The legacy Brett Favre left on the New York Jets
“Smacked me on my ass real hard.” Linebacker David Harris reminisced of his first meeting with the Hall of Fame quarterback. What other lasting memories did Brett Favre leave with the New York Jets?
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Brett Favre’s year with New York Jets: Dead goose, bullhorn, messy end – New York Jets Blog- ESPN Brett Favre brought a spark to the Jets at a time they were starved for success, but the flame fizzled quickly. |
| Source: www.espn.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/61793/brett-favres-year-with-jets-a-dead-goose-a-bullhorn-and-a-messy-end | |
Remember your excitement when Brett Favre was traded to the Jets in 2008? That giddy feeling that we finally had a QB who was going to take Gang Green to the Super Bowl?
“I was like, ‘What the … what the … what the hell? We just traded for Brett Favre? It was almost like shock. People didn’t believe it. Favre is our quarterback now? It was surreal. I didn’t believe it until I saw him in the flesh. I was like, ‘Man, this is going to be a wild ride.” exclaimed former tackle Damien Woody.
That 2008 season did start off great with an 8-3 start but then the Jets lost 4 of the last 5 games,ending with that embarrassing 24-17 loss to their division rival Miami Dolphins, resulting in missing the playoffs. Of course an NFL leading 22 interceptions thrown by No. 4 did not help matters as teams capitalized on the turnovers and quickly put the Jets in deficits that they couldn’t come back from. The 2008 season was just a tease, starting at a high, giving Jets fans hope of reaching the playoffs, and ending in a low, leaving a bitter taste in their mouths. Fans were left wondering what could have been.
Gang Green faithful would also want to forget the sexting scandal Favre left on the team. Allegedly he texted photos of himself to game-day hostess Jenn Sterger, leading to the NFL to investigate the situation. Although there was no proof that he sent the pictures, the reputation of the New York Jets was left tarnished. Between the disappointing season and the scandal, fans were left shaking their heads.
Favre’s former teammates remember his pranks and how “he changed the atmosphere in the building” but the reality is that he made the team worse off than when the season began. He had been brought in to take Gang Green past the playoffs but instead his 1 year stint with the team left both fans and the organization hanging. Not only did he not deliver but he left the team with a glaring controversy.
More telling is that Brett has 2 jerseys (Packers, Vikings) in his Hall of Fame locker in Canton but not that of the Jets. Ever since he left the organization, he hasn’t talked about them, making it seem as if he would like to forget his experience with them. What adds more salt to the wounds is that as soon as he departed from the team, he took the Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs the following year. This was more than Jets fans could handle. Even though Favre will be remembered around the league as a Hall of Famer, his era in New York will always be seen as an epic failure.
