Brett Favre's final news conference as a Green Bay Packer beared a pretty strong resemblance to his playing career. His words and emotions didn't leave anything to the imagination.
He entered the room a little after 12:30 ET wearing faded jeans and a button-down shirt that was left appropriately untucked. It was perfect for a man who's always worn his emotions on his sleeve.
By my count, it took Favre a little more than 30 seconds to lose control of those emotions. He didn't arrive with notes because that's not his style. More than all his records and wins, we'll remember the man for his improvisational skills. And on Thursday afternoon in Green Bay, he was better than ever.
"Seems like yesterday we were here," Favre said after taking his seat on the podium.
For the next hour, he pretty much bared his soul to a national television audience. He thanked God for his rare ability and then he attempted to show his gratitude to the Packers organization.
"I hope that every penny ..." he said before stopping to gather himself. "I hope that every penny they spent on me, they know it was money well spent. It was never my accomplishment, it was our accomplishment. It just so happens the position I played got most of the attention. It's been a great relationship. I hope this organization and the fans appreciate me as much as I appreciate them."
In a lighter moment, Favre acknowledged that he felt like he was being memorialized instead of honored. In some ways, he's had the strange experience of sitting back and observing his own funeral. Last night, he flipped on the TV and actually watched some of the round-the-clock coverage.
"I've realized what it's like to die," he said.
When he left his ranch in Mississippi this morning, reporters were camped out at the gates. And because he's so used to his life being somewhat of an elaborate passion play, it didn't seem to faze him one bit.
At the beginning of a news conference that lasted a lot longer than he'd planned, Favre thanked men such as Ron Wolf, Mike Holmgren, Mike McCarthy, Ted Thompson, Bob Harlan, Andy Reid, Marty Mornhinweg, Mike Sherman, Ray Rhodes and Tom Rossley for the roles they played in his career and life.
He quickly addressed the speculation -- some of it fueled by his own agent -- that he was disappointed that the Packers didn't do more to talk him out of retiring.
"None of those things have anything to do with me retiring, and that's from the heart," he said. "... I know I can play, but I don't think I want to. It's over. As hard as it is for me to say, it's over."
As the Wisconsin-based TV and radio reporters asked questions, you could almost hear them pleading for Favre to change his mind. Favre didn't hide the fact that he'll probably second-guess his decision. In fact, he was already doing it during Thursday's news conference.
"I will wonder if I've made the wrong decision," he said. "I just don't think I can give anything else -- aside from the three hours on Sunday."
In the end, I don't think Favre felt like he could live up to his remarkable 2007 season. And quite frankly, it sounds like he'd grown tired of living up to all the expectations that come with being one of the game's most popular players.
"Brett Favre got hard to live up to," said Favre in one of the most poignant and revealing moments of the news conference.
His most defiant moment came when a reporter asked how difficult it was to walk away after throwing the back-breaking interception against the Giants in the NFC title game.
After describing what the days after loss felt like for a few moments, he sort of caught himself.
"I'm going out on top," he said with a determined look on his face. "Believe me. I could care less what other people think. I'm going out on top."
Asked what he planned to do in retirement, Favre said, "Nothing. Nothing."
His wife Deanna, a breast cancer survivor who has been very public in her fight against the disease, said later that the two would take a year off from all their charitable responsibilities. Both of them looked incredibly tired as they spoke.
After admitting to having a "knot the size of a basketball" in his throat on the flight from Mississippi to Green Bay this morning, Favre seemed to gain strength the more he talked. He'd tried to talk the Green Bay public relations director out of doing something this soon, but eventually gave in.
It was a sad day for football, but it was obvious that Favre took it as hard as anyone. The fact that his retirement after 17 years feels so sudden is a testament to his amazing career.
"There's nothing left to prove," he said.
