ActionPants All American 9877 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | " Favre has fewer friends in lockerroom
By Rob Demovsky rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
Last season, Craig Nall was there for hunting and Ryan Longwell for golfing.
Before them, guys like Doug Pederson and Billy Joe Tolliver were his sporting buddies. And before them, when his off-the-field activities were drinking and partying, Mark Chmura and Frank Winters were always up for a good time.
Brett Favre, the 36-year-old quarterback, has outlasted them all. As he prepares for his 16th NFL season (15th with the Green Bay Packers), Favre has come to the realization that he is essentially without a close friend in the locker room. Gone are all of his buddies from the glory days, a fact that was reinforced this week when he sat alone at his locker for 10 minutes and not a single player came by to chat. The only person who bothered to stop by was a member of the equipment staff.
A few minutes later, Favre was asked a simple yet sad question: Does he have any friends left on this team?
“Not really,” Favre said. “No one I go play golf with or anything like that.”
It didn’t used to be that way. Last year, Favre and Nall went hunting whenever they had a day off. If it was golf Favre wanted, Longwell was game. During the summer of 2001, when Tolliver was in camp with the Packers, he and Favre escaped to the golf course at every opportunity.
“As I’ve gotten older,” Favre said, “I’ve become more a loner. I think I’ve played golf twice since January. When (Tolliver) was here, we’d play every day, every single day. The new (training camp) schedule has a little something to do with that, but I wouldn’t mind going out there and hitting some balls or something.”
Such is life when you’re the second-oldest player on the roster. Only long snapper Rob Davis, who is 37, is older than Favre. Of the 88 players currently on the Packers’ roster, 68 of them are at least 10 years younger than Favre.
“It’s different for me around here now,” Favre said. “At one time there was Frankie and Doug and Billy Joe and Ryan. We used to have good times. You look around and all of a sudden it’s like they’re gone. These guys here still do the same things I used to do. I just don’t know much about them. Me and Corey Williams went hunting a couple of times last year, but that’s about it.
“As you get older, some of the things you enjoy doing maybe you still do, but you do them on your own terms.”
Favre’s lack of a close friend on the team actually entered his mind when he was deciding whether to return or retire. During his period of indecision, he watched Nall sign with the Buffalo Bills and Longwell with the Minnesota Vikings.
“From an outsider’s perspective or a fan’s perspective or the organization’s perspective, they’d probably say, ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’” Favre said. “But I can’t expect them to see that from my perspective.”
If Favre has anything resembling friends on this team, he can count them on one hand. Receiver Donald Driver often attends Favre’s charity golf outing in Mississippi. Favre occasionally chats in the locker room with fullback William Henderson or Davis. During a minicamp this offseason, Favre and Davis could be heard chatting near Favre’s locker about digging ditches in the yard.
“Landscaping is kind of my hobby now, and those are the kinds of things us old folks talk about I guess,” Davis said. “But I don’t go out of my way (to talk to Favre) just because his friends left. I’ve had friends leave, too. Our talks aren’t choreographed. We’ve got a great working relationship. We’ve never gone out and broken bread or shared a beer or anything like that, but I think we’ve got mutual respect for each other.”
Players typically spend more time with their position group than with anyone else on the team, and the other three quarterbacks on the Packers’ roster are 22 years old (Aaron Rodgers), 23 (Ingle Martin) and 24 (Brian Wrobel).
“His daughter (Brittany) is almost 18, so I’m closer to her age than to his age,” Rodgers said. “But we still can have a good time and joke around.”
But for Rodgers, like almost everyone else on the team, it ends when they leave Lambeau Field.
“I don’t have his phone number,” Rodgers said. “Ours is strictly a working relationship and a very good one.”
Martin, a rookie who only met Favre for the first time about four months ago, asked Favre to go fishing on Sunday, the Packers’ most recent day off.
“I knew he probably wouldn’t go,” Martin said, “but I just asked him because he’s been around and I wondered if he knew of any good spots. I guess he’s not a big fisherman.”
So what will Favre do on his days off this season?
“We always used to do something,” Favre said. “I guess now I’ll just do it by myself.”
His wife, Deanna, and their daughter, Breleigh, 7, are scheduled to arrive in Green Bay later this month. Brittany once again will remain in Mississippi for school, where she is a senior in high school, while Breleigh will start second grade at Holy Family school.
“They’ll be here most of the season but like three or four times (Deanna) will go home,” Favre said. “We bought a little house not even a mile from (Lambeau Field). It’s small, kind of like where we used to live in Park Place. It’s just one story, right in the middle of a regular neighborhood, but I don’t go out much.”" |
Ahahahahahhaa8/9/2006 9:40:22 AM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148446 Posts user info edit post |
hahaha poor favre 8/9/2006 9:47:08 AM |
wlb420 All American 9053 Posts user info edit post |
Favre shouldn't have come back.....he's in for a bad season, and he might even quit (either on his own or by "persuasion") mid season when things get bad. 8/9/2006 9:50:04 AM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148446 Posts user info edit post |
i'm sure his pal jevon walker will be his friend since favre stood up for his player before training camp last year 8/9/2006 9:52:12 AM |
wlb420 All American 9053 Posts user info edit post |
isn't walker with denver now? 8/9/2006 9:55:40 AM |
AndyMac All American 31922 Posts user info edit post |
He should go hang with the those that really respect him.
What is TO doing on his days off? 8/9/2006 9:57:38 AM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148446 Posts user info edit post |
"I believe if Favre was our Quarterback instead of McNabb we would be 17-0 in the regular season because Favre is just that good" 8/9/2006 10:00:30 AM |
BearWhoDrive All American 5385 Posts user info edit post |
INT record, here Favre comes! 8/9/2006 10:07:35 AM |
wlb420 All American 9053 Posts user info edit post |
^its gonna be ugly....I would feel sorry for the guy, but he's the one who can't walk away. 8/9/2006 10:23:40 AM |
Stein All American 19842 Posts user info edit post |
What a dumb article. 8/9/2006 10:30:12 AM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148446 Posts user info edit post |
^welcome to 2006 packers training camp 8/9/2006 10:46:42 AM |
AxlBonBach All American 45550 Posts user info edit post |
it was meant to be so tragic and sad
to me it showed how antisocial and tired he's become. 8/9/2006 10:48:34 AM |
Stein All American 19842 Posts user info edit post |
Anti-social and tired? Because he isn't BFF with his teammates and only have a good working relationship with them? It doesn't say he isn't friendly to his teammates, it just says that he doesn't hang out with them in his off time. On top of that, would you want to be the 36 year old hanging out with a bunch of twenty-somethings? Can you imagine him out bar-hopping with Aaron Rodgers and Ahmad Carroll? Can you imagine either of them going hunting with him?
The dude is in 10 years older than over 75% of them and is an outdoorsy guy from Mississippi, whereas the team doesn't really have anyone like that anymore.
I kind of doubt there are a ton of people currently on the Packers who are in to hunting and golf, considering it has been quite a while since hunting was all the rage and you rarely see players take up golf until they get pretty old. 8/9/2006 11:30:46 AM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148446 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "you rarely see players take up golf until they get pretty old." |
this is pretty much the only part of your post that i disagree with just because those fuckers have lots and lots of money and long offseasons8/9/2006 11:36:42 AM |
AxlBonBach All American 45550 Posts user info edit post |
well yeah, you can look at it like that if you choose to.
Or, you can look at is as the elder statesmen whose compatriots have all left or retired, and the feelings of isolation that come with being abandoned by time. It doesn't explicitly say that nobody offers to hang out with him, it says that people do and he rejects them. Regardless of the reason being age, or depression, or whatever, THAT is anti-social behavior. Plus, him saying that he once played golf every moment away from the game, and now has only played twice since January shows how tired he's become.
He's venerable and experiencing all of the things that come with age. That's all I'm sayin, b. 8/9/2006 11:39:34 AM |
Stein All American 19842 Posts user info edit post |
Well, let me put it this way. Whenever you hear about players playing golf, it's always the older, recently retired or nearly retired players.
Quote : | "it says that people do and he rejects them" |
It says that one person asked him to go fishing one time and doesn't even say what Favre's response was. Maybe he said "I can't think weekend, have to spend it with the kids before I send them off to school again -- some other time though" or "No, thanks -- I don't like boats" or any number of other reasons why he couldn't go fishing that one time.
I mean, honestly, talk about jumping to conclusions.
[Edited on August 9, 2006 at 11:43 AM. Reason : .]8/9/2006 11:40:02 AM |
wlb420 All American 9053 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "The dude is in 10 years older than over 75% of them and is an outdoorsy guy from Mississippi, whereas the team doesn't really have anyone like that anymore. " |
the article says a teammate asked him to go fishing and he declined.8/9/2006 11:40:36 AM |
Stein All American 19842 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "the article says a teammate asked him to go fishing and he declined." |
Read my edit above.
On top of that, maybe the man just doesn't like fishing.8/9/2006 11:44:24 AM |
ActionPants All American 9877 Posts user info edit post |
What hunter doesn't like fishing?! 8/9/2006 11:49:33 AM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148446 Posts user info edit post |
Jim "Catfish" Hunter
no i'm sure he likes fishing 8/9/2006 11:52:16 AM |
BearWhoDrive All American 5385 Posts user info edit post |
I think we're all missing the main point here.
Favre is an overrated douchebag who's going to have more carreer interceptions than anyone in football by the end of the year.
That's what's important. 8/9/2006 11:59:35 AM |
TreeTwista10 minisoldr 148446 Posts user info edit post |
i like favre
because of his passing in a game versus the vikings last year, devonte edwards ran an interception back for a touchdown 8/9/2006 12:00:47 PM |
wlb420 All American 9053 Posts user info edit post |
ever since favre implied/said that he wasn't going to help teach Rodgers last year, i haven't looked at him the same......he seems to be getting bitter and unable to let go 8/9/2006 12:12:02 PM |
Stein All American 19842 Posts user info edit post |
I love all this talk of him growing bitter, when just a week ago he was highly praising the athleticism of the team.
HE MUST BE HATEFUL AND FULL OF SPITE TOWARDS EVERYONE 8/9/2006 12:16:19 PM |
wlb420 All American 9053 Posts user info edit post |
I heard and interesting point from one of the football analysts on ESPN...maybe the talent around him seems so good b/c he's lost a step. Now mediocre talent appears to be really good b/c he's not got it anymore. 8/9/2006 12:27:13 PM |
Ernie All American 45943 Posts user info edit post |
i'm not reading this whole thread
but brett favre rules 8/9/2006 12:39:54 PM |
wlb420 All American 9053 Posts user info edit post |
Quote : | "but brett favre ruled" |
[Edited on August 9, 2006 at 12:41 PM. Reason : ..]8/9/2006 12:40:40 PM |
AxlBonBach All American 45550 Posts user info edit post |
the tone of the article alluded to Favre's rejecting of the invitation to go fishing. I'll concede, though, that it's just the spin that was put on the piece.
but don't knock me for jumping to conclusions and then assume everyone is tryna say he's hateful and full of spite. not what i'm saying at all. All i'm saying is that an athlete getting old is a sad site to see, especially when he gets old alone on the team. It's the same reason that Futurama episode with the Dog sitting outside waiting for Fry to come back makes everybody cry like a bitch; compassion and empathy are almost always felt for the alone. 8/9/2006 1:01:23 PM |
roberta All American 1769 Posts user info edit post |
philip likes brett, maybe they can go fishing in san diego this weekend...
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20060809-9999-1s9chnotes.html
Quote : | " 'It's pretty neat,' Rivers says, facing Favre in first start
By Jay Posner UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 9, 2006
His first official start won't come for another month, but Philip Rivers is excited nonetheless regarding his “starting” assignment in Saturday night's exhibition at Qualcomm Stadium
One reason, of course, is that he hasn't started a game of any kind since the Senior Bowl in January 2004. But another reason is the quarterback scheduled to open Saturday for Green Bay.
Brett Favre has started 221 consecutive regular-season games for the Packers (241 including postseason), a record streak that began Sept. 27, 1992. Rivers – who was 10 at the time – next month will become the 13th quarterback to start for the Chargers since that date.
“It's pretty neat; it really is,” Rivers, who will be 25 in December, said of starting opposite Favre. “Obviously I'm not playing against (him), and he's not going to play much at all (one or two series), but I grew up watching him and he was one of my favorites. Now to be on the same field, both of us starting quarterbacks on opposite teams, it's pretty cool.”
Rivers, who is proud of starting an NCAA-record 51 straight games at North Carolina State, said he's always appreciated the way Favre plays the game.
“He just had that ability to make plays,” Rivers said. “Something breaks down and it doesn't look pretty necessarily, but he finds a way to make a play. I've been able to make a few of those in the past.
“I feel like our games (have) some similarities. Obviously he's way further down the line and one day where I hope I am, but in some sense I can find a link there.”" |
8/9/2006 1:03:59 PM |