Ray Lewis: 'Every day of your life will be a one on one battle', Address to University of Miami Paradise Camp - 2016

17 July 2016, Palm Beach, Florida, USA

What is a legacy without a journey? What is a journey without a destination? What is a destination without a plan? Every last one of you must be (inaudible), but without a plan there is no journey. Without a plan there is no vision. Without proper (inaudible) there is no vision. Without reading not reading my bible every day there is no vision. Without praying every day there is no journey, there is no destination. It’s only one way you make it to the next level. You’ve got to put it all together. Everybody that’s sitting in this crowd with orange and black jerseys right now on I’m going to tell you the truth. You are at a disadvantage because now everything is distracting you.

When we grinded the only grind we wanted to feel was pure competition. Beat me and it aint in no video games brother. Y’all don’t need to be the most popular person on Twitter. I’ll tell you what, when you step in between those lines that’s what we’re letting go. That’s what we’re letting go. We’re letting go the essence of what the University of Miami was built by. It’s built by pure competition. One on one battles. Then I’ve got to share something with you.

No matter what level you ever go to in life forget how big the cameras. Forget how much the league makes. Every day of your life will be a one on one battle. And you know the scary part about it? It aint even about the next man. The one on one battle is with yourself. How much time are you really going to waste man? This program here taught me something that I will never forget in my life--that my identity is greater than my brand and it will never change because of my foundation of why I wanted to do what I did. Because I wanted to turn my mother’s tears into smiles. That’s why I aint never stopped. The game may stop, but who I am lives forever.

“I think the challenge that I’m asking you guys right now is let talent be what talent is, but man you’ve got to take talent to a whole ‘nother level. You know how many camps in the country that’s going on right now? So what makes you different? What makes someone point you out in the crowd? What makes your legacy live forever?

Do yourself a favor when you get home. Look up the definition of trailblazer and look up the definition of pathfinder because in today’s times we’ve got a lot of pathfinders. We’ve got a lot of followers. Everybody wants to follow, follow, follow, follow, follow. It’s amazing that social media can tell us something and we want to follow something before we respect you. Understand how valuable your brand is man. Everything that you put out there can now come back. That’s a fact. That’s where we are in life. Aint no more secrets. Aint no more getting away with nothin’ and so the only thing you can ever invest in is yourself. If I was going to bet on anything in my life I’m going to always bet on me.

But when I look into these kids’ eyes, when I look down I’m looking for something different. I don’t care how fast you run. I’ve never been the biggest, the fastest, the strongest, but I promise you aint a man flat out out-work me in my life because I made up my mind and it was bigger than just sports. I made up my mind to be in bible study every Wednesday night. I made up my mind to be in choir rehearsal every Saturday. I made up mind to lead Sunday school every Sunday. I made up my mind to go to the 4 o’clock service on Sundays. I made up my mind that I wanted my protection to be always over me and I wanted me to always be covered.

Then I went to the league and played 17 years and watched this revolving door of younger athletes and faster athletes and stronger athletes and I watched them walk right out the door. Simply because I figured out one thing. You may out-run me once, you may out-run me twice, you may even be stronger than me, but effort—the only reason I stayed around was because of effort. Every time the coach turned on the film there was something about 52 that started right here.

I’m only telling you about this program because this program is the foundation (inaudible). You can do whatever you want to do in life, but if the next level is the key, man we breed them. We breed them. That’s what we do. If you want a brotherhood then you come down here. It aint no sales pitch. One thing about is we don’t sell people to come to the ‘U.’ Either you’re for us or you’re not. This aint a one-time thing. This isn’t a if-I-want-to-go or I’m-not-sure-I-want-to-go. If you don’t, it’s alright. But if you do your life will change forever. Doors will open for you that you aint never seen in your life open.

I’m asking a different fight now. I’m asking a fight that men take back who we are. I’m asking young men to go back and understand what say ‘yes ma’am’ and ‘no ma’am’ and what ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir’ still mean. I’m telling men to pull up your pants. Pull them up and put them around your waist. I’m telling you to walk with integrity. Keep your chin high. That’s what a man does and a young man follows in a man’s path. It’s time to switch it now.

All of the fast running out here, what happens when you go home? I promise you my greatest ability was not in front of a coach. It’s what I did on my own. That’s what my greatest gift was. When nobody was watching you that’s what I believe true discipline is. I believe discipline, true discipline, is when nobody is watching that you can make yourself. Challenge yourself. Do it for yourselves. Don’t look for somebody to praise you. Don’t look for videos to be the top ones. You know who you want to praise you? Every time they look up they will say something about you, something about you, and then they’ve go to tell the truth about you.

My second year in the league I made my decision on one thing, I said I wanted to be the greatest ever to do it. I said I wanted to be talked about at Thanksgiving dinner when people are sitting around the table and they talked about the greatest who ever came through--I wanted to be that guy. I started push-ups at 10 years old to make sure no man would put his hands on my mom again. I just got through with 2,500 this morning. It don’t stop. Just because the game stops, it don’t stop.

Let me talk these leaders real quick. Let’s be men. Let’s lead young men that respects women, that respects their mothers, that respects the order. That’s what we breed. What coach (Mark) Richt has brought to this program and what he’s trying to bring back to this program is what we’re built on and that’s family. If I spread my fingers out individually (inaudible), but if I close my fist that’s a hell of a punch because they’re all working together. Make your decision. Figure out where you want to be. But if you’re wanting to do something really. If you really trying to go to the next level this is it. This is where you buckle down. This is where I started from. This is what I’ll never forget.

Take this for the rest of your life. It’s never what you do that will haunt you. It’s what you don’t do that will haunt you. It’s never what you do. It’s never how many catches you catch. It’s how many times you fall on your face, but I still find my way back. It aint about the fall. It’s about the get up, and again, and again, and again, and again. And keep getting up. Because when you’re really destined to be great there’s a lot of people that don’t want to see that. That’s why my haters became my greatest motivators. I love my haters because they kept getting me up every day. What you did today was just a start. You guys have to go back and finish something.

Some of you guys have made up your mind that you’re going to do whatever you’re going to do, but I’m trying to explain to you is if you come here, we’re built to build men, that we’re built to build character. It was a built to build integrity. That’s what we breed. Hurricanes are for life. That’s why we say, ‘It’s all about the ‘U,’ because realistically it’s really all about you and what you want to do. Don’t waste no more. Write down everything even if you don’t think you need to write it down. I’m 41 years old and I still write down everything I eat to this day. In 23 years I haven’t eaten pork or beef, 23 years because I said I wanted to be the greatest. I don’t drink soda. I don’t eat after 8 o’clock. I drink two gallons of water every day. You think I like it? No I hated every day of training, but if it meant to lift my life as a champion the rest of my life I’d do it all over again.

Every man here has an opportunity. Every parent here did one thing. They brought you because they believe in you. Now it’s up to you to believe in yourself. That’s where the ‘U’ comes in. It’s all about the ‘U’. Thank you.

Tony Romo: 'I feel like we all have two battles going on', Press conference after injury - 2016

15 November 2015, Dallas, Texas, USA

To say the first half of the season has been emotional would be a huge understatement, getting hurt when you feel like you have the best team you've ever had was a soul-crushing moment for me. Then, to learn that it wasn't three or four weeks, but 10, was another blow.

Through it all, you have a tremendous amount of guilt on having let your teammates, fans and organization down. After all, they're depending on you to bring them a championship. That's what quarterbacks are supposed to do. That's how we're judged. I loved that. I still do. But then here you are sidelined, without any real ability to help your teammates win on the field. That's when you're forced to come face to face with that's happening.

Seasons are fleeting, games become more precious, chances for success diminish. Your potential successor has arrived. Your potential successor has arrived.

Injured two years in a row, now in your mid-30s. The press is whispering, everyone has doubts, you spent your career working to get here. Now we have to start all over. You almost feel like an outsider. Coaches are sympathetic, but they still have to coach, and you're not there. It's a dark place, probably the darkest it's ever been. You're sad and down and out, and you ask yourself, 'Why did this have to happen?' It's in this moment that you find out who you really are and what you're really about. You see football is a meritocracy, you aren't handed anything.

You earn everything, every single day, over and over again. You have to prove it. That's the way the NFL, that's the way that football works. A great example of this is Dak Prescott and what he's done. He's earned the right to be our quarterback. As hard as that is for me to say, he's earned that right. He's guided the team to an 8-1 record and that's hard to do.

If you think for a second that I don't want to be out there, then you've probably never felt the pure ecstasy of competing and winning. That hasn't left me. In fact, it may burn more now than ever. It's not always easy to watch. I think anyone who's been in this position understands that. What is clear is that I was that kid once, stepping in, having to prove yourself. I remember the feeling like it was yesterday. It really is an incredible time in your life. If I remember one thing from back then, it's the people who helped me along when I was young, and if I can be that to Dak, I've tried to be, and I will be going forward.

I think you all know that something magical is happening to our team. I'm not going to allow this situation to negatively affect Dak or this football team by coming a constant distraction. I think Dak knows that I have his back and I think I know that he has mine. Ultimately, it's about the team, that's what we've preached our entire lives.

I remember when I was a kid just starting out wanting to be apart of something bigger than myself. For every high school kid out there and college player, there's greatness in being the kind of teammate who truly wants to be part of the team. Everyone wants to be the reason their winning or losing.

Every single one of us wants to be that person, but there are special moments that come from a shared commitment to play a role while doing it together. That's what you remember, not your stats or your prestige, but your relationships and achievement that you created through a group. It's hard to do, but there's great joy in that. All the while, your desire burns to be the best you've ever been. You can be both, I figure that out in this process. That's what separates sports from everything else. That's why we love it. That's why we trust it, that's why I still want to play and compete.

Lastly, I just want to leave you with something I've learned in this process as well. I feel like we have two battles or two enemies going on: One with the man across from you. The second with the man inside of you. I think once you control the one inside of you, the one across from you doesn't really matter. I think that's what we're all trying to do.

Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

Ray Lewis : 'The greatest pain of my life is the reason I'm standing here today', 52 Cards -

Today I just really wanted to hit on something, dealing with pain. I asked my mom one day, I said mom, I said can you buy me a deck of cards, she said “Junior, I don't gamble in my house. Ain't no cards coming on my house.” I said “Mom I don't need them for gambling, I don't want them for gambling I just need a deck of cards mom.”

My mom for years from the time I was 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. I never saw a women take so much physical abuse than the way i seen my mother beaten every frickin day of my life. But I can't help her because I'm not strong enough. I don't have the muscle to get this man off my mother.

My mothers a very high women and every time they hit her she would bleed from her eyes, she would walk around with sunglasses on in the house.

I said ma I need a deck of cards.

Last altercation we got in my step father hit my mama so hard in the face I caught him and I looked at him with this rage and this pain in my eyes like one day one day and I took this deck of cards, I couldn't live in the house so I had to live in the garage, and after this last altercation we had with this guy, I just ran to my garage and i grabbed this deck of cards and i flipped a 7 and I started doing 7 pushups. I flipped a 6 I did 6, I flipped a 9 I did nine, I flipped a 2 I did 2, I flipped a 9 again I did 9. I went through the whole deck jack, queen, king worth 10, aces 25 and jokers 50.

Until I got sick and tired of what pain felt like in my gut. It didn't even matter to me because I started shuffling them all up again and that's when I started doing my sit ups because I wanted to make sure sports wasn't the reason why I started training. It was to make sure a man never put his hands on my momma again.

And I told my momma no pain, no pain will ever stop me from taking care of you and my brothers and sisters. That's why I started doing what I started doing. Sports was a byproduct of what people started to see. It was the behind the scenes that was driving me crazy.

There's two sides of pain that I think a lot of people really don't understand. There's one side of pain thats the suffering and discomfort side of pain.

Then there's another side of pain that's called effort - its called glory, It’s called if you can find a way to push through pain there's something greater on the other side of it and if you never tap into it, it’s because the first time you felt it you backed off. The first time you felt that burn, it’s too much.

We rationalizing with ourselves to where we automatically stop. That's why a bunch of us give up on so much in life so quickly. That's why kids have a problem finishing things in today's time, because as soon as they feel a small bit of discomfort, or things ain't right, they gone. I can't do it anymore.

But suppose I told you, the greatest pain of my life, is the reason I'm standing here today.

I dare you to take a little pain. To go through it. You're not gonna die because you’re feeling a little pain. You ain't gonna die. At the end of pain is success. Pain is temporary it may last for a minute, an hour a day, or even a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.

If I quit however it will last forever.

On the other side of that pain, on the other side of that pain, on the other side of that pain, is your promise. 15 years old, I picked up these deck of cards and one day I counted them and I found out there was 52 of them in a deck of cards. 52, and I took my greatest pain, into my business, with the greatest achievement ever, touching that trophy.

52 cards, and ironically my number ended up being 52.

Jerry Kramer: 'You can if you will', Pro Football Hall of Fame - 2018

4 August 2018, Canton, Ohio, USA

We’ve got to go back to Sand Point High for just a minute. Wonderful town, wonderful times. Small town – 3,000 people, big lake. We had a great football team. This clumsy ox, a sophomore, showed up for practice one fall. I had grown about a foot and I couldn’t walk and chew gum at the time. I was just a mess. I wanted to be a fullback. I didn’t want to be a lineman. I wanted to be a fullback. My coach says, ‘Well, Jerry, that’s wonderful. If you want to be a fullback, you’ll sit on the bench. But if you want to be a tackle, you’ll probably start.’

Oh, boy, I don’t want to sit on the bench. I think I’d rather start.’ So, I started but I wasn’t all that excited about playing in the line. We had a line coach, an older fellow named Dusty Klein, that came up one day and knew who I was and knew that I was struggling. He grabbed my hand and looked at my hand and said, ‘Son, you’ve got big hands, you’ve got big feet. One of these days, you’re going to grow into them. He said, you’re going to be a hell of a player one of these days.’ I looked at him and I was curious and a little amazed, a little amused, a little bit of everything and looked me in the eye and said, ‘You can if you will.’ He started to walk away and I said, ‘Can what?’ He said, ‘You can if you will.’ And he walked away and left me to think about that.

...

The feeling of team is a wonderful thing. It’s the thing that I think most of us play for is because there’s a team and we want to be part of the team. I got drafted in the fourth round by the Green Bay Packers. My classmate, Wayne Walker, who played with Detroit for 15 years, was waiting for me when I came out of class. He said, ‘You got drafted!’

I said, “‘Great, what round was I?’”

“‘Fourth round.’”

“‘Wonderful.’”

“’Who drafted me?’”

“‘Green Bay.’”

“‘Green Bay? Where the hell is Green Bay?’”

“We honestly got a map. ‘Oh, it’s way back there by Chicago. Oh, it’s by a big lake. Oh, that is a big lake.'

...

We were having a wonderful time playing football in Green Bay. We were professional football players and we were making a few bucks and life was good. Our record wasn’t so hot. We were 1-10-1 (in 1958) and had the worst record in the history of the Green Bay Packer organization. We played the Baltimore Colts one Sunday afternoon. They beat us 56-0. They had a white colt that ran around the field every time they scored. We damn near killed him.

...

We went onto Green Bay. I went to the Shrine Game and had a big contract negotiation. I’m sure these young guys would be excited by the numbers and the whole process. We’re playing in the Shrine Game and the general manager for the Packers calls me over and says, ‘We’d like to talk contract with you.’ We didn’t have agents, we didn’t have any information that was printed, we didn’t have any idea what the guys were making. I go to my college coach, I said, ‘What kind of money should I ask for?’ He said, ‘Jerry, if you can get $7,000, you’ll be doing really good.’ So, I went to San Francisco and went in to negotiate with the guys and my general manager said, ‘Jerry, we’d like to sign you to a contract. What are you thinking about?’ I said, ‘$8,000.’ (He said) ‘OK, sign here.’ So, I left a few bucks on the table. But then I recovered quickly. I said, ‘I want a signing bonus, too.’ He said, ‘What about $250.’ (I said) ‘That’d be great. That’d be super.’ I get to Green Bay and we get our first game check after the preseason and there’s a $250 deduction from my check. I go to the general manager and he says, ‘Jerry, that was an advance. That wasn’t a bonus.’  So, I didn’t get a bonus.

...

Coach Lombardi arrived and the world turned around. First of all, he came in and said, ‘I’ve never been a loser and I’m not about to start now. If you’re not willing to make the sacrifice, to pay the price, to do the things that you have to do to win, then get the hell out!’ We kind of looked at him and said, ‘Can’t be that bad.’ He said, ‘We’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. There’s only three things in your life: your God, your family and the Green Bay Packers.’”

...

He worked us harder than we had ever worked in our lives. We had guys losing consciousness every practice. Every exercise session, two, three guys would lose consciousness. One kid showered after practice, got on the bus, went back to the dormitory, got to the line in the chow hall and passed out. We were not real receptive to his philosophical comments but he would talk to us every night about principles that he believed in. He started with preparation – how you must be physically, mentally, emotionally prepared for the game. He would go on and on and on and we’d go, ‘Well, everybody’s got to be prepared. We’ll give you that. We’ll give you preparation. But that’s it!’ Then he would talk about commitment – mind, body, heart, soul and most of all self. ‘Well, maybe. You’ve got to be committed if you’re going to do something. If you’re really going to be involved, you might as well be committed. So, I’ll give him commitment, too.’ And discipline. ‘You don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time.’ So, we got into discipline, consistency, pride, tenacity, belief in your team and believe in yourself. It was an incredible experience to be with him.

...

He could be both very, very harsh and very, very gentle. We’re working awfully hard and I’m having a bad day. We’re all having a bad day on offense. We’re on the 1-yard line and we’re scrimmaging the defense and we’re about 30 to 40 minutes into practice and we’re getting stopped and we’re really having a difficult day. I missed a block and I come in for some attention. A little bit later, I jumped offside. The coach comes running across the field and he gets about 10 inches from my nose and he goes, ‘Mister, the concentration period for a college student’s about 5 minutes, high school’s about 3 minutes, kindergarten is 30 seconds! And you don’t have that? Where’s that put you?’ (Kramer hangs his head.) It put me checking my shoe shine. “Practice ended shortly after that and I go up to the locker room. He’s out with Bart (Starr) and the wide receivers for about 40 minutes longer and I’m sitting in front of my locker, took my hat and my shoulder pads off, looking at the carpet and wondering what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. I’m thinking about maybe another football team, maybe another job, maybe something else. I’m deep in thought and totally wrapped up in it and he comes in the door, sees me down at the far end of the locker room, comes down, pats me on the back of the neck, messes up my hair, slaps me on the shoulder. ‘Son, one of these days you’re going to be the best guard in football.’ A surge of energy entered my breath and filled me up. It was his approval and belief in me that he was passing on to me and it made a dramatic difference in my life. Approval and belief, Mom, Dad, approval and belief. Powerful, powerful tools. From that point on, I wanted to play a perfect football game. If he believed in me, I could believe in me. So, I tried to play a perfect game and we had a wonderful group of guys.

...

Just an incredible group of guys but we also had a wonderful team that believed in team, that played as a team and lived as a team and enjoyed one another as a team. My best example of that is the 1965 season. I had nine operations. I came back the next season and weighed 189 pounds at one point during the offseason. When I got done, I got up to 218 and I went into the coach’s office to talk contract with him. He said, ‘Jerry, go home. Just go home. I’ll pay your salary, take care of all of your hospital bills, take care of everything. Just go home.’

“‘Coach, I can’t go home. If I go home, I’ll never play again. I’ll miss the whole season, I’ll probably never play again.’”

“‘Well, I can’t count on you.’”

“‘I don’t care if you can count on me. I’m going to play.’”

“‘Jerry, I wish you’d just go home.’”

“‘No, I’m not going home.’”

“We did this for 45 minutes. Finally, he says, ‘OK, I’m going to put you with the defense.’ I said, ‘Great, I always wanted to play defense, anyway.’” So, I was (a little) cocky because I was getting on the field and I certainly wasn’t prepared for it. Months later, I’d take the field and I’m about 220. We had a tradition when we’d run three laps around the field. I ran a lap-and-a-half and my lungs seized up. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t get any air, I couldn’t do anything at all. Don Chandler, my teammate and kicker, came over to me and said, ‘What’s wrong, pal?’ I said, ‘I can’t breathe.’ He says, ‘How much did you run?’ I said, ‘a lap-and-a half,’ He said, ‘I’ll run the other lap-and-a-half.’

“He said, ‘You and I are going to sit together during calisthenics. You’re going to do whatever you can do. If you can only do five sit-ups and they do 50, I’ll do 45. I’m a kicker and I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to and I don’t normally. If they do 50 push-ups and you can only do three, I’ll do 47. Between you and I, we’ll do what one of those guys does.’ So, Don Chandler set beside me for 35 days and he helped me every step of the way. At the end of 35 days, I could do the calisthenics. I weighed about 235 at that point and I could do all the exercises, so they put me back on offense and we won a title in ’65, we won one in ’66, we won one in ’67, my book was published in ’68, so a great part of my life followed that probably would never have been without Don Chandler.

...

I’ve got a couple thoughts from other voices that I’d love to share with you about accomplishments and approval and those kinds of things. There’s a poem called, ‘Invictus’ (by William Ernest Henley). If you’re go be an achiever, you’re going to be a doer, you’re going to make something out of yourself, there’s certain principles and certain qualities you need. At this point, it kind of reflects the thought process of an achiever. It goes something like:

Out of the night that covers me, 
Black as the Pit from pole to pole, 
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.  

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud. 
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.  

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years  
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.  

It matters not how strait the gate, 
How charged with punishments the scroll, 
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

...
There was a fellow by the name of William Jennings Bryan who was a warrior and a really brilliant man. He said, ‘Success in life is not so much a matter of chance as it is a matter of choice.’ We choose to do the right thing and we choose not to do the right thing. So a great deal in life is a matter of choice. Coach Lombardi, to sum it all up, after the game is over, the stadium lights are out, the parking lot’s empty, you’re back in the quiet of your room, championship ring is on the dresser, the only thing left at this time is for you to lead a life of quality and excellence and make this world a little bit better place because you were in it. You can if you will. You can if you will. Thank you.

Steve Kerr: 'It’s idiotic. But that’s how the NFL has handled their business', response to national anthem policy - 2018

24 May 2018, Houston, Texas, USA

I think it’s just typical of the NFL. They’re just playing to their fanbase, and they’re just basically trying to use the anthem as fake patriotism, nationalism, scaring people.

I’m proud to be in a league that understands patriotism in America is about free speech, about peacefully protesting. I think that our leadership in the NBA understands that when the NFL players were kneeling, they were kneeling to protest police brutality, to protest racial inequality. They’re weren’t disrespecting the flag or the military. But our president decided to make it about that and the NFL followed suit, pandered to their fan base, and created this hysteria.

It’s kind of what’s wrong with our country right now. People in high places are trying to divide us, divide loyalties, make this about the flag — as if the flag is something other than what it really is. It’s a representation of what we’re about, which is diversity, and peaceful protest, abilities, the right to free speech. So, it’s really ironic, actually, what the NFL is doing.

Jason Kelce: ‘Just keep moving forward’ post Superbowl victory - 2018

4 February 2018, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

You know the last two weeks, after we beat Atlanta and after we beat .... the last two weeks after we won, I found myself ine shower crying. dreaming of this moment.

You work so hard your whole life to get here.

Everything culminates ... i can't help but think back to a quote my grandfather gave me by Calvin Coolidge about persistence, I'm not going to say it, because it's a little long, and it will drag on ...

But .,. her gave me that quote when I was eighteen years old ... when I was not given a scholarship to play at any division one university,

My father and mother, my father and mother told me to stay after my dream, and I've officially accomplished the best thing in this sport with a group of guys that mean the world to me.

Becasue really persistance has summed up my whole career. Summed up my whole life. Just keep going, jsut keep moving forward, no matter what obstacles come in your way, just keep moving forward.

The resiliency of this team is incredible. We've all talked about it, but when you really sit back and think, a lot of you guys picked us to finish dead last in the NFC East. As they went along, nobody gave us any inclination that they thought we were the best team in the NFL. Especially after injuries started happening. This is understandable.

But the fact that we were able to overcome everything ... just keep moving forward, I can't help but be a little emotional.

LaDanian Tomlinson: "On America’s team, let’s not choose to be against one another" pro football Hall of Fame: 2017

 5 August 2017, USA 

If this was my last day on Earth, and this my final speech, this is the message I’ll leave with you. The story of a man I’ve never met, my great-great-great grandfather George. 170 years ago, George was brought here in chains on a slave ship from West Africa. His last name, Tomlinson, was given to him by the man who owned him. Tomlinson was the slave-owner’s last name. What extraordinary courage it must have taken for him to rebuild his life after the life he was born into was stolen. How did he reclaim his identity, his dignity, when he had no freedom to choose for himself?

I grew up on the land of a former slave plantation. And although I didn’t know this as a child, it is where my great-great-great grandfather tilled the soil. A few years ago, I visited that same plantation with my family and stood in the slave quarters where he lived. It’s now named Tomlinson Hill.

My name began with the man who owned my great-great-great grandfather. Now it’s proudly carried by me, my children, my extended family. People stop me on the street because they know me as L.T. the football player, but after football, people have begun to recognize me as LaDanian Tomlinson, not simply for what I did as a football player but for who I am as a man. The family legacy that began in such a cruel way has given birth to generations of successful, caring Tomlinsons.

I firmly believe God chose me to help bring two races together under one last name, Tomlinson. I’m of mixed race, and I represent America. My story is America’s story. All our ancestors, unless we’re American Indian, came from another country, another culture.

Football is a microcosm of America. All races, religions and creeds living, playing, competing side by side. When you’re a part of a team, you understand your teammates — their strengths and weaknesses — and work together toward the same goal, to win a championship. In this context, I advocate we become Team America.

In sports, we’re evaluated on our desire, ability and given a chance to compete. America is the land of opportunity. Let’s not slam the door on those who may look different from us. Rather, let’s open it wide for those who believe in themselves, that anything is possible, and are willing to compete and take whatever risks are necessary to work hard, to succeed.

I’m being inducted into the Hall of Fame because my athletic ability created an opportunity for me to excel in the sport I love. When we open the door for others to compete, we fulfill the promise of one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.

 Let’s choose to be for one another. My great-great-great grandfather had no choice. We have one. I pray we dedicate ourselves to be the best team we can be, working and living together, representing the highest ideals of mankind, leading the way for all nations to follow.

One of the most eloquent orators of all time said it best in his farewell address. Paraphrasing and humbly building upon what President Obama said, we all have to try harder, show up, dive in and stay at it. I am asking you to believe in your ability to bring about change. To hold fast in the idea whispered by slaves. “Yes, we can.”

Vince Lombardi: 'Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing' - 1961

1961, Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

The voice in the YouTube clip above is an actor doing a paraphrase of the speech below, which is Lombardi’s most famous speech. There is no surviving audio of it. This clip before Super Bowl 2 has Lombardi’s voice on it, preserved by Hall of Fame linebacker Jerry Kramer.

Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all of the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.

And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

I don't say these things because I believe in the ‘brute' nature of men or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour -- his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear -- is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

Peyton Manning: 'I’ve fought a good fight. I’ve finished my football race', retirement speech - 2016

7 March 2016, Denver, Colorado, USA

In my very first NFL game, I completed my first pass to Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk. I threw a touchdown in that same game to Marvin Harrison, who would be inducted into the Hall of Fame this August.

The quarterback for our opponent, the Miami Dolphins, was — after my dad, my favorite player — Hall of Famer Dan Marino, who on the first third down of the game completed a 25-yard skinny post. And it was the damndest throw I’d ever seen. Later, I completed a pass to tight end Marcus Pollard down the middle and somebody hit me really hard and after I got up, I told myself, ‘I know I can play in this league.’

Later in that struggling season, we played in and lost to Baltimore. It was the first time that the Colts had returned to Baltimore since they had moved back in 1984. We didn’t exactly get a warm reception that day. The fans were screaming at me and I kept thinking, ‘Hey, I was only 8 years old then, get off of my back.’ I had met him once before, but when the game was over I had the chance to shake Johnny Unitas’ hand. He told me, ‘Peyton, you stay at it. I’m pulling for you.’

Well, I have stayed at it. I’ve stayed at it for 18 years and I hope that old No. 19 is up there with his flat top and maybe his black high tops on and I hope he knows that I have stayed at it, and maybe he’s even a little proud of me.

There is just something about 18 years. Eighteen is a good number and today I retire from pro football.

I want to thank the people of New Orleans and south Louisiana. New Orleans is my hometown and of course they support their own team, the Saints, but they also support their own and that city and state have backed me from the start.

Almost 19 years ago to the day, I announced my decision to forgo the draft and stay at the University of Tennessee for my senior year. It was one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made. I cherished my time in Knoxville, especially my senior year. And I want Vols fans everywhere to know the unique role that you’ve played in my life. Thank you to the Indianapolis Colts organization and all the fans across this country. You can’t fathom how much I enjoyed my 14 years there or the warmth that my family feels for you. I’d be wrong not to mention Jim Irsay, Bill Polian, some great coaches, support staff and a host of wonderful Colts teammates, many of whom will be lifelong friends.

When I was drafted by the Colts, Indianapolis was a basketball and a car racing town but it didn’t take long for the Colts to convert the city and state of Indiana into football evangelists. We ended my rookie season 3-13 and in the process I set the NFL rookie record for interceptions, a record that I still hold today. Every year I pull for a rookie quarterback to break that record. Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Eli Manning, Cam Newton. I still kid Eli that he would have broken it if he would have started all 16 games.

In the beginning of my time in Indy, the team’s struggles were agonizing. My grandfather would call me weekly to ask if his favorite announcers, John Madden and Pat Summerall, would be broadcasting our game. ‘Paw Paw,’ I’d say, ‘we’re only 2-8 right now. We’re playing the 3-7 Bengals. Madden and Summerall don’t broadcast those kinds of games.’

Fast-forward to my second year when we had gotten things going a little bit. We were playing the Dallas Cowboys and Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders. I called Paw Paw: ‘Guess what, Madden and Summerall are broadcasting the game.” He said, ‘I can’t believe it.’

He was elated and he was very proud, and we beat the Cowboys that week and we let the world know that the Colts had arrived. Make no mistake about it, we were coming and we went on to do some phenomenal things like winning at least 12 games seven years in a row and of course winning Super Bowl XLI. And I was truly honored and proud to be a part of it.

There’s a saying that goes, ‘treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be and he will become what he should be.’

When I visited Denver four years ago, if John Elway had sat me down and said, ‘Peyton, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to win over 50 games, win four straight division championships, lose only three division games in four years and none will be on the road, we’ll beat the Patriots in two championship games and you’re going to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year, another MVP, your offense will set single-season passing records, you’ll break a couple more all-time records, and we’ll go to a couple of Super Bowls.’ I think I would have taken that deal.

John, you did tell me that, didn’t you?

Grateful is the word that comes to my mind when thinking of the Denver Broncos. I want to thank Pat Bowlen and his family, Joe Ellis, John Elway, John Fox, Gary Kubiak and their staffs and all the support people in this great organization. To all of my Denver teammates, thank you for what you’ve done for this old quarterback. And of course my gratitude to the Broncos fans everywhere.

Over my NFL career, I’ve had five head coaches who have helped me become better at my craft and have helped me become a better human being: Jim Mora, Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell, John Fox, Gary Kubiak.

While I’ve obviously changed teams, I’ve had the same football representation for almost two decades. I owe Tom Condon many thanks. He has represented me with class at every juncture and he’ll always be a great friend. I want to thank a tremendous group of friends who have supported my football career and been at my side at games from high school to Tennessee, Indy and through that incredible Broncos Super Bowl win last month. You know who you are and what you mean to me.

There is no way to measure or properly express what a family like mine can mean. Mom, Dad, Cooper, Eli, extended family, you are the best. Ashley, your support is as potent a motivator as any man can have.

Ashley’s and my kids, Marshall and Mosley, have only been around for a couple of years but they have changed my life forever. A week before the Super Bowl our daughter Mosley asked me, ‘Daddy, is this the last game?’

‘Yes, Mosley, it’s the last game of the season.’

‘I sure do want you to win that trophy.’

‘I do, too, Mosley. And that’s what we’re going to try to do.’

Then she asked, ‘Daddy, is this the last game ever?’ And that’s just when I shook my head in amazement because I was thinking, ‘Mort and Adam Schefter had gotten to my 5-year-old daughter to cultivate a new source.’

When someone thoroughly exhausts an experience they can’t help but revere it. I revere football. I love the game. So you don’t have to wonder if I’ll miss it. Absolutely. Absolutely I will. Our children are small now, but as they grow up, we’re going to teach them to enjoy the little things in life because one day they will look back and discover that those really were the big things. So here are the seemingly little things that when I look into my rearview mirror, have grown much bigger.

I’m going to miss a steak dinner at St. Elmo’s in Indianapolis after a win. My battles with players named Lynch, Lewis, Thomas, Bruschi, Fletcher, Dawkins, Seau, Urlacher, Polamalu, Harrison, Woodson and Reed. And with coaches like Fisher, Ryan, Belichick, Kiffin, Phillips, Rivera, LeBeau, Crennel, Capers, Lewis, the late Jim Johnson, and so many more. I always felt like I was playing against that middle linebacker or that safety or that defensive coach.

I’ll miss figuring out blitzes with Jeff Saturday. Reggie sitting on top of the bench next to me. Perfecting a fake handoff to Edgerrin James. I’ll miss Demaryius Thomas telling me that he loved me and thanking me for coming to Denver after every touchdown I threw to him.

I’ll miss putting in a play with Tom Moore and Adam Gase that ends in a touchdown on Sunday. On Fridays I’ll miss picking out the game balls with my equipment guys. Talking football with the broadcast crews and afterwards I’ll miss recapping the game with my dad. And checking to see if the Giants won and calling Eli as we’re both on our team buses.

I’ll miss that handshake with Tom Brady and I’ll miss the plane rides after a big win with 53 teammates standing in the aisles, laughing and celebrating during the whole flight. I’ll miss playing in front of so many great fans both at home and on the road. I’ll even miss the Patriots fans in Foxborough, and they should miss me because they sure did get a lot of wins off of me.

And this is important, football fans everywhere need to know how much they mean to me over the years. Fans, you’re at the core of what makes this game remarkable. I’ve received more letters from you than I can count. Fan letters that have touched me, made me think, laugh and moved me to act.

I’ve learned a lot through my mistakes, stumbles and losses in football. I’ve also learned this game is a mighty platform that has given me a voice that can echo well beyond the game. Football has taught me not to be led by obstructions and setbacks but instead to be led by dreams. Due to some good genes, I’m smart enough to know that those lessons can enrich who I am and where I go from here.

I’m totally convinced that the end of my football career is just the beginning of something I haven’t even discovered yet. Life is not shrinking for me, it’s morphing into a whole new world of possibilities.

Pundits will speculate that my effort and drive over the past 18 years were about mastery and working to master every aspect of the NFL game. Well, don’t believe them. Because every moment, every drop of sweat, every bleary-eyed night of preparation, every note I took and every frame of film I watched was about one thing, reverence for this game.

When I look back on my NFL career, I’ll know without a doubt that I gave everything I had to help my teams walk away with a win. There were other players who were more talented but there was no one could out-prepare me and because of that I have no regrets.

There’s a scripture reading, 2 Timothy 4:7: I have fought the good fight and I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.

Well, I’ve fought a good fight. I’ve finished my football race and after 18 years, it’s time. God bless all of you and God bless football.

Michael Sam: 'Great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself', Arthur Ashe Courage Award, ESPYs - 2014

16 July, 2014, Nokia Center, Los Angeles, USA

Thank you so much, Dwayne, thank you, ESPN, and thank you, everyone. The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is a big honor, but much bigger than just me. This year I had a lot of experience being a part of something bigger than myself. At times, I felt like I'd been living in a massive storm, and I know this storm will end. But I'm here tonight to tell you the lessons I learned about love, respect, and being yourself will never leave me.

The late, great, Arthur Ashe wasn't just courageous, he was brilliant, too. In fact, he once put all the wisdom in the world in three short sentences: Stay where you are,- sorry, Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. Those are the words to live by, whether you're black or white, young or old, straight or gay. So let me tell you why those words mean so much to me, like this award does.

First, start where you are. Like a lot of us, I didn't start on top. But it only drove me to get somewhere better. I was so lucky to have great father figures like Ronnie Pearl, my mentor and best friend. And great coaches like Gary Pinkel and Craig Smith, who knew my story, and did everything humanly possible to give it a better ending.

Next, use what you have. What I have is a privilege to play a game I love with all my heart. Football raised me. Football taught me about hard work, about discipline, and about teamwork. But whatever passion or talent you have, follow it. I followed mine, and it got me to this stage tonight, where I get to see a lot of my heroes looking back at me.

Finally, Arthur Ashe said do what you can. Those have been very meaningful words to me, and the way I see it, my responsibility in this moment in history is to stand up for everybody out there who wants nothing more than to be themselves openly. Recently, a friend asked me to talk to his sister, a young woman who was considering killing herself, rather than accepting and sharing with her loved ones the fact that she was gay. When we spoke, she told me that she would never consider hurting herself again, and that somehow my example, example would help her. [Applause.] It's, it's amazing to think, by what doing what we can we can all touch, change, and even save lives.

But I want to take a moment to thank some of my friends who've helped me. My team, Kerran Wise and Joe Barkett, young guys who took a chance on me, just like I took a chance on them. And Ken Sunshine. Ronnie and Candy Pearl, who've done so much to help me get here. My entire Mizzou family, for all the support they've given me, you will always be home. And to the Rams organization, Mr. Stan Cronkie, Les Snead, Coach Fisher, and my teammates. To my mother, a single mother who, somehow, raised eight kids, I love you dearly. Last but not least, Vito, people tell me that I'm their inspiration, but you are my inspiration.

Standing here tonight, looking out at all these legends who have already achieved so much is one of the thrills of my life. I promise to spend the rest of my life trying to, my best to live up to this honor and become the best football player I can. And finally, to anyone out there, especially young people, feeling like they don't fit in and would never be accepted, know this: great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself.

Thank you, and God bless.

Michael Irvin: 'Look up, get up and don't ever give up", Hall of Fame induction - 2007

4 August 2007, Canton, Ohio, USA

Thank you. Father, I'd like to thank you for allowing us all to travel here safely, thank you in advance for the same in allowing us to travel home.

Father, thank you for the man that you sent me to help me in Bishop T.D. Jakes, my spiritual father. I ask you now to put your arms around my Hall of Fame classmate Gene Hickerson and his family. Father, hold them tight and love them right. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen.

Thank you.

I want to send a special love to all the people in Dallas, Texas, special love to all the Dallas Cowboy fans all over the world. Special love goes to my hometown of South Florida and all the Miami Hurricane fans, St. Thomas Aquinas fans.

I want to send love to every fan everywhere because you hear so often that people say, Oh, these are the guys that built the game. No. It's your hunger and your love for the game, your love for what we do that make this game what it is. I thank you for loving the game like we love it.

Jerry, those were kind words. Thank you. You know, when I first met Jerry he had just purchased the Dallas Cowboys. He had a bit of a concerned look on his face. I said to him, I said, We will have fun and we will win Super Bowls. You see, I knew Jerry had put all he had into purchasing the Cowboys. That's the way I see Jerry. He's a man that's willing to give all he has and all he wants to bring the Cowboy family Super Bowls.

Jerry, I appreciate your commitment to family, the Dallas Cowboy family and your own family. He has a beautiful wife, Jean. I tell her this. I just love her to death. Her spirit exudes beauty. Her mannerisms exude class. She's one of a kind. Jean, I do love you.

They have beautiful kids, daughter Charlotte, son Steven and Jerry, Jr. Each have played a role in my life and I thank all of them.

A heartfelt thank you to the selection committee, especially Rick Gosselin and Charean Williams. Charean is the first woman to have a seat on the selection committee. Charean, congratulations to you.

These gentlemen behind me, these men, they inspired me to become the player that I became. As I spent this week with these gentlemen that I've admired growing up, I kept thinking about how gifted they are. Man, they're gifted to run and cut, gifted to throw and catch, gifted to run through blocks and make great tackles.

And then I met their wives and their families and I realized that it's not only about the gift God gave us, but equally important is the help that God gave us. It's the people that God put in place to support us on our journey. So I will try to put the credit in the right place tonight and share with you my help and my journey.

I thank God for the help of my father Walter Irvin, whom I lost at the age of 17. He was my hero and he loved, I'm telling you, he loved the Dallas Cowboys. I woke up this morning smiling knowing that my father had not be here in the flesh but that he is in heaven watching and celebrating with his all time favorite coach, Coach Tom Landry.

Also Tex Schamm, Derrick Shepard and Mark Tuinei. Those guys, we think about them here, we feel them here. They will always be with us.

Before my father made his journey to heaven I sat with him. His final words to me were, Promise me you will take care of your mother. She's a good woman. As you've heard, my mother raised 17 children, most of whom are here tonight. There were challenges. But she would never complain. She always walked around the house and said, God has promised me that my latter days will be better than my former days. My mom and my Aunt Fanny, her oldest sister, they are part of my travel squad now.

As we travel, all they want is a nice room and an open tab on room service. When my workday is done I get to come by their room and we tell stories and we laugh and we have fun. We always end the night with them telling me, Baby, this is what God meant when he said, Our latter days will be better than our former days.

I can't tell you how it makes me feel to know that God uses me to deliver His promise. I love you, mom. I love you, Aunt Fanny.

For better or for worse, those are the vows we take before God in marriage. It's easy to live with the for better, but rarely can you find someone who sticks around and endures the for worse. Sandy, my beautiful wife, I have worked tirelessly, baby, to give you the for better. But I also gave you the for worse, and you didn't deserve it. You didn't deserve it.

But through it all I experienced the depth of your love and I thank God for you. I love the mother that you are, the wife that you are, I love the way that you take care of our family, our daughters Myesha and Chelsea, and our sons Michael and Elijah. I thank you from a place that I can't mention, I can't even express, baby, for keeping our family together. I love you so much.

My football family, as Jerry told you, began at St. Thomas Aquinas High School under the wise tutelage of a great coach named George Smith. George Smith dedicated 37 years to that great program. He's a great man. I thank all the people at St. Thomas for believing in a young man like me.

And then I went on to the University of Miami. I think most of y'all know how I feel about the U. Yeah, the U. You better believe it. After that I was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys where I played and worked with some of the best to ever be around this game. For example, Emmitt Smith. Emmitt Smith is the all time leading rusher.

The great thing about that, his rookie year he said to me he was going to become the all time leading rusher. I doubted him like I think everybody would have. But what an inspiration to be in a room and see a man set a goal so high and then be persistent, be dedicated, and accomplish that which he set out to accomplish. Emmitt, you're an inspiration to so many.

The third part and the third member The Triplets is Troy Aikman. My quarterback, our leader. Troy Aikman led us to three Super Bowls. When I said "led," I mean led, to three Super Bowls. He's the winningest quarterback in the decade of the '90s. If you talk to him and you ask him what's his most memorable game, he will tell you that '94 NFC Championship game that everybody's talking about.

It's a game we were down by 21 and we lost, but we never gave up. That's the mark of a true leader. All he wants is for each player to give all he has all the time. That's Troy Aikman.

That game is one of my most memorable games for all those reasons, but it had a little something extra for me. We were down 21. Troy came to that huddle with those big blue eyes and he looked up and he said, Hey, I'm coming to you no matter what. Whew, let me tell you. As a wide receiver, that's all I ever wanted to hear. Just come to me no matter what. And he did, he did. He came to me no matter what.

But, Troy, you've always come to me no matter what, and I'm not just talking about on the football field. For that, you have a special place in my heart. You always will no matter what. I love you, Troy. I love you deeply.

As The Triplets, we received most of the press, the credit. But we were surrounded with some great guys, great players, talented guys. Guys like Darren Woodson, Dallas Cowboys all time leading tackle. My Cowboy counterpart Jay Novacek, what a great tight end he is. Daryl Johnston, the unsung hero, Moose. Larry Allen and Eric Williams are two of the better linemen, if not the best linemen, to ever play this game. The big fella, Nate Newton. Jim Jeffcoat. And one of the best cornerbacks and the finest athlete I've ever been around, that's Deion Sanders, Prime Time.

So, so many more.

You can't accomplish what we've accomplished with just great players. You also need great coaches. And we had that. We had guys like Norv Turner, Dave Wannstedt, Dave Campo. My position coach, coach Hubbard Alexander, who is my heart. Coach, you took me as a young man out of high school, and I know I gave you a lot of mess through the years. Thank you for being there, Coach. And our head coach, he had always be my head coach, that's Jimmy Johnson.

We worked hard. We had the best, and I'm telling you the very best, and I'm willing to take an argument with anybody on this, strength and conditioning coach in the world. His name is Mike Warsick. He has six Super Bowl rings. Six, people. Twice he has won three Super Bowls in four years, once with us and now with the New England Patriots. So if anybody wants to take an argument, I am a debater. I am here and ready.

Mike Warsick, you are, man, the very best. You put me back together from that knee injury. As we always tell each other when we say good bye, MissPaw (phonetic), which means may God hold you till we see each other again.

I also walked on campus at the University of Miami the same day with our PR director, Rich Dalrymple. I know some of you are saying it's fitting that you are tight with the PR director, Michael. But Rich has been a great friend. When I walk in his office now Rich has a picture of us. He has pictures of us at the University of Miami with this nice beautiful black hair, and then he has pictures of us now when he's all gray.

He says to me all the time, You see these gray hairs? I say, Yeah. He says, You gave them to me. I tell him, I say, Well, you see those four championship rings you have? I gave them to you, too.

I have experienced all this game has to offer on the football field, the losing, going 3 13, even 1 15. In my second season the career threatening knee injury, thinking I would never play this game that I love again. And even in 1999, the career ending neck injury. That which football players fear the most.

But I've also had some beautiful victories. We won three Super Bowls in four years. I can't tell you what that feels like. And we did it with guys that we loved to play with and guys that we loved. Folks, I'm telling you, that's the true essence of a football family, and that's exactly what we are not was what we are. I love all of those guys that I played with.

Since retiring I have developed a deeper awareness and understanding for this game. First as a fan and then as an analyst. That is why I've learned it's so much more than merely a game. Thanks to ESPN. Thank you, ESPN, for giving me the opportunity to travel to NFL stadiums throughout this country, visiting with fans, and seeing this game from a completely different perspective.

The movie, Remember the Titans, is my favorite movie, staring Denzel Washington. I love the way in this movie the game of football brings those boys together, it unites those boys on that football field. It unites a whole town, black, white, old, young, rich and poor. It happens every year around this time in NFL locker rooms and NFL stadiums. So don't tell me it's just a game.

My favorite day was Monday, September the 25th, 2006. New Orleans, Louisiana, site of the Superdome. I watched our people who had suffered so grievously through Hurricane Katrina fill a stadium hours before a game and stay hours after the game. I witnessed those fans as they looked for each other, hugged one another and just be thankful to be in that stadium.

You see the game flexed its greatest muscle that day: the ability to heal. I experienced a football game that contributed to the healing of a city. So don't tell me it's just a game.

You know the Bible speaks of a healing place. It's called a threshing floor. The threshing floor is where you take your greatest fear and you pray for help from your great God. I want to share something with you today. I have two sons. Michael, he's 10, and Elijah, he's 8. Michael and Elijah, could you guys stand up for me. That's my heart right there. That's my heart. When I am on that threshing floor, I pray. I say, God, I have my struggles and I made some bad decisions, but whatever you do, whatever you do, don't let me mess this up.

I say, Please, help me raise them for some young lady so that they can be a better husband than I. Help me raise them for their kids so that they could be a better father than I. And I tell you guys to always do the right thing so you can be a better role model than dad. I sat right here where you are last year and I watched the Class of 2006: Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, Rayfield Wright, John Madden, and the late great Reggie White represented by his wife Sara White. And I said, Wow, that's what a Hall of Famer is.

Certainly I am not that. I doubted I would ever have the chance to stand before you today. So when I returned home, I spoke with Michael and Elijah . I said, That's how you do it, son. You do it like they did it. Michael asked, he said, Dad, do you ever think we will be there? And I didn't know how to answer that. And it returned me to that threshing floor. This time I was voiceless, but my heart cried out. God, why must I go through so many peaks and valleys?

I wanted to stand in front of my boys and say, Do it like your dad, like any proud dad would want to. Why must I go through so much?

At that moment a voice came over me and said, Look up, get up, and don't ever give up. You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up or wanted to quit, you tell them to look up, get up and don't ever give up.

Thank you and may God bless you.

Sam Wyche: "You Don't Live in Cleveland", disgust at fans - 1989

10 December, 1989, Cincinnatti v Seattle, Cincinnatti, Ohio, USA

The game was halted as projectiles were thrown onto the field. The Bengals coach responded by having a go at another Ohio city.

Well the next person that sees anybody throw anything onto this field, point em out, get em out of here, you don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnatti!

Brett Favre: 'I don't think I've got anything left to give', Retirement Speech - 2008

6 March, 2008, press conference, Lambeau Field, Wisconsin, USA

Seems like just yesterday we were here. Well, I think we all know why I'm here. First of all, sorry I'm late. But I am officially retiring from the NFL and the Green Bay Packers, and as much as I've thought about what I would say, and how ... I promised I wouldn't get emotional ... it's never easy ... you know, it's funny, I've watched hundreds of players retire, and you wonder what that would be like ... you think you're prepared ... but I was telling Deanna on the way over here, God has blessed me with so many great things. Ability, wonderful family. And as I was flying up here today I thought about so many different things and how I wanted to say some of the things that I felt like I need to say, but he gave me an opportunity to use my abilities, and I seized that opportunity ... I thank him for that.

I'd like to thank the Packers, for giving me the opportunity as well. I hope that every penny ... I hope that every penny that they've spent on me, they know was money well-spent. It was never about the money or fame or records, and I hear people talk about your accomplishments and things ... It was never my accomplishments, it was our accomplishments, the teammates that I've played with, and I can name so many. It was never about me, it was about everybody else. It just so happens the position I played got most of the attention. But the Packers have been, ... it's been a great relationship, and I hope that this organization and the fans appreciate me as much as I appreciate them.

I can't leave without saying thanks to Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren for giving me a chance when no one else would. I'd like to thank Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson, Bob Harlan, Tom Clements my recent quarterback coach, Darrell Bevell. Mike was my quarterback coach in '99. Andy Reid, Marty, ... Steve Mariucci, Mike Sherman, Ray Rhodes, Tom Rossley, and I could go through so many different names and players and seasons. It's been everything I thought it would be, and then some. And it's hard to leave. You think you're prepared for it. I know there's been comments and issues in the press lately about why I'm leaving, whether or not the Packers did enough, whether or not Ted and Mike tried to convince me to stay. None of those things have anything to do with me retiring, and that's from the heart.

I've given everything I possibly can give to this organization, to the game of football, and I don't think I've got anything left to give, and that's it. I know I can play, but I don't think I want to. And that's really what it comes down to. Fishing for different answers and what ifs and will he come back and things like that, what matters is it's been a great career for me, and it's over. As hard as that is for me to say, it's over. There's only one way for me to play the game, and that's 100 percent. Mike and I had that conversation the other night, and I will wonder if I made the wrong decision. I'm sure on Sundays, I will say I could be doing that, I should be doing that. I'm not going to sit here like other players maybe have said in the past that I won't miss it, because I will. But I just don't think I can give anything else, aside from the three hours on Sundays, and in football you can't do that. It's a total commitment, and up to this point I have been totally committed.

As I look back on my career, no regrets. No regrets, whatsoever. Sure, I would have liked to have won more games, would have liked to have gone to a Super Bowl this year, would have liked to have thrown less interceptions, more touchdowns, but no regrets. I played the game one way, the only way I knew how.

I can't leave without saying thank you to the fans. When I laughed and when my family laughed, they laughed. When I cried, they cried. When I cheered, they cheered. When I threw an interception, well, you know. But it was a perfect fit for me. Little ol' Southern Miss, southern boy from Hancock County who had big dreams, no different than any other kid, to play here, and there's no better place to play. I had a conversation with Ron Wolf yesterday, and we had that discussion. To be thought of as one of the best players to play in this league, and to be mentioned within an organization that has players like Reggie White and Bart Starr and Paul Hornung and Willie Davis and Willie Wood and Herb Adderley and Jim Taylor, Ray Nitschke, Vince Lombardi. To be mentioned with those people, ... I'm honored. Really ... I am honored. I hope everyone knows how special this is and I truly appreciate the opportunity, and as they say all good things must come ... come to an end.

But I look forward to whatever the future may hold for me. Deanna and our two girls, Brittany and Breleigh, I sincerely thank you Deanna and my family for being there and supporting me, going back and forth and switching schools and putting up with all those things. I know you probably have some questions, I'll try to answer them as best I can, but hopefully I addressed a lot of the issues and spoke from the heart.

Q: There are still many fans in denial about this. They think Brett is tired now, but after time passes, maybe he'll change his mind. It sounds like that won't happen, but can you address that?

I think last year and the year before I was tired and it took awhile but I came back. Something told me this time not to come back. It took awhile once again. Once again, I wondered if it was the right decision. But I think in my situation, and I had this conversation with Mike and Ted, that it's a unique situation in that at 17 years I had one of the better years in my career, the team had a great year, everything seems to be going great, the team wants me back, I still can play, for the most part everyone would think I would be back, would want me back. That's a unique situation going into an 18th season. There's no guarantees next year, personally and as a team, and I'm well aware of that. It's a tough business and last year and the year before I questioned whether or not I should come back because I didn't play at a high enough level. Other people questioned that. I really didn't question my commitment. I just wondered, 'Could I not play anymore?' I know I can play. But this year, and this is not the first year but it really to me and Deanna was more noticeable, the stress part of it. It's demanding. It always has been, but I think as I've gotten older I'm much more aware of that. I'm much more aware of how hard it is to win in this league and to play at a high level. I'm not up to the challenge anymore. I can play, but I'm not up to the challenge. You can't just show up and play for three hours on Sunday. If you could, there'd be a lot more people doing it and they'd be doing it for a lot longer. I have way too much pride, I expect a lot out of myself, and if I cannot do those things 100 percent, then I can't play.

Q: From a mental standpoint, how much impact did that last play have on your thought process? How much did you think about it as you walked off the field?

I didn't really think about it when I walked off the field. Would I have liked to have finished that game and season differently? Absolutely. But one play, one game, one season doesn't define me. As upset as I was at the end of that game, I really didn't think about my future at that particular time. I didn't know what I was going to do and know that I had to get away and think about it. And I've heard remarks from family and friends that you don't want to go out on a play like that. I hear that every year, regardless of the play: You've got to go out on top or you've got to go out this way or you've got to go out that way. I'm going out on top, believe me. I could care less what other people think. It's what I think and I'm going out on top. It's been a wonderful career and, once again, I have no regrets. As I think back about my career, and I've said this numerous times, the losses and the bad plays, the ups and downs, all to me were important. I would hate to think that we were perfect all the time. You would never appreciate how tough it is to get there. And through every loss and every bad play, it made the plays like the first play in the overtime game against Denver so much sweeter. As time passes, I don't know what I will do. I'm not really worried about it right now. I'll take it as it comes. Poeple say, 'Do you have a plan?' No, I don't. This is all I've ever done. I'm proud of the fact that I've done it this long and at a high level. This is a new phase in my life. I don't know what that exactly means, but it's been a pretty good ride.

Q: When you talk about the strain of the offseason commitment or the strain of living up to your high standards on Sundays and leading such a young team, did those weigh any differently?

The off-season -- the minicamps, the training camp and just individually your off-season preparation -- has been difficult. As I looked at this upcoming season, I said, I probably could get myself prepared to play. That really didn't have that much of a bearing on my decision. It's tough on everybody. But it was more the in-season strain. And Mike knows this, there were numerous Saturdays (before) home games where I was here at 8:30 at night watching film. I had never done that before. It was never enough for me. And Deanna knows this, after numerous games I would come home and after a couple of hours I had the computer out and I was watching film of the upcoming opponent instead of enjoying the win we just had. At some point, you've got to relax and enjoy and I found myself not enjoying it as much. It's fun to win but you've got to enjoy it and relax a little bit. That more than anything was taking its toll on me.

Q: Some guys when they walk away can't get near the team they left. Do you see yourself being involved with this team in the upcoming year, or with Aaron Rodgers?

I'm sure that we will talk. I'm sure Mike and I will talk. But they have coaches and because I've played 17 years and had a great career here doesn't make me an expert. The way I've done things has worked for me. It may not work for the next guy. The last thing I want to be is one of those guys who hangs around and, because of my status, they keep me around. They don't know how to tell me no. Will I be a Green Bay Packer for life? Sure. That doesn't mean I come in and give my opinions and things like that. I wish the Packers well. I wish Aaron well. I think he'll do a great job. I think he has the talent. I've heard it for the last three years that hopefully he's learned from Brett. What that means I don't know. He's his own player, he has his own style and that's what he needs to stick to. Hopefully, what he's learned from me are things away from playing, how to handle certain situations and be a teammate and things like that. I think here in the last couple of years, that's where I've noticed, in my case, things maybe changing a little bit. You can credit it to age or whatever, but I was never really a vocal person. That hasn't changed. I always enjoyed playing the game and having fun and cracking up and things like that and I didn't do that as much. I maybe was not as good a teammate from that standpoint as I once was. Not to get away from your questsion, but I think that had some bearing on my decision as well. I don't even want to think about next year. Will I watch games? I'm sure I will. Will I be involved? I always made the joke about being here for the honorary coin toss. Well, that time may come. So I may be back for something like that. But as far as giving advice, I don't think that will happen.

Q: You said you didn't have an exact plan. What are some things you're looking forward to doing?

Nothing. Nothing. Ron Wolf asked me yesterday, 'What are you going to do?' I said, 'Nothing.' And I'm going to stick to that until I want to do something else.

Q: With so many accolades and honors, how do you want to be remembered?

You know, I think we all want to be liked and we want good things said about us, positive things said about us. As I stated earlier, I hope people appreciate me, the way I played the game, as much as I appreciate them. The way I approached the game, the way I played it, to me all was important. The statistics part of it were never that important. They have been earlier in my career. I was never really a statistics guy, and that's coming from a guy that ran the wishbone and wing-T in high school and was signed as a safety in college. So statistics never were never a big part of my makeup and I think people know that. I'm well aware of the statistics, the records that I have right now. I think those were meant to be ... That's why they keep records, for those to be broken. I'm sure it makes for good TV when the next guy comes through. But I hope my legacy is a lot more than that. If I have to be remembered because of statistics then I did something wrong along the way. I really believe that I left a lot more than that. I can't make people like me or say good things about me but I hope that I left a pretty good impact on people. As I've heard, that the way he's played the game, with as much fun as he's had, is all important and I agree with that. It's a game and I played it spontaneously, nothing was ever choreographed. And I've always said this: the money they pay is icing on the cake. It had no bearing on the way I played. I played the game regardless a certain way. And I hope that's what people appreciate about me.

Q: Playing in 275 straight games and the pride you took in that, how hard was it to admit to yourself that commitment just wasn't there anymore?

Well, yes and no. It's been 275 games, at some point it's got to end. I think there will be people, including myself, saying, 'Hey, you can still do it.' But I don't want to be one of those guys that you say, 'Well, he stuck around too long.' Who knows when that will be? Relatively healthy for the most part. There are little things here and there that bother me. The thing that I'm most impressed about in my career is the fact that I've played in all those games. Whether it be consecutive or not, the fact that I played in that many games is amazing. Might as well leave when I've still got my health for the most part. As far as a career goes, it's been wonderful. So it's been everything I thought it would be and then some. None of those statistics come without playing and there's nothing left to prove, there really isn't. There was nothing last year to prove. I've known that. I have a lot of pride but it wasn't that difficult. It's more important for me to play the game a certain way and be (in it) completely, than it is to admit to myself that maybe I don't have it anymore.

Q: Waking up this morning, knowing you were coming up here to do this, what have the emotions been like? What's today been like?

I'm not going to lie to ya. There was a lot ... I flew up here by myself, Deanna was already up here. I thought of so many different things. At first I got up and drove Breleigh to school. We were late as usual. I just went about my day up to that point as I always do. In the back of my mind, I knew in just few hours I was not going to be a Green Bay Packer anymore. That was hard. Breleigh understands but I didn't let on that something was bothering me. But as I got closer and closer, there was a knot the size of a basketball in my throat. There were so many things... Again, I'm not a person that likes to get up and speak. I thought about writing some things down that I wanted to say. I didn't want to leave anyone out. I wanted to say the right things. I wanted to come across as genuine. I wanted to leave gracefully. The more I thought about all those things, the worse it got. I have to admit that there's a little bit more of a relief right now. It went over somewhat smoothly. Time will tell. But it was a tough day. And Jeff (Blumb) and I went round and round. He wanted me to come up right away, the Packers wanted me to come up. If it was me, I would have just done something later. Which to me later meant they'll forget about it and it will be over and done with. But I'm glad it's done. It was tough, it will be tough. Today was extremely difficult. But I believe it's the right thing.

Q: You're one of the most competitive people, and other athletes who have retired have talked about needing something to fuel their competitive desire. Have you thought about that and how you transition that way?

I think every individual is different. I will say this, I have listened to advice in the past, directly or indirectly. People said play as long as you can - make them drag you off the field. If I play much longer, they will. So my situation has been different. Not too many people have played 275 games, not too many people have had the career that I've had. It's easy, I think, for other people to say, 'Do this' or 'Do that' There aren't many people who have been in my situation. Because of that I'm so thankful, but I have to be cautious looking at it from their standpoint. Will I find something to do that's equal to throwing a touchdown pass at Lambeau Field? I doubt it. Will I find something that's as equal as playing in the Super Bowl or playing a game in general? I doubt it. I'm not even going to try.

As I said earlier, there really isn't a plan. I know that this place and what it's meant to my career is really special, and to think that I can find something to replace that and feel the same, I'm no fool. I know there's nothing out there like that. So I'm not even going to try. But life does go on and I will do something, whatever that may be. But it will be nice for awhile, I think, to feel like I don't have to live up to certain expectations, not only that other people have of me, but I have of myself. I can just kind of as they say, ride off into the sunset, whatever that means. Just try to relax for once in my life and enjoy it. And I'm going to steal a quote from Deanna, and I thought about this on the way up, 'See life through the front windshield, not through the rearview mirror.' I think that is so true, so important. And people who know me and play with me and coaches that I work with, I can recite almost every play I've ever ran, called, think about near every game I've played in, and that's going back to high school. So as I look back, I can't say, 'What if? I don't quite remember that game or that play.' But there are things in life I can't say that about. There are things I missed. And you can't get those things back. From this day forward, I hope to kind of see things through the front windshield.

Q: Coach Holmgren released a statement that talked about how proud he was to see you grow as a person even more than on the football field. Can you talk about who you were and how you've grown and who you are today?

I think my career in life has been well-documented. We have lived my life in the public and that's OK. If I had to deal with it again, I would do it here in Green Bay. The people here have been phenomenal. I'm not just saying that because I'm here in front of you guys. We have been supported as if we were native. But, you know, for me it's been 16 wonderful years. And I look back and I was watching at home last night, I actually broke down and watched some of the footage. How could you not? I realize what it's like to die. As I'm watching TV last night, I said, 'This is what it's like when you die.' They're honoring me and saying all these things and showing all these games. It's good, but I've come a long ways. Some of those old interviews, I thought I had it all figured out, which I didn't. But fortunately I was able to overcome a lot of my - I don't know what you want to call it - insecurities or whatever, one thing about it is I can play football. And because of that I'm still here. Throughout that process I've become a better person, a more likeable person I hope. And as my skills maybe diminished, maybe I've picked up the slack in other areas. I'm about as proud of that as anything I've done on the field. I'm not perfect by any means. I'm not going to say that, not even close. Nor will I ever be. As I look back at my career and as I watched footage last night, I have come a long ways, in a positive way and I'm truly thankful for that.

Q: I have a question for Deanna if you wouldn't mind going up to the microphone. I just wanted to ask what retirement means to you and your family and the work you've done in Green Bay and with other organizations, in retrospect and looking forward?

I promised her she wouldn't have to speak.

Deanna: I'm not real crazy about being up here. It's been very rewarding to be part of this community and to be a part of the charity work going on because it always seemed like a team effort. The people here are very appreciative, grateful, for everything we've done and I hope we'll continue in some form or another with our charity work here, but I don't think it will be the extent it has been.

We're going to take a break for a year.

Deanna: We have decided to take a break from all events this year, so the softball game we normally have in June we won't have. I know that will disappoint a lot of people, but honestly we are really tired right now.

Q: Is there anything anybody in the organization could have said to you to change your mind and get you to play one more season?

Once again I think that there have been a lot of things in the press this week that aren't true. Believe me, I've questioned my decision. I believe it's the right decision. And there's nothing that they can do or say to change that. They can make me wonder. But I think that's part of it. But once again, I think it's the right decision. It's a hard decision. I know for the last couple of years, I mean, I'm sure there a lot of people who said, 'Finally.' Good or bad, he made a decision. Believe me, it was hard. Very hard. Because that decision is made don't think I won't question it. But that's life. For people who've never had to make a decision like the one I've had to make, I can't begin to explain to you how difficult it is. But I made it and I have to be at peace with that.

Q: As you reviewed this decision, are you saying that in order to match your standard, you had to put so much more into it and as a result you weren't getting as much fun out of it?

I had so many people saying, 'You look like you had a lot of fun out there this year,' and I did. But what they don't see, that's three hours during the course of a week and I'm no different than most people. I can act the part and I know I expect a lot out of myself and certain things are expected of me within this organization and I tried to live up to those all the time. And Brett Favre got hard to live up to. And I found myself during games at times, tough situation, people always kind of made this joke or other guys on the team, even Mike at times would turn to me and say, 'All right Brett. This is where you're at your best. Pull us out.' I'm thinking, 'Uh! ... ' Now I wouldn't do that, but I'm thinking that. I'm thinking, 'Boy it sure would be nice to be up about 14 right now.' It's just hard. It got hard. I did it, but it got hard. I don't think it would get easier next year or the following year. It hasn't up to this point. It's only gotten tougher and something told me, it's gotten too hard for you. I could probably come back and do it, suck it up, but what kind of a toll would that take on me, my family or my teammates? At some point it would affect one of those, if not all of them. Maybe it has already. I don't know. I can't speak for my teammates, but maybe it's affected my play. If I even question for a second that toll that it takes has affected at least one play, then it's time to leave. You can't second-guess any decision you make on the field or wonder did the pressure or stress get to you. I think if you're starting to question that at all, then it's probably time to go.

Q: Guys talk about the locker room, plays, and games. What will you miss the most?

Well, in my discussions with former players, every one of the guys I've talked to has said the things you miss, you miss the games but it is the guys. And I haven't heard too many guys say I miss meetings or miss practice. But I may be one of those rare people who miss that to a certain extent as I'm involved in it. Sitting in meetings or practice, I have to admit, I thought about being elsewhere, but it's easy to do that when you're in the moment. But the friendships you make along the way, they come and go to a certain extent. But they are special and that I think I'll miss, grinding together. Football, I think is very unique in that of all the sports because you have to rely on one another so much more than the other sports and it's a physical sport, which I think in turn mentally challenges you more so than any other sport. And I am a little biased, but I will miss that. Sitting in those meetings with the receivers and figuring out how we're going to beat the upcoming team and challenging each other and doing it in a fun way, slapping our big linemen on the butt, which I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon. But all that stuff, man that's just what it's all about. And I will miss that stuff.

Q: What's the most memorable play or most memorable game you'll take with you?

I hate when that question's asked. I don't have one. I really don't. I know if you ask anyone who's covered the Packers or Brett Favre over the years, ask them their top five plays or games, they're going to give you some, as I probably could, too. But it's too hard. They all meant a lot to me. For obvious reasons, some may mean a little more. But I think most people who have never played professional football would kill for one opportunity to play if they could and I had thousands and thousands of plays. But the thing that is unique about me is that every one of those plays meant something to me, and I really mean that. I never took a play off and to me it came natural to me. And to sit here and name a few plays that meant more, there were some that were more exciting, there were some that other people could say, 'That's my favorite.' That's fine. But the fact I got a chance to take a snap under center in Green Bay or in professional football was something special. And the fact I've done it for that many years and have so many plays, they're all special.

Q: You've been embraced so wholeheartedly by the entire nation. Why do you think you've had that privilege?

Well, I think, I'm probably the wrong person to ask that. But if I had to guess I would say, and I hear this from time to time, he's like one of us. Well, I am. I just play professional football. Now that is a little different job than most people. But we are regular people and things have happened to our family, maybe it being that we're in the public eye, things we've had to deal with, tragedy, obviously has (been) dealt with within the community and the world when other people are able to deal with it privately. So I think people say, 'You know what, death does happen to Brett Favre and Deanna Favre. Cancer does happen to them.' It's not all about making a lot of money and being on TV all the time. There's more to it than that. And I think, I hate to say that we're appreciated because of that because we would love to change some of those things. But it's life and we've had to deal with it with the public and we're thankful for that because it has helped. And I think coming across as, to me as genuine as possible. Deanna told me on the way over her that her sister had called her, Christy, and said that Marshall Faulk was wondering what I was going to wear. Well, Marshall, here I am. This is about as dressed up as you're going to see. I thought about wearing a suit, I really did. I thought about shaving. But, what you see is what you get. And I hope that I never change. I don't think I will. I hope that people appreciate that side of me because it is real, obviously. And it's the way I played the game. I've always said that people watching in the stands I could see them saying, 'If I could play, that's the way I'd want to play.' And that is important to me because that's the only way I know how to play it. That's the only way I know how to dress. That's the only way I know how to act. Right or wrong, it's the only way and I think people do appreciate that.

Q: You were so close to the Super Bowl. Do you feel the 2008 Packers are capable of another Super Bowl run, and did that make this decision more difficult for you?

Sure. This is a good football team, and I think I could be sitting here next year saying, I could be pulling a Tiki Barber - what if? But you know, that's the chance you take. I've been to the Super Bowl, been fortunate to play on some great teams. Once again, I have no regrets and there are no guarantees. And in our discussions, we've said that over and over again. All we can make at this point are predictions, what we think will happen. And not too many people thought the Packers would be 13-3 this year, me included. But who knows? But there are no guarantees. And hopefully the Packers do go on and have great success. And if that is the case, I hope I don't say, you made the wrong decision. I don't believe I'll do that. I really don't. But this team is really close, and that makes it a little bit tougher, it makes it tougher to leave. Boy, we were right there. But that was last year we were right there.

So the Packers wanted me, I know I can play, the fans, I guess they love me. They were camped out at my gate, the media. All these great things. Why would you retire? That's a tough question. It's a tough decision. But once again, I think I made the right decision regardless of whether we were 13-3 and on the cusp of another Super Bowl. And I keep going back to, I've done everything there is to do, and then some, and then some. I would have liked to have won more Super Bowls, but you know what? I'm not disappointed about that. I gave it my all. I think people who know me know that. And I don't know if I had any more to give. There will be no what-ifs. When I think of high school and I think of college, I think I could play a little bit better at times. I didn't really appreciate (it), because high school, before you know it, it was over. College, before I knew it, it was over. I had 17 years and those experiences in high school and college to make sure I didn't say what if in professional football. And I don't think I will say what if.

Q: Does it feel as though you're leaving on your own terms?

Sure. Yeah, we all would like to leave on our own terms. What those terms are, I've heard so many times, 'Man, I'd like to see him go out like Elway.' Well, Elway was different. He'd never won a Super Bowl, until they beat us. We could have went 3-13 this year, and I was going out on top. People may argue against that, but look at my career. I shouldn't have to make an argument. And maybe I'm the only one who's so well aware of how blessed I really was. And I want to say this again. I know I get credit for the wins, yards, touchdowns, even interceptions. But it was about everyone else. Coaches, players, fans. I want to say that again: Our accomplishments. I never thought it was fair, the attention that the quarterback gets. Being labeled as, he has 160 wins. What about everyone else? And as I walk away, I'm walking away on top, my head high, chin up. And it is on my terms. It is on my terms. Which is a good way to go out.

Q: The toughest job in sports is to play quarterback in the NFL, and there's even more to that in your situation in Green Bay. Can you talk about carrying the hopes and dreams of this community and franchise for 16 years and restoring the team to glory after so many down years?

I go back to what I said when I look back at old clips. It's a good thing I didn't know any better. I watch those interviews, and it's painful to watch. But in a lot of ways that was good for me. I had talent, probably thought I had more. I probably thought a little more of myself than I should have. But I was talented to a certain degree, but I was so naïve. Believe me, I knew all about the Green Bay Packers, and all those great players that have played here before. Knew all about the tradition. But I thought, what the heck. What's the big deal? Now, if I had to go back with the same mentality right now that I have and start over again, I probably wouldn't make it, because I'm so much more aware of how difficult it is to win, to prepare. I'm well-aware of the expectations. Back then, it was like, bring them on. No big deal. And that mentality helped me, as I looked back. It's painful to watch, but it helped me.

It is a unique franchise. I'm telling you something that we all know. There's only a few in professional sports that are like this one. It's a tough job. I don't know how tough other jobs are, because I've never done them. But I know to be the quarterback, period, is tough. To be the quarterback in Green Bay, and to have success, is very difficult. But I'm proof it can be done. As I look back, and dreaming as a little kid, I hate to admit it I always dreamt of being a Dallas Cowboy, and winning Super Bowls and being Roger Staubach. Think of all the kids, and there's probably some here in Wisconsin who have dreamed of being Brett Favre and doing the things that he's done, as I look back on my career, those dreams have been surpassed a thousand times over, and that is rare that I've been able to do that. Because I was no different than anyone else with those dreams.

I wish Aaron the best of luck. I think once again he'll do a fine job. It can be done. I know everyone's made comments that, boy, big shoes to fill. The only shoes he has to fill is himself. He doesn't need to play like Brett Favre. It's all about the cast around you, it's about the coaching staff. If you stay focused on the fact that it's not about you -- they obviously drafted him because he has the talent, mental capabilities -- he'll be fine. Hopefully one day he's sitting here where I am and able to experience what I've been able to experience.

(For all of your contributions on the field, are you just as grateful and proud of your off-the-field accomplishments, the impact you've had with Make-A-Wish kids, your foundation, and other charities?)

If you really think about it, that stuff is so much more important than football. But at times we lose sight of that. Deanna and I this past Sunday were down in Gulfport, Mississippi. Ronnie Hebert, that name probably doesn't ring a bell to anyone in here, but he was a figure on the Gulf coast for 65 years, in fact. As my dad coached Legion ball for 28 years, the summer in Gulfport, Ronnie Hebert was a bat boy, was mentally challenged. Deanna surprised me several years ago at our dinner, charity dinner, bringing Ronnie up. He passed away this past week, suddenly. He had a long, fun life. Never saw him disappointed. But I've had so many people say to me, boy, you made a great impact on Ronnie and great impact on Make-A-Wish kids, and so on and so forth. But it's the impact they had on me. That's what it's all about. For me, football has been wonderful in a lot of ways, but the fact that I've been able to touch other people's lives, and Deanna has said this I don't know how many times, that you don't realize the impact you have on people, I really don't. I've never really thought about it. All I've thought about was playing football and playing it a certain way, and whatever comes along with that, great. Whether it be money, commercials, reaching out to people, charity, whatever. It's because of football, I'm well aware of that. But because of football, I've been impacted by a lot of people and charities.

We were in Phoenix a couple weeks ago visiting the Children's Hospital, boy, that's tough. It's really, really tough. And I'm very thankful that I've got two daughters who are (in) great health, and up to this point life has been pretty good. Difficult at times, but I think we can all say that, but it's been pretty good. And I can't say that for other people. But I am, once again, I'm not perfect, never will be. I'll probably get in trouble with Deanna at times, with my girls at times, but I do have a different outlook on life, much more than 16 years ago. But I am very proud of the things that we have done off the field. Could we have done more? Sure. Could we all do more? Absolutely. But we have impacted other people's lives in a positive way I would hope, and we are thankful for that.