You're the best.
That was awesome, great game. It was always yeah. But
so Deanna says to me on the plane, you know,
your dad had said to me that he had hoped
or could not wait for the day that you were
inducted to the Hall of.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Fame so he could introduce you.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And up until that moment, I had never thought about
the Hall of Fame. And I mean no disrespect to
the Hall of Fame. I say this with the utmost
respect for all of you guys. I had dreamed of
playing the NFL. Believe me, way more than I thought
about my schoolwork. I thought about being Archie Manny running
(04:40):
around throwing underhand passes. I thought about being my childhood
favorite Roger Staubach throwing it to Preston Pearson or Drew
Pearson handing it off to Tony dor Set, being Kenny
Stabler coming out of the tunnel. I had thought of
those things so many times, but I never thought of
the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Until that moment. And so a new goal had entered
my mind.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Then in there, and I said to myself, I will
make it to the Hall of Fame. That I would
make it to the Hall of Fame so I could
acknowledge the fact of how important he was.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
This is tougher than any third and fifteen, I can
assure you.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
So I could not acknowledge the importance of him in
my career, in my life, which he was a tremendous
part of my life.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
He taught me toughness. Boy did he teach me toughness.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Trust me, there was no room for cry babies in
our house. He taught me teamwork, and by all means,
no player was ever more important than a team. And
my father, for those who don't know, chose to run
the wishbone, which some of you younger generation people do
(06:16):
not even know what that is.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
But it never entailed throwing.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
But that was the type of coach he was, and
that was the type of dad he was.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
He would never showcase his.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Son's talents or anyone else's talents for their.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Good rather than the team's good. And so.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Then in there, in that moment, on that plane, I
was determined, for selfish reasons to get to this point,
to acknowledge how important he was. I would not be
here before you today without my father.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
There's no doubt whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
And one more thing about my father, and this is
something I've never told anyone, including Deiana. My dad was
my high school football coach. He was the head football coach.
He coached me and my two brothers. But I never
had a car growing up. I always rode to and
from school with my father in his truck, and so
he was always the last to leave the building because
(07:21):
he had to turn the lights off, lock up, and
then we made our way home. So it was the
last high school football game of my high school career.
And although I don't remember how I played before, and
I don't remember how I played in the last game,
what I do remember is sitting outside the coach's office
(07:43):
stay on a Wednesday, waiting for my father to come
out so we could leave. It was dark, and I
overheard my father talking to the three other coaches and hurting.
And I assume I didn't play as well the previous
week only because of what he said. And he said,
I can assure you one thing about my son. He
(08:05):
will play better. He will redeem himself. I know my son,
he has it any and I never let him know
that I heard that. I never said that to anyone else,
but I thought to myself, that's a pretty good compliment.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
You know my chest kind of swoll up.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
And again I never told anyone, but I never forgot
that statement, that comment that he made to those other coaches.
And I want you to know, Dad, I spent the
rest of my career trying to redeem myself.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
And make him proud. I hope I succeeded. Thank you.
Thank you so never discount importance.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Of being a father and statements that you make, whether
you thank your kids here, just you're very important to
your children. And the lesson is we come and go
very quickly. So love them meeting every day.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
And thanks to Greg Hengler for securing this material for us.
And my goodness, Brett Favre well, he was just so
he was so emotional and he tried so hard to
keep it together. This is the first time he'd talked
publicly about his dad, and in front of this large
football audience.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
This was a beauty.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Brett Farre's tribute to his father, Irvin at the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in twenty sixteen.
Here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.