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The Sage Steele Show
Brett Favre: The Greatest Gunslinger of All-Time | Sage Steele Show | EP 71
02:27:14
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- [00:00]
Sage Steele
I have been so fortunate over the last 30 years to be able to interview so many incredible athletes. Some hall of Famers along the way as well. Today was different here in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. Now, I know some of you have gotten used to me with these longer conversations. I think this is the new record. I got Brett to talk for three hours, but we talked about everything. His father, Irv, who died suddenly 22 years ago, what he taught him before his death, and really how he' live for his father in many ways since then. He announced just a little bit ago, about a year ago, that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He goes in deep about how it is affecting him today. And every single day we talk deeply about the controversies from 20 years ago in New York and most importantly, I think what's going on right now in a civil lawsuit that is still ongoing here in Mississippi. And he gets animated about that. And a special on Netflix that he wasn't too happy with. Some word association with some quarterbacks there at the end, guys that he played against. And overall, how he wants to be remembered. On the field, sure. But off the field as well. Again, a really, really special conversation. A special day here in Southern Mississippi with Brett Favre. I'm pretty confident you're gonna enjoy it as much as I did here on the Sage Steel Show. It's the Sage deal, I will say. So. This is a booming metropolis here in, I have to say it right? Hattiesburg.
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Brett Favre
Hattiesburg.
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Sage Steele
Almost don't even say the I in Hatties. You just say Hattiesburg.
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Brett Favre
It's kind of like Favre. It's F, A V, R, E. I can't explain it, I just say it.
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Sage Steele
The people are so kind. And that is what I've noticed about your state. I told you earlier about my, my little girl. We just moved her in for her sophomore year in Oxford. And when we brought her, that was the first time I'd ever been to Mississippi. And the people are genuinely different here. I mean, you've had a chance to live in different places now, but you came back here for what reason?
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Brett Favre
The people are outstanding.
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Sage Steele
Yeah.
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Brett Favre
And here's a good example. So several years ago when the super bowl was in la, the Bengals and the Rams were playing, I went out there, this young 18 year old kid drove us around and he navigated through la, which I. There's no way I could do it, no way I would want to do it. But he, he was awesome. We got to know his name's Kyle. So we got to know Kyle extremely well because he drove us all week. I said, where are you going to college or you have a scholarship? Do you play football? What you know, tell me about.
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Sage Steele
They.
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Brett Favre
I play football, but my junior year was canceled because of COVID here in California. So that's really when you get recruited. So I really don't have any offers. And I said, well, why don't you send me your highlights and I'll pass them on to our head coach here at Southern Miss. Oh, Mr. Brett, thank you. That so nice of you. He's grew up in Sacramento, so he sent me his highlights. I sent him to our head coach at the time, Will Hall. Will look at, said love, love the kid, but I don't have a spot. I, I don't even have a walk on spot. So I told Kyle and he said, well, thank you for trying. So my daughter was playing beach volleyball here at the time and, and their last tournament was like the 1st of April, and we invited Kyle out to come watch. Well, he flew out by himself. I picked him up at the airport. Well, prior to picking him up, I called our head coach at the time, Will hall, and I said, well, I'm picking up the young man. I sent the highlights to you. I'm picking him up today. I just want you to meet him. So long story short, they met Will, loved him, offered him a walk on spot. He was, the kid was, you know, he was, he was so excited. Even though it was a walk on spot, he's still on the team here.
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Sage Steele
No way.
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Brett Favre
His parents came out. Never been to Mississippi. Neither had Kyle. They bought a house here. And if they were sitting here right now, they would tell you the people are only reason we're here.
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Sage Steele
So from Sacramento.
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Brett Favre
Sacramento? They sold their house in Sacramento?
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Sage Steele
No way. Well, there's some benefits to that too, for sure.
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Brett Favre
Definitely, definitely. And we have a chuckle about it from time to time. But they're, they're outstanding people. But my point is, and they've said it over and over because we've become very good friends with them. They're like, you know, we, we didn't expect Mississippi to be what it is. It's gotten a bad rap of, of course, but presently the people are great, food's outstanding, it's a little hot, but it, you know, you can tolerate that. And pretty much everywhere you go in Mississippi, you, you get people that'll say, yes sir, no ma', am, thank you, please, will open a door for you. And when I go other places, I realize that that's not normal, right? So that, more than anything is. Is why we're here. We love the people, and it's home.
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Sage Steele
I think it's just. And you don't talk about it either, which is, I guess, what we're supposed to do. We're not saying, hey, look what I did. Right. However, through the years, through all those years, I'm sure there's several stories where you can look back, maybe in the moment you realized it too. But isn't it amazing that through football and just going after your dream, like the number of lives that you can affect, including this young man who was just your driver at the super bowl, like that. That is special.
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Brett Favre
I think it is special. And I often think about that for whatever reason, you know, that crossed my mind, like, is. Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? You know, because I think we all. Different times in our life go, what the hell am I supposed to be doing? Even if you're doing something. And I, like. I coached high school football for two years immediately after I retired, didn't know if I would want to do. Was really. The head coach had made me promise him that when I retired for good, I would be his offense coordinator. And I would always say, yeah. And when I turn away, I'm like, well, he helped me to it. I did it, and I absolutely loved it. Didn't. Didn't get paid, didn't want to get paid. Was hoping I still had a little juice in the tank to help these kids. And I had plenty left. I enjoyed it. It was rewarding. And then I kind of moved on to whatever's next. And. And that's, you know, if it. If it. If it helps people, if it helps one person, whatever it may be, then, you know, I've. I've done a good job. And so, you know, and I think that goes back to one fact. I know it goes back to growing up. Mom and dad were both school teachers. My dad was a high school football coach. Combined, he made 20,000. With his coaching stipend, my mom made 18,000. So combined with four kids, you know, and we. We did okay. But when we would go out and eat, it was like Pizza Hut. And dad would give us a. Like, all right, we're going to eat as much as we can. It would be all you can eat buffet at pizza. It was like on Tuesday or Wednesday night, and we got a tongue lashing when you get full, go in the bathroom, do jumping jacks, come back out, reload.
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Sage Steele
No way.
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Brett Favre
Oh, serious. You know, we're going to get our money's worth.
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Sage Steele
Yeah.
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Brett Favre
So. And we would. But, you know, I, We. We did all right. But, you know, my point in all of it is we. We grew up modest, humble. Mom and dad were at all the ball games that we played in. We. We rode to school together. We rode home together. First through 12th was right there. So I went 12 years of school without missing a day.
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Sage Steele
And so you were setting the tone for later in your career, apparently so in your life.
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Brett Favre
It wasn't like, my goal is to have perfect attendance for 12 years. That wasn't necessarily my goal. My goal was I don't want to get inundated with homework or overloaded with schoolwork, so I want by being there, I can stay current. But it was very humbling. My mom was a special education teacher, and so before the start of school, every day I would go in her classroom and as. And she had. This is back when there was no separation. So you would have the worst, like, behavior kids to, like, the. The most mentally challenged. I mean, there was. It was a. They just threw them all.
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Sage Steele
Yeah.
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Brett Favre
And. And it was just, you know, at that age, I even. I recognized numerous times where I'm. I'm pretty lucky. I'm blessed. I can. I can go out and play football. I can play baseball. I can. I can do what I want where. Some of these kids are severely restricted. So, you know, I think that set the tone for, you know, the rest of my life.
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Sage Steele
That work ethic that you saw mom and dad. And so it sounds like they, I mean, they set that bar high for you guys. Like, there's no excuses.
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Brett Favre
You had to know my dad, he was. He was short on attaboys and long on getting after your ass. I don't know how else to put it. I remember. You know, it's funny because you remember things from your childhood that you wonder sometimes. Why in the hell do I remember that? You can't remember what you have for breakfast, at least in my case. But I remember one time in little league baseball, my dad wasn't the coach, but they were sitting in the bleachers and I got thrown out at second base. I don't know if I was stealing or it was a infield ground ball. I don't know. But I remember I got thrown out and I was embarrassed and I was. I was super competitive back then, but, you know, I was also one that. I pouted if I lost. I. Thankfully, I grew out of that, but I got thrown out at second. And so I laid there like I was hurt and I laid there. And eventually in. The game was over.
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Sage Steele
The game ended.
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Brett Favre
The game ended.
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Sage Steele
Wow.
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Brett Favre
And I don't know if it ended on that play or the. We had the next. The next. The team got the bottom or something, but it was. Basically, it was over. My dad, after the game, he never came out on the field. He said, if you ever lay on that field again and knowing that you're not hurt, you can sleep there because I'm not coming to get your ass. You can stay all night. And I can probably count two times after that that I actually stayed on the ground for any period of time. And one of those was in the pros. There's times I wanted to. But I remember thinking, you know, when my dad was still alive, I thought. I thought, he'll kick my ass if I don't get up. And then when he died and I would be in that situation, I would say, if you were here, he kicked my ass, so I better get up. So a lot of lessons were learned early on, but, you know, I think my mom, she taught Special Ed for 35 years. And moms are a different breed. As you know, they sense things, they know things that we men, you know. Oh, what are you talking about? I had no clue.
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Sage Steele
Oh, yeah, we're good like that.
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Brett Favre
Let's not get into. But, but my mom was, you know, she was. She was tough, but she was loving. It was important to her to be at every event. And, and so like Deanna and I. And even when. When I would be in Minnesota playing or in Green Bay playing or even with the jets, when our daughters were playing, they played volleyball or basketball or soccer. In elementary, they all. They played them all. So there was always games. And if I can make it, I don't care if I was a starting quarterback for Green Bay, the Vikings or the Jets, I was going to make. Was that important to me. And I know it's important to the kids. We never had to worry about that because they were always there. And so when I would hear of, you know, someone would say, well, my parents never come, that I couldn't understand that for whatever reason. So I consider our childhood very blessed and, you know, considering a lot of other upbringings, sometimes you don't even get to participate in sports or activities. We, We. We were the lucky ones.
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Sage Steele
What was the best part of growing up in the far family?
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Brett Favre
You know, we always. There was always. It was. It wasn't always a party. It was always a game, like, if that makes sense. We were always playing sports we were always outside playing. We were climbing trees, we were running down the road, we were playing hide and seek, kick the can. And there were times when dad would say, all right, today's yard work day. Now that was not the funnest day. But as we, as I look back, you know, oftentimes I think with any, you can go to anyone who's 35, 40, 45, 50 or older and, and start talking about growing up. And there'll be things that, you know, make their face light up and then there'll be those that, you know, they'd rather not think about. We have all had those moments, but like, for us, it was a lot more of the brighten your face type of days. And, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. You know, little things like when we got up every morning, my mom had a full breakfast cooked. And I took that for granted because we got two daughters and like when it would be my day to cook breakfast and I can sort of cook. I'm a better eater than I am a cook. You know, for two girls, I mean, it was hard. Cereal was easy, but my mom would cook grits, eggs, biscuits, gosh, bacon. The next day it would be pancakes or omelette or scrambled eggs. And the one day, and I was telling my mom, we were talking about this actually last week, and I, I jokingly apologized, even I was serious, but she knew what I meant. I was like, mom, I don't. You know, I remember growing up smelling that breakfast and just, you, you didn't have to wake us up. We ran because we, we were fighting to get in there. But the day, and there was always one day a week when we didn't smell breakfast. It was cereal. And we would go in there begrudgingly and would be like, well, I don't want no cereal. You know, how, how pitiful are we? But you know, we had, we had food on the table, we had a roof over our head. I remember when we got a swimming pool for the first time. We thought we had hung the moon, you know, so there are so many great memories growing up. Just a great childhood.
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Sage Steele
Yeah. How old is your mom?
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Brett Favre
My mom was 80.
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Sage Steele
She is now.
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Brett Favre
She's 80 now.
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Sage Steele
Wow. How's her health?
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Brett Favre
All things considering, she's good. She doesn't, she takes terrible care of herself. She's got self induced stress. Like, I'll go down to the house. The house I grew up in is rebuilt exactly like it was. Katrina wiped it away. And my whole family, my two brothers, my sister, my mom, My dad had already passed away. My grandmother, some aunts and uncles, some, some cousins were all in that house. Now my, my wife and my immediate family, daughters and my sister in law, her husband, their kids, my mother in law, they rent our house here. During Katrina, they got wind. The house that I grew up in on the coast had six feet of water in it.
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Sage Steele
Oh my gosh.
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Brett Favre
And it was only. It's a one story house.
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Sage Steele
Oh.
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Brett Favre
We were playing Tennessee the last preseason game on a Thursday night. I'll never forget Monday night. Monday was when Katrina was hit, making landfall. So I'm talking to my mom. You know, hurricanes is, you know, we know it's coming. We're locking everything down. I said, are y' all going to leave now? This won't be as bad as Camille, so we'll be okay. That house had been there since 1940. My grandfather ended up giving it to my mom and dad when they got married. And then they, as we, the family expanded, the house got bigger. So it had been there, it had never gotten water in the house. There's a river out front that actually leads into the gulf. So they're in the house. Katrina, you know, it starts with the wind field and then it pushes the, the river water. It just keeps pushing it up. The next thing they have, you know, they're in a house. White caps fit inside the house.
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Sage Steele
Gosh.
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Brett Favre
And so, you know, I'm thinking, you know, I couldn't get in touch with him, but that was not a big deal. Lines are down. Well, two days later, a Houston TV station that was in reporting by chance, ran into my mom and was able to get a call, a satellite phone call to me that said we're okay. Because after about the first day, you realize it was much worse than anyone expected. It got bigger and it stopped. It just stayed in one spot. Well, there was a 45 foot tidal surge that came up the river into where my mom's house is, and they were all in it. I would have people tell me, why didn't they get out? Well, at that point, there was 150 mile power winds and a blade of straw from a pine tree would go right through you. 150 miles per hour. So you're in it. I mean, there's nothing you can do. You just hope for the best. But my grandmother, my mom's mom was, she was still alive at the time and she was one of my favorites. And, and I said, we called her memaw. So when all, you know, when, when we could laugh about it, I Said, meemaw, were you scared? And she. She said, I can't say the word gd. I was scared, she said. I said, what'd you do? She said, you know, I can't swim. And I said, I forgot that. But yeah, now that you say that, she never learned to swim. She said, I just started drinking. Dak Daniels, she. She was in such a panic and started. When she started drinking, she started calling it Dak Janiels.
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Sage Steele
That is beautiful.
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Brett Favre
And so after that, that was, you know, hey, you got any Dak? But she said, if I'm going, I'm going shit face drunk.
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Sage Steele
Totally. I like her.
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Brett Favre
And she was a gym, but, yeah.
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Sage Steele
So I can't imagine you knowing what's going on once you realized that it was camping out over Mississippi and many other parts of this country, right. The Gulf. And to know that they were there and they couldn't leave and you couldn't even begin to get a hold of them. Like, how did you manage that while you're trying to prepare for a game?
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Brett Favre
And, yeah, that Monday it makes landfall. I'm not even. Didn't even give it a second thought. It happens all the time. It was category three or teetering. Three or fours. We've had those before. But when it stopped, I still wasn't real concerned. But when they started having reports coming out of that area, the water, like the. The water. All the casinos are on the beach. They have to build on the beach. They have to build on water. And they were talking about. Some of them were like a mile inland that they got picked up and dropped off on my. So I started thinking. I knew the river we grew up on. It never got to the house, but it's gotten high. And when they started talking about Bay St. Louis, and that's where the. The river starts from the Gulf of Mexico, then I started getting concerned. So I'm. I'm calling my brother, call my other brother, call my mom, nothing. So I'm calling people that knows them nothing. Can't get in touch with them. And then the next day, it, you know, usually, you know, after a second day, you know, the reports start coming out of, you know, everyone's fine here, but this happened. But there were still a lot of unknowns and start that I really started getting worried more. So I couldn't get in touch with anyone. I tried virtually everybody to no avail. And had it not been for that Houston TV station, you know, I would have gone absolutely bananas. And I was, you know, watching the news. They're talking about no cars no. Trucks are going in. Everything's coming out. Only thing going in is supplies. Powers out. And I know, like, that power in Hattiesburg was out for, like, three weeks throughout town, and there were people pulling guns on. On other people over gas and diesel, you know, And I'm in Green Bay and everything was fine.
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Sage Steele
Right.
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Brett Favre
And I'm thinking is no one knew it was going to be this bad. I mean, was, you know, projected to be pretty bad, but it would be in and out pretty quickly. And when that didn't happen, it just was total chaos.
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Sage Steele
Yeah. We're at 20 years.
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Brett Favre
I know.
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Sage Steele
20 years ago, right? Oh, five.
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Brett Favre
Where's the time go?
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Sage Steele
Yeah, it's. It's. It's scary, which is why the older.
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Brett Favre
We get, the faster it goes.
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Sage Steele
I know. I don't. I don't like it. We need to fix that somehow fix the system. But I. I think back, okay, Katrina and your dad, that was 2003 when you lost him, right?
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Brett Favre
2003. 22 years. I know. December 21st or 22nd. I get it. I get it confused.
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Sage Steele
21St. And I think the 22nd was the game the next day on Monday night.
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Brett Favre
And my brother's Birthday is the 22nd.
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Sage Steele
Is it really?
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Brett Favre
Yeah. So, yeah, that was. That was a tumultuous time. It was Christmas, one of my. Maybe my favorite, probably most favorite time of the year.
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Sage Steele
Yeah.
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Brett Favre
And it still is, but there's an asterisk, you know, but, you know, I tell people all the time, tell people you love them, give them a hug, because you never know. You never know.
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Sage Steele
You know, I think sometimes being able to compartmentalize is a gift because, all right, stuff happens and people gotta go to work. The whole world watched you that night. The very next day, when you're on Monday Night Football playing the Raiders. And I remember watching as a reporter, as a sportscaster at that time, but as a human being, and crying, never having met you, and just wondering, how is this man able to function right now? Because it's not like it was cancer. It's not like you had time to prepare.
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Brett Favre
Right.
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Sage Steele
It was so sudden. Heart attack, stroke while he's driving.
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Brett Favre
Yeah.
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Sage Steele
And just like that, he's gone. And you're half. Half a world away, basically, up in Green Bay.
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Brett Favre
Reflect back when. When I got the news, I guess I was in Oakland.
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Sage Steele
Yeah.
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Brett Favre
I remind people that, you know, go back to that time and you're in the present. We had two games left, Oakland, and then we were back in Green Bay, and I think we were playing Denver to finish out the regular season. And if we won both, we had to win both, first of all. And we needed someone to beat Minnesota. They had. They had two games left as well. So we, in order to get to the playoffs. Well, I wanted to get to the playoffs. There was a lot of talk of will, Will he, won't he. I understand if he doesn't play. You know, there was a lot of that talk, well, where, like internally, in the people that I was around, players, the coaches, my wife flew out Saturday night late and stayed with me the whole time. They would all tell you there was no doubt he was playing. Because my, if, you know, if you knew my dad, you, you would certainly shake your head like there's no question Brett was going to play. Because that was, you know, dad wouldn't have it any other way, but also my dad wouldn't. He don't want any. He, you know, don't. Sympathy. Don't play for sympathy. And if you're going to play, play your ass off. Don't play. Just honor me. You better play your ass off. And that's not, that's no bs. That's not sugarcoating my dad. That's exactly how he was. So, you know, there wasn't, boy, I don't think I can play. It was, I'm playing, but I want to play better than I've ever played ever in my career, college, high school, because I want this to, you know, my dad, to know that this was for him. And in saying that, that's a lot of. That's a high expectation because I had, you know, I played long enough at that point that I accumulated some statistically, some good games. And first of all, I wanted to win. And I knew that if I played bad, that lowers our chances. But I wanted to play head over heels better than I've ever played before. And I prayed God, and I've told people this numerous times. You know, I think we all wrestle with faith at times and, and just can it really be real? And I think that's just the human element of it. But we've all, you know, I say we. We've all. Most of us have at different times said, just give me a sign, you know, something, you know, in the sky, this billboard, you know, in the signs that we're looking for, we never get because we're. We're just. We're human. The signs that you get are some that you don't recognize sometimes or, or that hit you like a ton of bricks. And so I, I prayed diligently to you know, I want to honor my father in a way that everyone can say, wow, that was. And you know, did I have doubt that that would happen? Of course. But it had. Walking in right at halftime, I threw a touchdown. We ended up going in. I, I got 399 yards passing. I either had four or five touchdowns right. Right before half and I still had half to go. And, and I remember thinking there, that's the sign. You know, recognize it. It is what it is. That's the sign. And so, you know, there was a sense of pride when, because Deanna and I had chartered a plane, we flew back to Green Bay right after grab Christmas presents, took like a two hour power nap, flew to Mississippi, had the service that afternoon and did, did the Christmas thing presents and then flew back because we had to play Denver fall and Sunday. But not only did we win and I played outstanding against the Raiders. Arizona beat Minnesota on the last second play and it was like the stars are aligning now. I think we, we got beat out in the first round. I'm not sure, but it was, it was definitely bittersweet. I would want the circumstances to be a lot different, but as I look back and think about that, that three day window, I, I think I succeeded in, you know, he's proud as he looks down.
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Sage Steele
What do you think he would have said to you after that game, you.
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Brett Favre
Could have done better? I can't tell you the times like my dad would all. He would come up for every game and if he had to drive, he would drive. If he had like when, when he was coaching high school, when I was playing at Southern Miss, a good example, we would play, we would play at East Carolina. That was, we played them every year home and away. So when we would play him up there, he would coach his game on Friday night and they would load up in a van and they would drive to Louisville or drive to East Carolina or Virginia Tech trying to think of some other place. Florida State.
- [33:42]
Sage Steele
Those are long drive, long drive.
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Brett Favre
And they would get there like right at kickoff. But, but you know, he wasn't going to miss and he would, he, he would get there somehow, some way. So like when I'm playing in the pros, he would fly to every game. Well, the home games, he would, he would come over to my house and they, his big deal was riding with me to the stadium and then he would ride back home with me. Well, most of the time I played well, may have had a hiccup or two along the way, but so my dad, when I played for him, we ran the wishbone. Not a lot of throwing involved, and believe me, we argued daily about that. We need to throw. If. If you want me to get a scholarship, I. Shut up. I'm calling plays. You run them. It. You know, he. It'll work out. I'm not changing my whole damn offense for. For you. Now, my older brother played for him as well, but he threw it with my older brother, so I. I don't know what that means.
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Sage Steele
You had the better arm between you and your brother.
- [34:57]
Brett Favre
No question. I had a better arm. Scott could throw, he could run, but he had a really good running back. Same deal for. For me, but it was like, I'm going to throw a Scott, and I'm not going to. You know, I'm going to run the wishbone with Brett. I don't. But if he were here right now, I know what he'd say. Worked out pretty good. And so that, you know, when he would fly to Green Bay and get in the truck with me afterwards, he usually had him a couple of beers and he was feeling good, and he would say, wow, hell. And my dad, when he whispered, he yelled. My dad never was like, hey, you wake up your mama? It was like, God damn it. You know, everybody would, like, they would be startled. He would get in the truck after a game, and he. And I knew it was coming. And I had about a mile to go to our house. Little traffic, enough time for him. Well, hell, you could have. You could have had a perfect game if you wouldn't have done this, done that. And I'm like, look, we ran the wishbone. Don't tell me anything about passing and reading defenses. And because we ran the option. Oh, hell, you know. You know, he had to get the last word in, but it was. It was really. And I found it comical at the time, even though I was. That it was. I was presently living through it. But we would. We would argue all the time about why did I throw it there, or I could. If you completed this one, you'd have been, you know, 100, whatever, and. And I would be like, I. But he. He was going to have the last laugh and word every time, no matter what. And I. Eventually, I just, like, whatever you win.
- [37:05]
Sage Steele
Was there a time where he flat out said, I'm proud of you?
- [37:18]
Brett Favre
I think when. The closest thing would be when. And I may. I may be wrong, but I think the closest thing would have been when I got drafted. And he gave me a hug and. And I. I had forgotten about that. And I saw it I don't know if it was like during the draft, but I saw where we embraced and I didn't remember that. Now, I know my dad and I tell people this all the time, and I know if I had a son, it would be a little different than girls. You're a little bit tougher on. You know, dads tend to be a little tougher on boys than girls. I'm a softy with my girls, but. But my, My dad, I don't remember, you know, ever saying, if I guess the best way to put it if, you know, if I'm back in those days and my dad were to say, all right, boys, I love you, each one of you. Y' all have a great game. I would have passed out. That was not his mo. Do I, do I look at that negatively? It's just who he was. I knew he loved me. You know, parenting and, and, and developing as you get older is about learning from the previous generation.
- [38:47]
Sage Steele
Yep.
- [38:48]
Brett Favre
And we're always perfecting our craft. We're never going to succeed, but we do get better. And like Scott, my older brother, he's got a son. My younger brother has two sons. They tell them they love them all the time. My dad just. That wasn't his deal. You know, he was. As I said earlier, he was short on atta boys. You know, not only would I passed out a few to said, tough game. I love you. Don't worry about it. We'll be all right next week. I. I would have. I'd have ran off the road if I was driving because I just. What the hell's wrong with you? You know, he was more. And I'm aging myself, but I don't know if you remember Gomer Pyle.
- [39:36]
Sage Steele
Yep.
- [39:36]
Brett Favre
Sergeant Carter.
- [39:37]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [39:38]
Brett Favre
Was all he did was yell. He looks just like my dad. Flat top, no neck. You know, his neck went from bottom of his head to right into shoulders. And as I said, he, he never whispered. He thought he whispered, but it was yelling. So, you know, if he would have ever shown any soft side that. Are you okay? But. But I knew, you know, his way of saying, great, you did good. I'm proud of you. Was. Well, it wasn't bad, but you can be better. Yeah. I'm like, damn, that's pretty good compliment. But that, that was. That was his deal. He. You know, I think my dad. And it would be. It would be really cool if he were living today and we could sit and have a. Which we couldn't really do. Even when I was. Even not long before he died. So where you could have a real nice conversation and say, you know, really being open and not. So my dad was always guarded.
- [40:52]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [40:53]
Brett Favre
And I think, again, I don't know this, and it would be nice to be able to talk to him about, but I think his personality or. Or thought process was if. If I give, you know, he had the old school mentality. If I give too much praise, it'll go to their head. And I want them to be hungry. I want them to be determined and persevere. And by telling them they're doing good, even. Even if it's legit, I'm giving them a reason to not work as hard. That's. That's just my theory.
- [41:33]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [41:35]
Brett Favre
And I found myself before he died and after he died, really didn't matter in regards to that. But I. I sort of challenged myself throughout my career. Now, obviously, it. The challenge became different as I. As I gained success. You know, as I'm trying to get a college scholarship, you know, I haven't arrived yet. I just need a shot. When I got a shot and I started making the most of it. I know, like, from a father's perspective, whether it's his daughter or son, the fear is they get complacent or, God forbid, they get hurt, whatever. But for me, I think I challenged myself based largely on just kind of the way my dad raised me and my brother. And, you know, like, I would. I did a lot of working out by myself in off season, I would go up to Oak Grove and I'd run bleachers. I would throw the high school kids. I would do a weight workout program at my home. And. And I always say this to the younger athletes, whether it be football or whatever. I'm like, what are you doing when no one's looking? Are you working out? Are you running that extra sprint? Are you the extra stadium or throwing five more minutes? Are you one of those. When the coach says all right and he leaves, do you leave, too? It's okay if you're that way, but what are you.
- [43:24]
Sage Steele
Yep.
- [43:25]
Brett Favre
I was the one that did the extra reps. And you'll find this. I think you'll find it, like, surprising, maybe humorous, but it's a sign of the time. So when I'm, you know, thinking about what I said about my work ethic and determination and discipline, I felt like that set me apart. Not that I was a better athlete. That set me apart. I was willing to continue no matter what. Hot throwing up, I. I'm doing. I'm going to do one more than My opponent, or even my teammate. But when I was coaching in Oak Grove, after the first day of practice, I told the guys, I said, look, I got nothing but tie. I'm your coach if you want to work extra on routes or quarterback play or anything, if I. If I have any expertise, and I'll try to help you. So again, I got nothing but time. So if you say, coach, can you give me 20 minutes after practice? I'd love to. I said, also, I'll watch as much film as you want. I think I can teach you a lot. Not one time in two years, not one time did a kid take me up on it.
- [44:46]
Sage Steele
You're kidding.
- [44:50]
Brett Favre
We had great kids. We won a state championship. It's just a different generation.
- [44:55]
Sage Steele
I cannot imagine having you as a coach on my team. I mean, those kids might not have been alive to see you play, but they know because of where they live, for sure. And to not be like, oh, my gosh, Coach Favre. And if I'm the parent, you're damn right I tell my kids to go talk to Coach Favre.
- [45:18]
Brett Favre
My dad and mom would have, like, if Roger Stallback, who my. My big. My two guys when I was growing up were Archie Manning, unfortunately, he played with a terrible team, but he. He was. He was fun to watch. Or Roger Stallback. I love the Cowboys. If either one of them would have did a little volunteer for insane and said, look, you're not bothering me. If you want to throw after, you want to talk ball, you want to watch film, eventually either one of them would have said, brad, I got to go back and play.
- [45:54]
Sage Steele
Yes.
- [45:55]
Brett Favre
You know, this kid won't leave me alone.
- [45:57]
Sage Steele
I got to go eat something.
- [45:58]
Brett Favre
Yeah, you know, you. You got to go home. You got to get a shower. I would have. I would have leaned on that resource.
- [46:06]
Sage Steele
Like, that's crazy.
- [46:08]
Brett Favre
And I tell people that all the time. And everyone is like, surely one time, not one time. And the kids were great. You know, I didn't. I didn't, you know, sit there and go, what, am I that bad? But I did think, you know, is the. The generation that much different that, you know, I don't. I don't know what that says, but. Because, you know, every generation think. Thinks that they were the best, but it was really surprising. It was very surprising. And I. And I really loved the coaching part of it. I don't know if it was necessarily the coaching aspect of it or the when. I guess the best way to put. Like, we had to. We had some really good players. We had a Couple of kids that were not going to see the field. And you, you know, I would coach them and I would, it was hard because I had to be patient. And often I remind myself, you were there at one time and the read may come easy to you, but it didn't initially. But when, when one of the guys would finally get something that you were like, every day it's like, this kid's not going to get it. You know, maybe I'm talking to the coach. I'm like, you know, he's going to turn the other way every time, and he just, he's not going to get it. And then they get it. And I, I, you know, I, I didn't know what that feeling was like until it happened. And that's the reason people, a lot of people coach, same as a parent. You, you harp on something with your, your kids, and at some point you go, this is, this is going nowhere. You know, they, they, they're stubborn. They're not going to get it. It. And then they get it, and then hallelujah. That when that happened, as a coach, I was like. Because they would come back and you could see in their face. Yeah, like, they, And I would, I was not opposed to giving them a hug, high five, tackle them. But I'd also ripped her ass, too. And, And I learned that from my dad. What my dad didn't do, he would rip your ass, but he wouldn't say, now, you did a damn good job. I'm proud of you. Well, it wasn't as bad as yesterday. Okay. That's a compliment, right?
- [48:54]
Sage Steele
Yeah. You take that. If he were sitting here right now, almost 22 years after he died, you're now, what, 55 years old?
- [49:08]
Brett Favre
I was having this conversation with someone the other day. My birthday's in October. I'll be 56.
- [49:15]
Sage Steele
What would you say to dad today?
- [49:21]
Brett Favre
I would say that if you didn't already know this, you know, my, my. I would say my career has been super successful, not perfect. And a large part of that is because of you. You know, did you teach me the fundamentals of throwing? No. But did you teach me what? Leadership, discipline, hard work. Did you teach me what that's all about? Of course. And I would not have made it and had been as persistent, whatever you want to call it, if not for you, you know, there's some things I can, I can solely place the blame on him and only a few things that he, you know, he wouldn't be the reason for, but the most important ingredients came from him. And I Tell people this all the time. If my dad were here, he would say, well, whatever I did, it worked out pretty damn good. You know, it's like the scholarship thing. You know, we went round and round with dad, I'm not gonna get a scholarship. Well, hell, if you can play football, they'll find you. And I'm thinking, you know, I'm. I'm 17 years old. Imagine, I'm thinking, this guy's off his damn rock, you know, how am I gonna get recruited if I don't throw it? But again, if you were alive. Worked out pretty damn good, didn't it? And what can I say? So, you know, as. And he was the head coach, and he was going to do it the way he wanted to do it. And, you know, he. And I've heard him say this before, not necessarily to me, but I'm not going to do anything solely based on promoting my son or sons, meanwhile jeopardizing the season just for my son.
- [51:43]
Sage Steele
Right.
- [51:43]
Brett Favre
You know, I'm in it to win it, and whatever that takes, I'll do. And if it's. If it's running the option, if it's passing, whatever. But Brett's going to be. Or Scott or Jeff, you know, they're going to be one of 40 or 50, whatever we had on the team, they're not going to be one. And then everyone else over here, I'm going to treat them just like I.
- [52:08]
Sage Steele
Treat everyone else, which is admirable, actually. A lot of parents wouldn't do it that way.
- [52:15]
Brett Favre
No question.
- [52:17]
Sage Steele
First thing I saw when you walked up the sidewalk here was that T shirt. Is it true? Everything hurts.
- [52:30]
Brett Favre
Everything hurts. I get more compliments or. Or comments about this shirt. And I was. I was thumbing through social media one day and I saw this advertised. I was like, not a lot of stuff, like, jumps out at me. You remember the Ginsu knives? Yes, I just remember that, you know, my mom, like, oh, my God. Well, that shirt jumped out of me. Like, the Ginsu knife jumped out at my mom. I was like, that's me. And I ordered one. And I have had, like. I got, like, three different colors. And depending on how I feel that day, I'll. So this is kind of a brighter.
- [53:14]
Sage Steele
Color, and yes, thank you for the brighter color. Today.
- [53:16]
Brett Favre
Everything hurts, but it's not as bad today. Okay, so. But I get more people. Great shirt. I need one of those.
- [53:26]
Sage Steele
Yeah. Really?
- [53:27]
Brett Favre
And then I'm like, well, you need 1500 sacks, and then tell me how you feel. Or I'm out at the golf Course or something, someone will say, oh, you look like you back's hurt. And I'm like, I don't. I said, I have no idea why, but it's killing me.
- [53:48]
Sage Steele
1500. What hurts the most?
- [53:56]
Brett Favre
Well, I never had back issues playing growing up. And I'll be honest with you, up until I retired, I spent more time in the training room picking on guys that were getting treatment. You know, don't get me wrong, I got hurt and stuff bothered me, but I spent very little time in the training room. I mean, it was kind of my M.O. to I'm gonna play. Treatment makes you soft, which is not true. But, you know, I had that mentality. But so three years ago, I started having hip. My right hip started bothering me, and it was. I could not get comfortable. So I sitting in chair right now I'm comfortable. Prior to hip replacement, I'd be doing this just trying to find that comfortable position. Never could find it. Had my hip replaced probably 12 days after I walked out that day, which was amazing. Had it done here in town. And then 11 days later, I was riding my bike.
- [55:06]
Sage Steele
Oh, my gosh.
- [55:09]
Brett Favre
And, you know, the rehab or lack thereof was incredible. It's like, you don't. You walk, and when the wound heals, you're kind of free to get going. So after three months, I hit the ground running. The doc cleared me. He said, whatever you want to do, do it. So I. I started back biking with the group, and one day I got off the bike in my back, and I say, my back. It comes from my back, but it. It was really the top of my right glute. I don't know what it feels like for an ice pick to be stuck in you, but I always use that as an example. It felt like someone had stuck up screwdriver or ice pick right in the top of my right glute. And it was weird because that would last for a couple hours, and it would. It would go to the side of my, like, my hip. So I thought I was having. Something was wrong with the hip replacement. Turns out I had. I ended up having a surgery called a foraminotomy, where they go in and they clean out the facet joints that are up and down your spine. And I describe them as. They're like a picture a noodle that the nerves go up into that noodle, and that's a protection. Well, that. That noodle is full of arthritis, and so it's clutching the. The nerve, like, pretty much my whole back. But the areas that. The three areas that bother me are L, L, 4 L5s, 1 lower and on the right side. And it's. I've had one surgery and then I had another surgery to put a spinal cord stimulator put in. Usually I carry a remote around. If my back starts acting up too bad, I can hit the remote and there's a module buried in my back that will send shock waves.
- [57:17]
Sage Steele
Right.
- [57:18]
Brett Favre
It's kind of crazy, but it works pretty good. When the pain gets too bad.
- [57:23]
Sage Steele
Okay.
- [57:24]
Brett Favre
It's stem, but inside you. So usually stem, you know, they put pads on you and you. This happens from inside.
- [57:33]
Sage Steele
That's amazing.
- [57:34]
Brett Favre
And not everybody has success with it, but. But it's, it's. It's helped me tremendously. But then I was diagnosed with Parkinson's about a year after my back issue. And turns out that they're. They're not related, but they're interconnected. So my back issues on the right side. Well, my Parkinson's is all right sided Parkinson's is either one, one side or the other.
- [58:00]
Sage Steele
Okay.
- [58:01]
Brett Favre
And the kind of Parkinson's I have, everyone attributes Parkinson's with shaking. And most people say I don't see much shaking. I, like earlier I was messing with the glass that I have a little shaking, but not like a Muhammad Ali or Michael J. Fox.
- [58:23]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [58:25]
Brett Favre
Mine is rigidity and stiffness. The problem with that is I have rigid and stiff joints on my right side, really on both sides. But the right sides bother me. So the Parkinson's is making it worse. And I take medicine every four hours. Like when I wake up in the morning. I haven't taken my medicine since 8 o' clock or whatever. And I. I can only imagine what I look like, but I feel like a. Like a pretzel. I mean, just everything's so rigid. And I take the medicine like 20 minutes later. It's. It's like a. At least in my mind, it feels like a total new body. So, you know, all in all, here I am 55, you know, and I get. I know we were talking about my dad and he died at 56. You know, I think, you know, I'm almost there, but I've taken way better care of myself, even though I. Football is not taking real care of yourself. I have. I can't tell you how many times my dad would come up, say, dad, I want you to get a physical. He wouldn't have had a wait line. We could go in the back door.
- [59:48]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [59:48]
Brett Favre
I mean, it would have been the easiest physical ever. And I tried and tried and tried and so when he died of a heart attack. Of course I was surprised, but then again, I wasn't. He was stubborn, he was hard headed. He was that old school mentality. I ain't going no damn doctor. You know, all that being said, you know, whoever watches this, if you have a dad like that or if you are yourself are like that, you can't be that way, you know, and you just can't be that way. You got to take care of yourself. You got to get physical, you got to do all those things because there's people counting on you. And if you don't care enough about yourself, care enough about the people around you that want you around. And so my dad and I would go round and round about it and when he died, I don't think there was ever a time where I felt guilty, you know, I never said I should have made him go, I can't make a 56 year old man go get a physical. Yeah, I can try. Did I feel, you know, I felt bad, of course, but I really felt like I did all I could do other than handcuffed him and forcing him to go in. But I think about, you know, how fast time has flown by. But also I've been to that age where, you know, when he died and I don't want to die, not anytime soon. So. And I know my family, at least I don't think they want me to die. You know, my, my two daughters have. Constantly take care of yourself and do what you got to do. Now the Parkinson's is a new element.
- [61:46]
Sage Steele
Right.
- [61:48]
Brett Favre
You know, I can, if there's a cure comes out in the next five years, great. I hear a lot of good things about that. But that's, I'm sure Michael J. Fox, who has raised billions of dollars, probably thought when he was diagnosed in 92, I think at 28 years old, that this is no big deal. It'll be fixed in five, 10 years. And here he is still fighting it in the 60s. But there's a lot of the new things, good things that are potentially available within the next year as I understand it. So the good thing about that is if that's the case, where I am in, the disease is so important. So if you're late stage, that's where you're going to stay. It's not, you're not going to revert back. So if we can get something that at least stops or slows the process in the next five years, that would be awesome. And I'm hearing that there will be. So in the meantime, one of the things that I've seen, five specialists, all five have said the same thing. Whatever the next doctor told you, keep doing it. Take the medicine that I take. It's called Carbidopa, Levodopa, it's a dopamine replacement, synthetic, gives you three hours relief, and then you do it again. So keep doing that. But everyone has said, exercise, exercise, exercise is the number one thing we've with people with the Parkinson's. When you throw in the towel and say, it's got me, then all hell breaks loose. But when you, because balance is affected, and I've seen a little bit. Your cognitive, your memory is affected, I've seen a little bit, but not bad. Rigidity and stiffness is affected. Shaking and tremors is affected. I have the rigidity and stiffness. So that's the dominant symptom. But I feel like when I, when I take a day off, I feel worse. So, you know, people like, oh, man, you, you're in better shape. You were when you played. It's not necessarily by design. You know, the fact is, if that's the number one thing to counter having Parkinson's, then I'm going to do it like I was getting ready for the Super Bowl. I'd be a fool not to. So the cards that I'm dealt, I just play them.
- [64:43]
Sage Steele
What scares you the most about this disease and going forward?
- [64:53]
Brett Favre
I, well, I've noticed one of the doctors said, I'm going to ask you about some other symptoms. And, and prior to that, if you would have said, just give me three of the five symptoms, I'd have said, little shaking, rigidity and stiffness. There's a lot of, a lot of times the average person doesn't notice it. But if, like, I, if I can see someone walking down the street and I can tell you if they have Parkinson's or not. And my. Every doctor that I've talked to has said the same thing. You, you, you become a specialist. You'll see the rigidity, the shuffling of the feet when they turn. It's robotic. It's, it's not fluid, you know, it's. And that's me. But what, what, what symptoms have sort of arised here lately is like, I have a hard time swallowing. And one of the doctors just out of the blue said, how's your swallowing? And I was like, it's not as easy as it was. And he said, that's one of the things that is, is affected. And there's times where I think I'm choking. So it's, it's sort of scary because there's. They can't fix that. And if, if, you know, we go like we're going now, and they're still working on a, you know, something to slow the disease or stop the progression, great. But if they're still working on it, that means I'm progressing. And where you. Again, where you progress to when that time comes, when they develop something that'll stop it or cure it, that's where you stop. Then you're not going to revert back to day one. So, you know, it's like I try not to think about it. I try to just focus on getting after the day and making most of each day. But there are oftentimes there during the day, maybe at night when I can decompress. And I think, I think I'm progressing a little bit because the progression as I understand it, my doctor said, think about it this way. You see someone you haven't seen in 20 years, they look like they haven't aged a bit. You tell them you look great. Then you see someone you haven't seen in three years and you don't recognize. They've, you know, they look like a total different person. The disease is that way. There's no way to predict who is going to progress faster than others. We all age differently. So I constantly think about, even though I know I shouldn't, am I going to be the one that ages quicker? Is the disease going to eventually dominate me? Where I think right now I'm dominating the disease? At least I feel that way. I think that's much better thought than the alternative. But I, but again, I wake up every day and think, did I. Did I progress 2% or am I staying the same? Am I, am I looking into, you know, this progression more than I should? You know that all those thoughts go through my mind.
- [68:29]
Sage Steele
And you think about Father Time, you think about your dad at 56 and you think about what this disease is like. You talked about the cards you're dealt with. We all think about our mortality, you know, and there's no guarantees.
- [68:46]
Brett Favre
Yeah.
- [68:47]
Sage Steele
Do you think about death? Do you think about what's next? I mean, we remain positive, but then we also have to balance that with, with reality.
- [68:58]
Brett Favre
I don't know how as you. Every eight. I mean, there's no certain age that you hit that where you, you start thinking about life after or. But I think as you get older and that could be different for, for everyone. You start thinking about when I. And I. A better way to explain it. I tell people often at 30, I had it figured out. At 40, I realized my 30 year old self had no freaking clue. At 50, I was like, 40, you were dumbass. You just thought you knew. So here I am at 55, I'm certain that 60, if I make 60, I'll think 50 year old you didn't, you know, so it's, it's a, it's a never ending saga. But as you get older, these things that were important at 21, things that you tell your kids, same thing I've told my girls. My. And they're two polar opposite, the girls. One has never met a stranger. She, she'll talk to anyone. She's the oldest. She got a law degree from Loyola, practiced law for a couple years, didn't like it. Super smart. Again, never met a stranger, can talk to anyone. The younger one is, won't talk to anybody. Very quiet, equally smart, very timid. But you know, at 21, at 30, 40, you think something's so important you have a meltdown over something. And then, you know, I would tell my girls, I'm like, trust me, they'll come a time where you're going to go, I can't believe that I threw a fit over this. And you know, they don't believe it. And then later on they're like, you're right. That's the same thing we, we learn, you know. And so at 55, soon to be 56, I can't help but think about, I mean, I believe I have a lot of years left and I hope that that's the case. But I also want those years to be quality, as best, as best as possible. But I, but you know, at 25 or 30, 35, you don't really think about that, right? You don't want to think about that because you're young and that means you're thinking you're old. And what comes with that? Like so. But at some point, you know, you wake up and you go, 20 years have passed. And it seemed like one year, the next five years ago. And then if I'm fortunate enough to live 10, 15, 20 more years, I gotta believe that's gonna get here pretty quickly and I better get my in order. So I, I think about it, you know, that's basically how I think about it. Not a day goes by where it may be, you know, just a brief thought, or it may be a moment, it may be five minutes or something until I go on to the next thing where I'm thinking about what does life look like? You know, I may Be on the tractor. And I'm thinking, what does five years from now look like? I don't see how you can not look at life that way as you get older.
- [72:56]
Sage Steele
You and Deanna have been through so much publicly. And we saw her standing by your side on that Monday night game in Oakland after your dad died, what, a year later she's diagnosed with breast cancer. All of the ups and downs privately, I'm sure, because that's how life is. That's how it is when you're married and you have a family. And then this diagnosis. How is Deanna?
- [73:24]
Brett Favre
She's doing great. She's training right now. How in the hell she does it? But she's training for, she, she scaled back. She's training for a half ironman. That's in September. She did a full ironman last September. Usually she signs up for a race a year and the training is way harder than the race. You know, like, what do you got today? Well, I got a 100 mile bike ride and a mile swim as a training. I'm like, see you later. You know, I'll see you at eight tonight.
- [74:02]
Sage Steele
Yeah, it's amazing.
- [74:04]
Brett Favre
So that's, but that's her mo. She, she. I'll get up and like I got up this morning and I got on my stationary bike that wasn't like, you know, I need to get on my bike. I just jumped on it. And, and, and I enjoy that. You know, I, I want to look forward to working out. You know, she's like, I need something to sign up for to motivate me. Yeah, and I get that. I just wish it would be something a little easier on the body. I mean, that takes us toll. But she's doing great. She, you know, she did the chemo, the radiation deal. But there's a lot to be said for being young and healthy when you, when you face those challenges. But that time in our life was lost. My dad. Diana gets diagnosed with breast cancer. Her brother was killed on our property, tragically. Four wheeler accident. In fact, he was killed and her cancer diagnosis were less than a week apart. So, you know, and I've talked about this publicly to a lot of people and groups, we're not, you know, celebrities are no different than anyone else. Bad stuff happens. Good stuff happens. You're lucky at times, you're unlucky. You know, just because you're on TV or you're, you know, a celebrity or popular doesn't mean everything is okay. You know, we all face those challenges. And so, you know, she, she's faced her challenges and our family challenges. Way stronger and defiant than I could ever do. You women, you women are strong.
- [76:09]
Sage Steele
I know we are sometimes too much, I think. But that's okay. I mean, it's almost like it's innate. As a mother, as a wife, I mean, we're nurturers. And so when the love of her life is diagnosed with Parkinson's, I imagine, I'm guessing she's, she's still Dana. She's a caretaker. She probably wants to fix it. How is she handling this?
- [76:35]
Brett Favre
You know, this really is funny. People may not, some people may not find it funny, but it is funny. So two years ago, actually January, let's say January 1st, just for easy will make two years. So it's been about a year and a half. My, my buddy I was off on a deer hunt with, he's my golfing buddy, he's my hunting buddy, but also he's my back doctor. So we, we go up and we hunt with a friend of ours in Illinois. And he had some stuff that he wanted me to sign for memorabilia for some of his co workers. So I said, sure Bill. I start signing and I'm shaking. No one knows I have Parkinson's, including me. I'm shaking a little bit, not bad. And I said, forgive my handwriting again, I'm not thinking anything of it. I said, I got a little shaking deal that happens and it affects my writing. And at the time when I was saying that, there were two things that I had noticed that even though I, I noticed it and thought something was a little unusual, I wasn't thinking anything of it. I just thought you get older, you pick up these quirky habits. The first one was I would be walking through the house or walking outside and my arm would be stuck just like this. Now when I would notice it, I would was like, that's weird. I put my arm down, I would swing it just like normal. And then when I would forget about it, it was right back there. That was the first thing. Didn't hurt. Wasn't like stuck and I couldn't unstuck. Was just a quirky habit. I thought. The second thing was dexterity in my right hand. So pretty much everything, I'm dominant right handed text, screwdriver, pick up something on the floor. Was always right handed. Well, if, if you handed me a, a jacket, long sleeve jacket. And I haven't taken medicine of course at the time before I was diagnosed, I, I didn't know. But when I would be putting that jacket on, you would probably say what in the hell's wrong with him? I would. I feel my arm. It's not like I don't have any feeling, but I cannot guide it down the hole. Or if you dropped a dime. And I said, dime. A quarter is a little easier to get a fingernail on. But if I tried to pick it up with my right hand, I may sit there for five minutes, and eventually you would be like, I'll get it for you, or my left hand would get it. That was the second thing. But again, I wasn't thinking. I got Parkinson's. I just thought, you know, something quirky I picked up, you know? But there was. There was something in the back of my mind. My. My buddy who was back, surgeon has a little small plane. He flew us up there. And on the flight back, I had the headphones on. I said, jay, can you set me up an MRI over at Southern Bone and Joint where he works? They have hospital. And he said, yeah, what? What now? And I said, my head. And he started laughing. He said, well, you know, they ain't gonna find nothing, you know, joking around. And. And I said, I'm serious. And he said, what's. What's the problem? And I kind of told him the symptoms, and he's like, no big deal, but, yeah, so he set it up. I did the mri. My general doctor, I told him about it. And this was a Monday morning. My general doctor said, you need to see a neuro doctor. That's not my expertise, but don't. Don't sound too bad. So I go see the neuro, and he diagnosed me within five minutes that I had Parkinson's. So when he says, you got Parkinson's, My exact response was, you have to be shitting me. And he goes, nope. See it all the time. 100%. You got it? We did an alpha synuclein biopsy, which is a new test, but it only confirmed what he said. And I did a cognitive memory test that lasts nine hours and that. That also proved that it's Parkinson's. And I scored high, which ruled out Lewy Body. When he said it ruled out Louie Body, I go, okay, what's Louis Body? He said, you'd be dead in two years. I was like, thank God you didn't tell me that prior. But. But anyway, I go home. This was a Monday morning. I get the news. I go out my truck, I sit my truck for, like, five minutes, and I'm like, what in the hell just happened? You know, yesterday, the last thing I thought was a neurological. I'm thinking, life's over. And my doctor, when he told me, you got Parkinson's, he said, look, we're going to be okay. We'll manage it. You know, you're not going to die from it. You may die from complications, but a lot of people live a long time. We want. We want to maximize your quality of life, and we can do that. No. He was reassuring. But I get in the truck and I'm like, you know, this is, you know, I was, I wasn't expecting this. So I go home and I walk in bedroom. Deanna and my youngest daughter were in the bathroom talking. And I walk in and I said, I got Parkinson's. Deanna's like, I don't even know if she heard the Parkinson's part. She. She was like, what are you doing in here? And I was like, I came to tell you I got Parkinson's. And she's like, what are you talking about? And I, now that I look back, imagine, you know, her, like, where's this coming from? Yeah, it was Monday morning at 8 o'.
- [83:06]
Sage Steele
Clock.
- [83:09]
Brett Favre
And I said, I just, just left the doctor. And she's like, wait, what made you go get checked? Who, who, who was the. You know, like, she's trying to sort all this out. And I said, well, I had these symptoms, if you want to call it for, for a while. And I said, you didn't notice them? And she's like, I see you every day. And that's the problem. Yeah, you see someone every day, they're normal to you. But I would, on occasion, when I would see someone, you know, I'd go in a restaurant or something, and I hadn't seen someone for. Hey, Brett, you look, man, you look stiff. Well, when I look back at some of the videos, my right side, you know, how you could know, how could anyone not see the rigidity? But, but again, when you live in that every day, that's normal. And I was able to function a bike, I played golf, did yard work, we went on hikes. So I thought everything was fine. Yeah, but it was. It was kind of funny. I was like, I just saw the doctor. He just diagnosed with Parkinson's. And that's the deal. She's like, I don't believe it. You know, and finally she, you know, I was like, you've never noticed any symptoms? She's like, no. Now after the fact that she, you know, now she knows what to look for and she'll see him like, maybe it's time for your medicine. Because my arm, if I get up and I took Medicine right before I, I came in here. So I should. I'm usually good, but if I get up and walk out and I don't think about it and, and you happen to see my arm, you'd be like, it's time for his medicine.
- [85:14]
Sage Steele
Wow.
- [85:15]
Brett Favre
Because when I take the medicine for about three and a half hours, my arm is normal. The rigidity is virtually normal. But as it gets closer to the end of the dose.
- [85:28]
Sage Steele
Okay.
- [85:30]
Brett Favre
You know, I'm like, it must be time for my medicine because I'm feeling rigid. My arms or my dexterity.
- [85:37]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [85:37]
Brett Favre
Like, I can write. If I take the medicine in 20 minutes later, I can write a lot better than three hours later. I could. I can fit 150 page book. Now I'm, I'm stretching the truth a little bit in a little. I write, it gets tinier and tinier and it's just like so. And I don't. That's just part of it. There's certain things that people with Parkinson's do.
- [86:08]
Sage Steele
And you said you ride your stationary bike, so physically, what can't you do anymore?
- [86:15]
Brett Favre
Run. Prior to the hip replacement, I was running in half marathons. And if you'd have told me when I retired that I would run, period, especially if no one was chasing me, I would have said, you're out of your mind. But it was a good change up to biking, you know, for the, for so long I had to. You. You had to lift weights, you had to run stadiums. You had to. And, and I kind of, when I retired, I'll lift a little bit, but it's more of just a. Maintaining, keeping the joints and all that active and under load. But the running, I would say other than running, I can pretty much do what I want. I just. No pounding for the joints in my back. But, but biking, we'll go on hikes when we go, you know, out to the mountains. That can be a little bit, a little tougher. But all in all, I think I'm pretty free to do just about whatever.
- [87:35]
Sage Steele
Awesome.
- [87:36]
Brett Favre
Can't complain.
- [87:37]
Sage Steele
You mentioned earlier the 1500 sax and you've publicly spoken obviously about the concussions and probably that you experienced thousands of them from playing as a kid, high school, college, obviously in the pros. And then in this conversation talking about, you know, what happened at second base that time and get up, you get up and you keep going now. And I know, hey, these are the cards we're dealt and life is life. But how much have you thought back on those days when you knew you were dinged up more than probably you should have been in order to continue, but you did. You kept going. Like, do you look back on that and regret forcing yourself every single time to get back up?
- [88:28]
Brett Favre
You know, I don't regret. And also, if I had it to do over again, I. I don't know if I would have done it any different. I think there's a couple of different times where I went back in with a head injury that the smart thing, the very smart thing to do, based on what we know now would be not to go back in those few moments, you know, which may be two times that, you know, I think that I probably should have stayed out versus, I don't know how many plays you know, I played. And pretty much every time you get hit, it hurts. Some hurt worse than others. Sometimes something breaks, sometimes something tears, sometimes bruises. But as far as anything below the neck, I don't think I would do it any differently. I think when I went back in and played, the Strange thing is, 99.9% of the time when I played after a major injury, like for example, I had a separated shoulder, my left shoulder. Reggie White did it my second year we played him in Milwaukee when he was at Philly. Major injury. The following week I play and I play outstanding. I break my thumb against St. Louis in St. Louis. The following week we play Minnesota on Monday Night Football in Minnesota. We had very little success there, even with a good thumb, and I ended up playing maybe the best game at Minnesota ever. So I say that because it would be easy to say don't play right, because you may not play that well and it may cost you a job where I would say, hell, the last five times I had an injury, I played better than I've ever played before. So, you know, I think I would do it the same way I did.
- [90:50]
Sage Steele
It.
- [90:53]
Brett Favre
Know, and, you know, knowing what concussions can, can do to you, there's no way to definitively say Parkinson's is from concussions, but it don't take a rocket scientist to, to. To say, if I were a bet, man, that's where I would say, you got it. Or definitely some of it came from. I mean, you wrote the book on head injury so that, you know, and I, you know, when I had a conversation with Dr. Benjamin Amalu, who Will Smith played in movie concussion, I said, I asked him, when is a good time to play tackle football? And he said, never. Not a human. He said, but to answer your question, I know that there's going to be football played no matter what the the youth shouldn't play tackle until 18. Give the skull time to some people. You know, some places do flag football. Some places play tackle. I would eliminate tackle football until they get to, like, 11th and 12th grade.
- [92:08]
Sage Steele
School.
- [92:11]
Brett Favre
Nobody plays tackle until 17 or 18 years old. And if everyone would adhere to that, you wouldn't be behind. You know, like you can do. You can practice fundamentals and teach without jeopardizing the future of your youth. But, you know, I think. I don't know how many plays I played in, but there were a few times after a major concussion. Oh, I say a major concussion. Concussion where I maybe blacked out for a second or two, which is not good, as we know now. But at the time, you. You kind of. Your head's buzzing, you're getting up off the ground, you kind of fuzzy. You don't know what really happened, but. But it's getting clear. You go back to the huddle. By the time you run the next play, you're back to what you could consider normal. As I talked to Dr. Amalu, he was like, that's second impact syndrome. If you go back and you get another Dane.
- [93:14]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [93:17]
Brett Favre
I mean, really bad things happen. Really bad things on top of the first concussion to begin with. But when he told me, he said, how many concussions do you think you've had? And I really had never thought of it at that point. I said, I think three. And he kind of laughed and he said, three? What are you saying was a concussion? I said, well, when I blacked out or kind of forgot or I maybe was able to play the next play, but I was a little fuzzy. And he said, how about this? How many times did you get tackled or you tripped or you fell and you saw stars or you heard ringing in the ears or a little, you know, you shake the cobwebs out? And I said, pretty much every time I was tackled or I fell. And he said, that's a concussion, and that is what does the damage. He said, muhammad Ali, how many times did you see him just get drilled? Very rarely. He goes, exactly. But he got jab, jab, jab, jab, 200 jabs or what? You know, however many that you. I mean, it does serious damage. And he said, you've probably had thousands of ringing in the ears, of fireworks and no, tell them what toll that will take. And that's frightening. Very frightening. So when you have. I have three grandsons. I have never once said, are you guys going to play football? Now, if either one of them came to me and said, will you help me. I want to play. I would, I would, I would try to help, but I'm not going to encourage them to play if they don't. If they want to play, by all means, play.
- [95:10]
Sage Steele
Would you let them play tackle?
- [95:12]
Brett Favre
Well, that would be up to their mom and dad, but I would be. They're 15, 12 and 8. The 8 year old, definitely not the 12 year old. If, if I had any say, I would say no. And I know what some, well, everyone else is tackling, which is the problem. If everyone would say flag football until 16, you're going to eliminate a lot and you may save the quality of life for one kid because what they know about concussions and there's not a lot, as I understand it, the chances of, with each concussion, the chances of the neurological disease als.
- [96:03]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [96:06]
Brett Favre
Dementia, Alzheimer's, all goes up. So you think about, you have 500, you have a thousand. You can't help but wonder what the future holds. And, and that had crossed my mind prior to a Parkinson's diagnosis, but the diagnosis really sort of turbocharged. You know what else? Hopefully this is it, you know, so, you know, there's that, that, that conversation you have with yourself is like, okay, I can deal with Parkinson's, I just don't want anything else.
- [96:47]
Sage Steele
Yeah, you've chosen to be super vocal about it before the diagnosis as, as you've discussed. So what is that hope, you know, going forward where. Okay, yes. Look at me, right? I was one of the all time greats and will always remain that way. And part of that is the toughness. Yeah, part of that is a, is a consecutive streak of 290. Yeah. 297 straight games. That was a choice, that toughness that was instilled in you as a kid. And if you feel something, say something like, what is the balance that you're trying to teach kids? Because sometimes it isn't up to the coach or the parent. They don't feel. Feel what you feel. So we, we have to rewire the kids, right. To be their own advocate. So with, if your 15 year old grandson says I want to play, what are you telling him?
- [97:42]
Brett Favre
Well, if he, if he said, would you, you know, I want to play quarterback, I want to play. Will you teach me the ins and outs of it? And if, you know, if they're all playing tackle, his age group, you got no choice. You either keep him out, you know, so, I mean, that would be a decision his mom and dad would have to make.
- [98:06]
Sage Steele
I'm sure they would talk to you though.
- [98:07]
Brett Favre
Your daughter I would say play golf, Honestly, that's what I would say. Baseball, you can get a concussion in anything. You can trip and fall, you can get a concussion. You can slip on ice, you can get a concussion, but you lower the chances if you don't play tackle football, especially young, you know, a 15 year old doesn't know, you know, he's going to have a little hits, makes a tackle or gets tackle, he's going to have a little ringing in the ears, but he's not going to know. Is that a calling card for something down the road that could be, you know, very serious? No. You know, he's looking at the cheerleaders, you know, he's shaking off the cobwebs. He's got a coach yelling at him. He's trying to. So we have to protect, right, we have to protect him. And I feel like, you know, I don't, I don't feel like, you know, life after, for me, after football, God is saying you stand up for concussions and. But I think the way I played, you know, you said I spoke out before I was diagnosed. So when I'm diagnosed, it sort of adds credibility. Like told you.
- [99:34]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [99:34]
Brett Favre
You know, and not that I wanted Parkinson's, not that I hoped I had Parkinson's, but the fact that I have it does nothing but solidify, you know, my stance on protecting our, our youth and our brains in general. I would love to see the NFL put more money into research for a cure, a treatment for Parkinson's for concussions in general.
- [100:07]
Sage Steele
Okay.
- [100:08]
Brett Favre
You know, they're paid billions out for settlement. Put that into, you know, something that, for lack of a better term, and this is, you know, I've talked to a lot of specialists, by no means my neural neurologist, but for lack of a better term, a concussion is swelling of the brain. So if you, or if you think you had a concussion or someone thinks you've had a concussion, what's the best thing to do in my mind is alleviate the inflammation. Well, there's nothing to alleviate the inflammation. You know, they, they come out with better helmets and better rules. Not. But the numbers really are not going down. So why don't you have something that, if you think a kid has a, or an adult has a concussion, you give this nasally or, you know, orally or injection, that, that stops the information. And to me that's the best route to go. Spending more money on helmets. That doesn't stop the brain from moving. And that's what I try to explain to people. If I head Butt that wall. My head is going to stop when it hits that wall, but my brain's going to keep moving. And when the brain hits, when it stops, there's the bruising and the inflammation. So I don't care how good your helmets are, it doesn't stop the brain from moving when the head stops. And so, you know, I sort of feel, I don't feel like I have to do it, but I feel like the way I played and what has happened to me, I'm the perfect person to speak up for safety. I love the game. We wouldn't be talking right now if it wasn't for football. It has brought a lot of great things with it. You know, some, some negative things, you know, the elements and things like that, you know, that's part of it. But I, but I think that, you know, I played the game a certain way and I don't know if I would play it any different, but I think that it gives me a voice that is respected in that realm.
- [102:42]
Sage Steele
Yeah, the. Oh my gosh, the positives are endless and the negatives, I think are something that sometimes fairly get blown up other times unfairly. I twice have watched that, the Netflix documentary Untold. And your perspective, I guess, depends on who's watching, what perspective they have during, before, during and after that. What stood out to me is that the controversy when you were with the New York jets, the controversy here in Hattiesburg with welfare situation in the university is all one sided. Everybody. I mean, you got crushed in that documentary at the end it said we asked Brett Favreau for an interview and he said no. Why did you decide to not?
- [103:41]
Brett Favre
Well, they didn't ask, first of all, but if they would have, I would have said no. First of all, that was almost 20 years ago. It's like, are you that desperate to. That you got to rehash something that has been dealt with and moved on from in the welfare deal? You know, I'm still under a gag order, unfortunately that has been in place probably four years now. So I can't defend myself even if I wanted to. But I know this, and this may come out before this is cleared up, but I know this. The truth will come out. I can't talk about it right now. But for the, for those who jump ship and call me everything in the book, you're going to be, sadly, you know, your, your view of me may not change. I don't know, that's up to you. But your view of me being a criminal or whatever will, will definitely change. You know, for the haters out there. I think about it sometimes. Damn, I thought he did it. I wanted me to do it. But again, the truth will come out. And it sucks because I can't talk about what I know and what has been out there is only a small part of allegedly what has been misspent or. Or, you know, but because of who. There's 47 people named as defendants in this. There's only one person you. You hear about, and that's me.
- [105:39]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [105:40]
Brett Favre
And that's. It sucks. It sucks for my family, but I'm a big boy. I can handle it. And I know the truth will come out. And I look forward to the day where I can actually tell the just of. And I think you and everyone else will be like, you gotta be kidding me.
- [106:04]
Sage Steele
Did you watch it?
- [106:05]
Brett Favre
No.
- [106:06]
Sage Steele
Why?
- [106:11]
Brett Favre
I don't know why I needed to. First of all, I knew what. What they were talking about and very little the welfare, because the people involved in the welfare can't talk.
- [106:22]
Sage Steele
Right.
- [106:23]
Brett Favre
So you can assume, you know, you can. You can make a program with assumptions, but if you want the true facts and if you really are in it, whether it be Netflix or anyone else, if you're really in it to be unbiased, which they're not going to do that because, you know, if they really research and get some people to talk, they're going to find out that it's not as juicy a story as, you know, we had hoped.
- [106:59]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [107:00]
Brett Favre
Because it sure looks, you know, a headline that, you know, former quarterback makes all this money and all this glitz and glamour and then he steals welfare money. That's a great headline if. If you're in the business of headlines, but it ain't true. And what. What kills me, I'm not surprised. But what kills me is there reporters that know, especially in this state, that I don't know personally, but I know of, that know the truth but refuse, you know, unless they're made to. Which they're not going to be mad. They're not going to tell you. I mean, they have that. That right now. They could change it. They could print something today that would tell you a lot of things that you wouldn't know about the case that would shed light in a positive way on me. But I think you lose the clickbaits by. By doing that.
- [108:06]
Sage Steele
These are people that you've known for a long time, some of them and have chosen to stay silent or write something the opposite. Yeah. Yeah.
- [108:18]
Brett Favre
At this point, nothing surprises.
- [108:22]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [108:22]
Brett Favre
And no one. And I'm not surprised by, you know, people you think are in your corner. A lot of them are still in my corner and have been those that I thought were in my corner. And I would never ask anyone to print anything that would make me look good but not be true.
- [108:41]
Sage Steele
Right. Right.
- [108:43]
Brett Favre
All I ask is if you. An unbiased either factual opinion where you do your homework, or my opinion just solely based on knowing me and what type of person I am. You know, so you find out the old saying, find out who your friends are. You know, it's been, it's been. It's hard to believe, but this has been going on for seven years, 20, 18, and pretty much going around town and go out and eat. We do things and people are very respectful. The people that know me, know me and know that I would never do the things that they. They said I've done and know that there's more to the story than what you're hearing, than what you're reading.
- [109:40]
Sage Steele
Is that hard, though, to, like, have to keep your mouth shut?
- [109:46]
Brett Favre
You know, I'm over the hump now, but it is so hard. You get comments from people on social media, and I know the best thing to do is not to comment, but sometimes I want to just say, you are such a dumb. You know, people would. They don't want to do their research. You can actually go to the courthouse in Jackson Hines county and get all the records. Now that would I want to do that? No. But if I, If I was really in, if I was a reporter and I wanted to. I wanted to see for myself what it is and what it's all about and, and have an unbiased. Here's. Here's what I got based on my research. If you really wanted to do that, you. You can. First of all, all the records, everything that's been said and done is on record. Doesn't cost you a dime unless you drive over. As far as I know, no one's done that, or maybe they've done that but didn't get the answer that they wanted. So. Because I. I've said multiple times different what I'm speaking. I spoke to a Touchdown luncheon in Arkansas last year, Razorback luncheon, and said basically the same thing. You can, if you want to. If you want to know the truth. I can't tell you what based on this gag order, but you can go at the courthouse or online and you can, you can find out what he said or she said or get the, you know, rather than one excerpt from a text thread, you can get the whole deal that puts a lot more in context than one. You know, if I said, you know, I could kill so and so to you in a text, I mean, you could, you could. Or a prosecutor could later say, look, he, he threatened murder. When, you know, it's, you know, it's just slaying. It's figure speech.
- [111:56]
Sage Steele
Right?
- [111:57]
Brett Favre
Well, that's the case with, you know, they took little bits and pieces out of text threads and make it look, you know, like, oh, that's going to look good by itself. But if you look at the rest of it, you go, that makes perfect sense why he said what he said. That's. That's what I'm fighting right now. And I'm handcuffed by. Attorneys are handcuffed. We've been ready to go to trial from day one. As we have nothing to hide, we're ready to fight. And, you know, it seems like we're ready and everyone else is like, the longer it goes by, the less people remember me or my involvement. But I'm the one that. I'm sure a lot of these defendants are like, I'm glad Brett's in. It is. You never hear my name.
- [112:54]
Sage Steele
Nobody. No other names. I've not heard a single name. Does it bother you that you could look at it like, okay, because so much time has gone by and you haven't been able to speak about it or defend yourself, that you are viewed differently. Your legacy as, yes, an incredible football player, a hall of Famer, but also a good guy, is being affected by this.
- [113:19]
Brett Favre
Yeah, I think one thing that I often think about and right or wrong, we all, you know, have thoughts and actions and stuff that, you know, we, we wish we didn't or just they are what they are. And so, like, for me, I think people, you know, the haters out there think, well, he didn't get arrested because he's hot shot quarterback. Well, I didn't get arrested because I never stole anything. And that's the truth. But again, you can go research that on your own. And, you know, I've said that oftentimes maybe a comment, I'm like, look, rather than make these ridiculous comments that you're making once you do your research and then come back and tell me if you still feel the same way. But you know, nine times out of 10, that that's not going to happen because it's juicier the way that they envision it and that, that, that pisses me off. But also know that not everybody's gonna like you, even if you've never had A hiccup in your life, somebody's gonna, you know, dislike you because you're successful.
- [115:01]
Sage Steele
Yep.
- [115:02]
Brett Favre
Or because you're a nice guy or because you got something that they don't. It's human nature. And I know, like, for me, there's a lot of flaws with me and I need to focus on me and not focus on other people and their flaws. And I try to do that. A lot of this world as, you know, worry about everybody else's flaws. So rather than minute at this point, it's gone on for so long, I, you know, it's like, I know it's going to get resolved, but I'm like, when I get to tell my story, people probably would be so unaffected by it and moved on that. Not that I can control that. But yeah, I do want the truth to get out. Not that it's going to change the way I live, but, you know, I don't like that hanging over my head because it's just not true.
- [116:09]
Sage Steele
And then you decide to go out on the campaign trail and support Donald Trump, which as we know, is controversial and oh my gosh, gets you cut off from certain parts of the world. The way people handle it. If you associate yourself with this president, why did you decide to be vocal about your support for him before the election?
- [116:31]
Brett Favre
Well, Sage, you know, we've done several things together and really we, you know, we were doing Jason when the fever pitch was starting to get at an all time high. Like you either hated Trump or you absolutely loved him and hated the people that hated Trump. But you know, like, for me, my, my really, my youngest daughter would say, dad, don't say nothing. My oldest daughter is like, you know, she, she former attorney, she's never met a stranger. She's like, let him have it. I feel like, and I believe this is the truth, that the Republican or the conservative, and I hate to even say Republican. More common sense.
- [117:22]
Sage Steele
Yeah, just totally.
- [117:24]
Brett Favre
I mean, don't even pick sides. Just think about it from a common sense perspective. Some of the things that you're actually on the left that you're, you're saying is normal, you know, do you not ever, like, look in the mirror when no one's looking and it's just you and you go, are we out of our damn mind? So I felt like the conservative, you know, just the conservative crowd in general sits on their hands and just. And I, I think at times I was like this. Like you just expect people to do the right thing.
- [118:06]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [118:07]
Brett Favre
And to make common sense decisions and so sit on your hands and expect that and it doesn't happen and it continues to get worse. And then the, the left has no problem talking. They don't shut up and they blame it all on everyone else. And I'm thinking, you know, like, if, if we don't start standing up and defending ourselves, not that we, we, we should have to. It is where it is. If we don't start taking a stand, we're going to get dominated.
- [118:44]
Sage Steele
Yep.
- [118:45]
Brett Favre
And so that's really what, you know, I thought, I thought about, like, the rally in Green Bay when he asked if I would come talk. You know, there was those that said, you know, people throw daggers at you anyway. They're really going to throw daggers at you. So I, I thought about it and I, I weighed the pros and cons and if I, I thought, I really thought, Sage, that I don't know if I'm going to influence it. I mean, at this point, there's been a hard line drawn in the sand and you're either on one side or the other. You know that at that point. And that very well may be true, but I thought about if you persuaded five voters and that, who knows, it may be a five vote difference, then I would be beside myself if I didn't take advantage of that.
- [119:46]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [119:47]
Brett Favre
It wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not a public speaker, I'm certainly not a political public speaker, but it was an honor that I was asked. And, and do I agree with everything President Trump says or does? No. Does he agree with everything I do? No. Nor with anyone on the other side.
- [120:09]
Sage Steele
Right.
- [120:10]
Brett Favre
But from a common sense perspective, do we, do you really think boys should compete in girl sports and that's fair? No. You know, and, and the illegal.
- [120:27]
Sage Steele
The.
- [120:27]
Brett Favre
Border crime and things, that, that is because of it.
- [120:32]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [120:33]
Brett Favre
How can you think that's okay? I mean, I'm all for doing the right thing for people, but, you know, we have to protect our own first.
- [120:42]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [120:43]
Brett Favre
So, I mean, I just felt like, not that, you know, I've had people say, why don't you run for governor, Wisconsin? I'm not running for governor. I'm not running for office. I would like to just fade off into the sunset and enjoy life, but we gotta fight.
- [121:03]
Sage Steele
We do.
- [121:04]
Brett Favre
I mean, I don't know, I'd love to sugarcoat it, but they ain't going away.
- [121:11]
Sage Steele
But that's why to me, just the visual of you standing up there and standing up for what you believe, even if someone else, you know, you can't fully convince them to vote the way you do. Whatever it is. The point is, is that you were no longer quiet and true to yourself and your beliefs. And that's okay. You don't have to just think one way to be allowed to speak. And I feel like that's why it was so refreshing for many people. And, hey, people hated it as well. Right. I'm familiar with that. But it's like, oh, just stick to sports, Brett. You know what? Back in the day, yes, we.
- [121:48]
Brett Favre
No, you're.
- [121:48]
Sage Steele
Now it's over.
- [121:49]
Brett Favre
That's the. That's the key point. And all this, like, there was a time maybe you stuck to your deal, whether it be football media, you know, you're CEO of a company that. That, you know, teeters on both sides of the fence. Yeah. But at this point, you know, I felt like it's time. The gloves have to come off. And I know the backlash. You know, I knew there was going to be, you know, haters getting in line and the comments came and all that stuff. But. But there was a lot of positive. And again, it's really. I'm from the common sense part.
- [122:37]
Sage Steele
Yes. I thought more were. Apparently. Apparently not. And I actually think about the overall demographic of the National Football League, the viewers and all the fans that's helping everybody make millions and billions of dollars. And I still think there's work to be done in the NFL, and we still continue to have end zones painted. You know, end racism. Okay. Yeah. We know very few people want there to be racism. Like, what does the NFL need to do to restore common sense?
- [123:08]
Brett Favre
Still, I think they're. Well, I don't know this. No one calls me from the NFL. And that's fine. I don't expect them to. You know, no one asked my advice. That's fine. I don't expect them to. But I feel like you're maintaining a divisive stance where they may say, well, we're. We're trying to bring everyone together. No, that's not bringing everyone together. You know, like you said, there's a lot of things in this world and in this country that we could be better at. And I think we continue to get better at certain things. But you're creating more division by talking about a problem that I'm not going to say is not still a problem, racism. But I think you can do more by not talking about it and talking about unity and what we've done and where. How far we've come. You know, there's those that they're going to say, you know, I've I face this all the time and you know, kudos to the NFL, but I think most people are over and beyond that.
- [124:41]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [124:42]
Brett Favre
And yeah, I just, I feel like the league is, is the league of divisiveness.
- [124:51]
Sage Steele
It wasn't like that when you played, I feel like in your, when you won your Super Bowl.
- [124:56]
Brett Favre
Yeah, really up until my last year, I mean, politics were really not a part of.
- [125:01]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [125:02]
Brett Favre
You know, honestly, I didn't, you know, there was never any talk in the locker room. And that's not that long ago in some respects. I don't remember ever there being a political argument or even close to, you know, a political argument because that was never. I don't even know if the, the term conservative Republican, Democrat ever came up in, in the locker room. We didn't know the difference. But funny how far we've come in a short amount of time. And it just, to me, if, if they're, if their intentions are really noble, I just, I think that they, they can do it a different way. I really do.
- [125:52]
Sage Steele
I, I think common sense is something that we all should be striving for. And when you stick to that, some of these answers are really basic. I'm all for, at this point, athletes speaking up and giving opinions. Let's do it based on facts, though. And that's been the problem with me. And so when you, I don't need to go through the litany of players who have said things and given opinions. Great, you can have that. But if it's not based in fact, I don't respect you. Actually, I don't respect that opinion. And I think, especially in the NBA, I think that's, that's an issue.
- [126:23]
Brett Favre
Yeah, I, I try not to talk about stuff that I really don't know a lot about.
- [126:27]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [126:27]
Brett Favre
Because you're opening yourself up to and deservingly so.
- [126:32]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [126:33]
Brett Favre
If you're going to speak up on something you really don't know a lot about, there ain't many good things that come out of that. And so, you know, but, but certain.
- [126:45]
Sage Steele
Some people are allowed to get away with that. If you're, if you're on the left and you're an athlete and you're speaking up about any topic, really, it's fine. It's good. He can give it. If you're on the right, if you're Saquon Barkley, who is a fine young man, much less an athlete and wanted to play golf with the sitting president, United States, and that's, that's a bad thing. If it were Obama, it Was fine. If it was Biden, it was fine. So I think that's where I've mouthed.
- [127:09]
Brett Favre
Off a little bit. Can't be the conservative athlete.
- [127:13]
Sage Steele
Right.
- [127:14]
Brett Favre
And like you said, either make a comment or your actions are not in line with the left. You know, they're going, they're going to call you everything in the book and, and you're going to tell me, or tell you that you're the, the right party, you know, when you, when you, you know, because. And you're right. I've never met Saquon. I've seen some of his interviews. He's a tremendous player, but he seems like a standout young man. Why don't you focus on that?
- [127:50]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [127:52]
Brett Favre
You know, what he, what he's done for the fort, for the game, what he's done for people, you know, his service to the public and, you know, he seems like a very smart kid that's got his head on. He must have been raised right. And those type of people, whether you're black, you're white, you're Hispanic, those people are the ones who's punished. Maybe not in time out, but called bad words, they're attacked. You know, just. I thought you were about, you know, racism being over and all, but you're ripping this black guy because he wouldn't play golf with. Who are you to. To say and do what. What you say and do?
- [128:40]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [128:41]
Brett Favre
I mean, it's ridiculous.
- [128:43]
Sage Steele
But that's why you needed to do what you did, in my opinion.
- [128:45]
Brett Favre
And I think more people need to.
- [128:47]
Sage Steele
Yes.
- [128:47]
Brett Favre
You know, I'm not, I don't. We don't need to fight. We don't need to get the, the, you know, the north versus the south civil war and maybe that's what it comes to at some point. I hope not. But, you know, I think more people need to speak up for just common sense stuff that you don't have to think much about.
- [129:04]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [129:06]
Brett Favre
You know, just everyday stuff and just say, this is ridiculous. You know, you know, this, this could be solved if we just do the right thing.
- [129:17]
Sage Steele
That's my prayer. And I think it's most normal people, frankly, here in this country. That's all we want. It's okay to be different, but let's do it with kindness and base it in facts. And then I'm good. I love word association. So I'll just give you a couple names and first thought that comes to mind.
- [129:37]
Brett Favre
All right.
- [129:40]
Sage Steele
Tom Brady.
- [129:42]
Brett Favre
The best.
- [129:45]
Sage Steele
Best, best all time best the goat.
- [129:48]
Brett Favre
How can you deny, you know, his super bowl rings and Joe Montana was fantastic and about as flawless as you can get. I just think Tom. I marveled at his decision making. And he always threw. It was always accurate. It was like crap. Even if a guy came free and was unblocked, he never got rattled. And he just. He made the. It was like he always made the right read and a very accurate throw. And so it was like you never could. Even when you got him, you didn't get him. So give the guy his due.
- [130:29]
Sage Steele
Yep. Drew Brees.
- [130:33]
Brett Favre
You know, I think Drew. Incredible player. And probably. And I don't know this for certain, and Drew and I, we don't. We don't talk often, but I would consider him a good friend. He. He. He's one of those that. I didn't get a lot of scholarship offers. I got one. But Drew was. Was small, undersized, average arm strength at best. And to have every passing record, and he still has a bunch, considering that he probably got overlooked because of his size and stature, strength. And, you know, he would be like, I'm gonna take. I'm gonna take far first because he's got a better arm. He's probably picked last. But yet it's. It's a lesson to everyone that if you persevere and work hard and believe in yourself, you can. You can do wonderful things. And Drew did it as good as anyone, you know, Only thing he didn't do that Tom Brady did is he didn't win as many Super Bowls. I suppose I could say the same, but he threw a lot less interceptions than I did.
- [131:50]
Sage Steele
Peyton Manning.
- [131:56]
Brett Favre
He'S kind of like the. The professor of the class. He's a cerebral, you know, person, but also a player. You know, he was constantly mentally trying, was challenging himself. And I know the Manning family fairly well, was always a huge fan of Archie. But Peyton did it, you know, like. Like a professor in physics. I mean, he sliced and diced, and he did. If you remember back in his heyday, he's making all these calls and hand signals, and I remember asking him after we were done playing, so what the hell were you doing? He said, nothing. It was smoke and mirrors. Sometimes he changed the play, but most of the time it was just smoke and mirrors. And I was like, that's ingenious. It really is, because I'm thinking, is this guy that talented that he changes the play every time? And so he had, you know, imagine a defense coordinator. It's like he knows everything we're doing when really he didn't. He made you think that.
- [133:10]
Sage Steele
Yep.
- [133:11]
Brett Favre
So he was definitely Like a brain surgeon.
- [133:16]
Sage Steele
Aren't those the three guys that kicked you out of first place for passing yards?
- [133:21]
Brett Favre
I think so, yeah.
- [133:23]
Sage Steele
Damn.
- [133:23]
Brett Favre
But you know what, Sage? When I, when I left the game, when I retired, I had every passing record.
- [133:29]
Sage Steele
Yes, you did.
- [133:29]
Brett Favre
In the NFL. And I, believe it or not, it crossed my mind. I thought it wasn't like the, I had reached the mountaintop because I got every passing record. But you think back, all the stuff we talked about. We're running the Wishbone High School and I can throw the hell out of the ball, just not in the game for me. And I've started four years at Southern Miss. We didn't throw it a lot. Not like they throw it now. But if you. And I always thought highly of myself, that I could make it. That don't mean you will make it. But I always thought I could. But I never thought I would have every passing record in the NFL. I never thought I'd play. 20 years I thought I would play. But. So when I look back or right when I retired and I look back, you know, I thought, you know, I didn't think I got every passing record. I hope that, you know, everyone else falters and, and I keep it, just the fact that I had it because, you know, get can give hope to any other person out there in small town America that the, the mountain seems too big to climb. If you just persevere and, and be determined, it can happen. And so I don't think, you know, damn, but yardage got, got passed up. I think. I can't believe I had it. And you know, I mean everything that happened in a good, good way throughout my career, you know, I would be like, this is amazing. I never, I thought, I thought a lot of myself and I thought I could make it, but I never thought about, I didn't think about Pro Bowls, I didn't think about hall of Fame. I didn't think about MVPs. I thought about running out of the tunnel and they call my name out. What that would be like in competing in the National Football League. And so all the other stuff, as they say, is gravy.
- [135:44]
Sage Steele
Yeah. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers.
- [135:52]
Brett Favre
Aaron is a complicated. I played with him for three years. Tremendous talent. You know, if you see him in person, he's not imposing, he's not, he's not tall, he's not physically gifted. And I don't mean that negatively, but he had a, probably the only guy that could throw it with me. I would say equal to the arm Strength, arm strength and quick release. But, but think about Aaron. And I think people who know him really well certainly know this, but people that don't know him, what, what's would surprise him. He's got a, his iq, whether it be football or off the field book, just knowledge is off the charts. And you know, he, when, when he came in with me, I was probably in year 10, 11, 12, something like that. 13. I think it was 13 because my last three. He was there. But I was amazed at his football. I too, and, and he just knew, kind of like Brady, you never seen them make a bad decision. It was like they were always a step ahead of you. I, I played the game like it was peewee football. And you're on the playground and you got everyone screaming, I'm open. That's where I thrive. I never really learned the game from a cerebral, you know, from. All right, if they do this, you do that, and if they don't do this, I want you to do that. And if they, if they blitz, you throw it here. Yeah. I never played the game that way. I never really was taught until I got to the pros. So I was always impressed when I saw guys like, never get flustered that when teams of blitz against me, we may have had it picked up or we may not. I wasn't waiting around them. Now I remember holding would say, where are you going? I said, they blitzed. He goes, we had it picked up. And I'm like, easy for you to say. My ass is getting out of there. They, you know, they would make decisions. It was like they didn't get rattled and the guy would come free and almost get him and they make a good throw. And Aaron was, was as good at that, at that. You know, he threw 40 touchdowns and three interceptions like every year. That's incredible. You know, I could throw six and in eight throws, you know, I was known for it. So you would think chip balls or you get hit in the back, the ball pops up. But it was like bad things never happened to him. And you know, his intellect was always a step ahead of you.
- [138:52]
Sage Steele
Do you wish he would have hung it up already? I mean, he's 41 and now Pittsburgh.
- [138:57]
Brett Favre
I suppose they could have said same thing for me.
- [139:00]
Sage Steele
They did a couple of them.
- [139:04]
Brett Favre
I think this year. I think last year he proved that physically he was okay.
- [139:10]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [139:11]
Brett Favre
And that maybe. And I don't know, I haven't talked to him, but I think that for him, said, I can still play.
- [139:20]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [139:21]
Brett Favre
Do I want to go out like you Know, with Achilles or I want to go out a whole hum year with the Jets. You know, I'm sure he would say, like, any of us would say, I can still play. I'm running out of time. I don't want to get hurt, whether it be, you know, major injury or whatever, but I'd like to kind of dictate how I go out, and that doesn't necessarily mean the Super Bowl. So I think I'm not surprised, really, more than anything, watching him play last year, I said, dude, still got juice in the tank. And then I said, I. I don't see him. I don't know who will sign him, but I don't see him, you know, if there's a huge decline in his play. I think he's a smart enough guy that would say, you know, it's. It's. It's time. And I knew my last year that I went back my 20th year. Yeah, I knew. People said, how do you know? Well, I would drop back and I could. Would feel, you know, the. The. The train of thought was no different than year 1, 5, 10. I would feel a guy coming from my backside, and in my mind, I would say, duck. I would get drilled, and then I would try to duck.
- [140:47]
Sage Steele
So I was like, a little slower.
- [140:49]
Brett Favre
My mind and my body are on two different time zones, and it's time. So, you know, so I think this year will be very revealing for Aaron. If he. If he plays well, they do okay. He may, you know, come back, he gets beat up, they finish five, you know, almost 500. You got to start looking at the end.
- [141:18]
Sage Steele
That's the problem is Tom Brady played till he was 85, you know, so then everybody else is like, no, I had. Especially when. When you have it here. But it's, can the body keep up? Finally, Brett Favre.
- [141:36]
Brett Favre
Simple but complicated. I think it certainly gives hope to a lot of people that you can. You don't have to be considered the best from day one to make it. I played a small town. Small back then. My. My graduating class is 100. We never threw the ball. You know, I'm just giving you reasons why I shouldn't have made it.
- [142:10]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [142:11]
Brett Favre
But yet I did. And I talked to elementary school, Picayune High School, which is about. Interestingly, it's about an hour. It's 20 minutes from where I grew up. And it's Jimmy Johnson, the great Dallas. His first head coaching job was at Picayune High school. He went 0 and 10. But anyway, I'm talking to the elementary kids last Monday. And we talked about that. I said, look, I went to school with Hancock right down the road from here. They. All those kids know it. And I said I wasn't a big shot, you know. Yeah. You know me as a professional quarterback, and that's a big deal. There was a time, you know, I was the third best in the county, and, you know, my. My lesson to you is, it can happen to anyone.
- [143:05]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [143:06]
Brett Favre
And so when I think about my career, it wasn't. You know, I'd like to have won more Super Bowls. I would like to have thrown less interceptions. But all in all, I played the game the way I think most people appreciate it. I certainly played it the way. Only way I knew how. And. And that, you know, when I hear people say. Or the best way I can explain it, like, if I would want people watching me in the stands to say, if I could play, I would play just like him. That guy plays with a lot of heart. He plays with. I mean, he. He plays like he loves it, and he loves his teammates, and people appreciate that. Whether you're a fan or not, it doesn't really matter. You know, I just want people to say he was fun to watch. So I think I succeeded.
- [144:00]
Sage Steele
Yeah, you did. And I hope you know how much joy that you brought to so many. I. Yes, the teammates, I'm sure, because I was not in those locker rooms, but that's what it felt like as a fan, a viewer, and a journalist watching it. You brought so much joy.
- [144:19]
Brett Favre
Well, thank you. You know, and I think the. The greatest compliment is when you see your former teammates.
- [144:27]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [144:28]
Brett Favre
And getting back to the Netflix thing, they. They tried to interview. And I know because most of them reached out to me. They tried to interview them to get them to say bad things, and none of the teammates that I played with would do it. Now, you would think you'd find one teammate that thinks I'm a scumbag, but I take a lot of pride. And look, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I take a lot of pride in my teammates and our friends, our family. You know, all those are important to me. And I. You know, I love my teammates like I love my family and friends, and when they speak or don't speak on my behalf, that is the biggest. Like, it doesn't get any better than that.
- [145:23]
Sage Steele
So that's 20 years of teammates.
- [145:26]
Brett Favre
20 years. A lot of teammates, a lot of.
- [145:28]
Sage Steele
People, and not one would do it because they know who you are as a human being. And I think sometimes we forget that. Thank you for so much time today. I owe you big, but thank you nothing. Thank you for what you've done for so many people. The young man, Brian, the 18 year old that you brought here to. To Southern Miss. Right.
- [145:48]
Brett Favre
Yeah.
- [145:50]
Sage Steele
And there's a lot of people praying for you.
- [145:53]
Brett Favre
Well, thank you.
- [145:54]
Sage Steele
I, I hope that you feel that.
- [145:56]
Brett Favre
Yeah, I, I do. I do. You know, I'm worried far less about the haters and.
- [146:02]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [146:03]
Brett Favre
You know, life's too short. Try to do the right thing.
- [146:07]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [146:07]
Brett Favre
Move on and better the world.
- [146:11]
Sage Steele
That's that. We have to do that.
- [146:13]
Brett Favre
Yeah.
- [146:13]
Sage Steele
I feel like if you have any faith and believe in any higher power.
- [146:19]
Brett Favre
Yeah.
- [146:20]
Sage Steele
God for me. God for you.
- [146:21]
Brett Favre
Yeah. That's part of the problem.
- [146:23]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [146:24]
Brett Favre
You know, the left, they take God out of the equation, then you take God out of the equation. There's no moral compass.
- [146:33]
Sage Steele
Yeah.
- [146:35]
Brett Favre
So you, you don't give a crap about anybody. And it's sad.
- [146:40]
Sage Steele
It's a, it's. This is so much bigger than us and what we're going through.
- [146:43]
Brett Favre
Yeah.
- [146:44]
Sage Steele
So thank you for doing it your way.
- [146:48]
Brett Favre
It's the only way I know how. Thanks for having me.
- [146:51]
Sage Steele
Thank you and for welcoming me to Hattiesburg.
- [146:53]
Brett Favre
I can't believe it's your first time.
- [146:55]
Sage Steele
First time in hat. If I were here for like a week, I would talk like.
- [147:02]
Brett Favre
The.