Favre Retires... For Real This Time

Now that it is officially the offseason, the annual discussion appeared again: Will Brett Favre decide to retire? The answer from Brett: Yes (for the second year in a row).

Favre announced on February 11 that he will finally end his glorious football career. Afterwards, when asked in an ESPN interview if there is any chance at all that he would return, Favre replied that there is no way he will.

After a legendary 18 seasons as a quarterback in the NFL, 16 of those with the Green Bay Packers, future Hall of Famer Favre will leave an everlasting legacy. He holds numerous notable NFL records for a quarterback: Passing yards in a career (65,127), touchdown passes in a career (464), pass completions in a career (5,720), pass attempts in a career (9,280), regular season wins (169), and consecutive starts (269 games). However, the Ironman of football also did set one not-so-great record, interceptions thrown in a career (310).

Although, even with all of these records, Brett Favre was one of the most exciting players ever to watch in the NFL. As a "gunslinger" and "magician," Favre always made appearances on highlight reels with his amazing, eye-catching throws down the field and his elusive, unbelievable escape tactics to avoid attacking defenders.

One of the things that made Favre so lovable to his fans was how "human" he really was. When he wasn't throwing bombs and improvising on the field, Favre experienced many heartbreaking moments while in the NFL. His wife, Deanna, was diagnosed with breast cancer, his brother-in-law died in a car crash, and his beloved father passed away, all within just a few years. What made Brett so incredible was that we saw his passion for not just the game, but life outside football as well. He started in a football game the night after his father passed, and he threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns to defeat the Oakland Raiders. Packer fans were infinitely attracted to Favre's dedication and heart.

While Favre spent his first season with the Atlanta Falcons and his last with the New York Jets, he will always be remembered as the face of the Green Bay Packers. The Packers still plan to eventually retire Favre's jersey with the number 4. Cheeseheads everywhere should be honored to have enjoyed him putting on a show for 16 seasons in Green Bay. Brett Favre will forever be known as a Packer, a hero, and a legend.

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Super Bowl XLIII

As Kurt Warner completed a short slant pass to Larry Fitzgerald who dashed 64 yards up the middle of the field in between two defenders for a touchdown, I thought that the underdog Arizona Cardinals might actually have a chance to defeat the all-powerful Pittsburgh Steelers. After this intensifying, exhilarating play with 2:37 remaining in Super Bowl XLIII, the Cards grasped a 23-20 lead over the Steelers.

But Big Ben Roethlisberger and his Pittsburgh offense still had one more chance to score, and that is exactly what they did. With one last drive, the Steelers plowed all the way to Arizona's 6-yard line. With 48 seconds left in the game, Roethlisberger threw up a desperate pass to wide receiver Santonio Holmes in the back left of the endzone..... and the ball goes through Holmes's hands. Incomplete. But, the next play, Roethlisberger decided to try lobbing the ball again on the other side of the endzone to Holmes. The ball rainbows over one, two, three Cardinals defensive players. Holmes reaches as high as he can without his arms coming out of his sockets. The ball sticks to his gloves with both of his big toes barely grazing the turf inbounds. TOUCHDOWN. With 35 seconds left in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers managed to swiftly take back the lead.

When the Cardinals got the ball back, they failed to make it the length of the field to the Steelers endzone. On the Steelers' 44-yard line, the ball was hit out of Kurt Warner's hand with 5 seconds left, ending the Cardinals' last hopes. The final result: Steelers win, 27-23, in a stunning, mind-blowing, nail-biting, see-sawing, classic Super Bowl.

By winning Super Bowl XLIII last night, the Pittsburgh became the first franchise in the NFL to win six Super Bowls. Santonio Holmes (who caught the game-winning touchdown pass) was honored MVP of the Super Bowl. The game was bland and uneventful for the first three quarters, excluding one spectacular record-breaking play. With one play left in the first half, Kurt Warner threw a pass intended for receiver Anquan Boldin in the endzone, but Steelers' lineman James Harrison reached out, intercepted the ball, and scurried along the sideline 100 yards for a touchdown. The play not only gave the Steelers a dominating 17-7 lead, but it also became the longest play ever in a Super Bowl.

The final few minutes of Super Bowl XLIII put a fantastic finish to the 2008 NFL season, and next season can't seem further away as I await more moments like these!

For highlights of the game and more, follow this link: http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/43/videos/features#video:09000d5d80e86d72

or go to http://www.nfl.com/ for all NFL coverage.

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