Letter to Brett Favre.

The folks at Big Apple Brett are putting together a commemorative book that will feature "letters to Brett". The subject matter is - anything Favre. Here's my submission for possible inclusion:

"All of us can relate to having some degree of fascination with a celebrity – be it a sports figure/team, actor, musician/band, writer – someone we’d give just about anything to be able to sit down with and talk to like we would with our own family or friends. Hell…any number of us would kill to chew the fat with Brett Favre about bow hunting or fishing, the latest advancements in lawn care or the touchdown pass he threw last weekend. In lieu of that, we Packer fans had the next best thing – the opportunity to watch Number 4 play football on Sundays, crack a joke during a press conference, appear on any number of sports talk shows and magazines, see him up-close and personal at training camp or catch him extolling the virtues of Snapper or Wrangler on a television commercial. But above all that – the pièce de résistance – was that he wasn’t just SOME great, future Hall of Fame quarterback in the NFL – he was MY quarterback – OUR quarterback, and he played for OUR Green Bay Packers. Good and bad – Brett belonged to US.

I never had a “hero”, per se. But if I had to pick someone other than my father, it would be Brett, for in his own triumphs and tribulations, I saw myself. And I’m gonna miss “sitting down” with Brett on Sundays to watch him play the game he loved – as a Packer. I’m not certain when that hurt will go away. What I am certain of is that I fully support Brett as long as he remains a New York Jet. And in an age where the personal trials and tribulations of NFL players often take up more news headlines than their playing time on the field, how can anyone find fault with a player like Favre…who – above records and money – just wants to play the game he loves?"

Jeffrey James Ircink
Actor/playwright
Los Angeles/Wisconsin native