Former NFLer Brett Favre and a team of former Packers yesterday "played a roster of other NFL All-Stars" for a charity flag football contest, called Brett Favre's Legends Game, at the Univ. of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium, according to Doug Erickson of the WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL. The school said that "22,497 tickets were sold" to the event, with the upper deck and end zone areas "closed off." The flag football game "followed Favre’s induction Saturday night" into the Packers' HOF at a ceremony at Lambeau Field. The team "also retired his No. 4 jersey." A portion of the proceeds from the event "went to the Favre 4 Hope Foundation, which benefits several charities, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics and Rawhide Boys Ranch" (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 7/20). In Milwaukee, Lori Nickel notes it was a "busy, appointment-packed weekend" for Favre -- he "also had autograph sessions both days." It was the kind of "whirlwind homecoming you'd expect from someone who hasn't been around Wisconsin for several years." The presence of Favre and his all-star entourage "once again transformed a Wisconsin town into a game-day kind of atmosphere, with fans tailgating more than two hours before the kickoff" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/20).
LAMBEAU LEAP: In Milwaukee, Tom Silverstein noted in addition to those attending Saturday night's HOF induction banquet in the atrium of Lambeau Field, "some 67,000 people" watched on the videoboards inside the stadium. Prior to the banquet, Favre entered the stadium to a "5-minute ovation," and the crowd "cheered almost everything Favre said during his 17-minute visit to the 50-yard line" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/19). Favre: "It was like I never left. It was a great feeling" (ESPN.com, 7/18). NFL Network’s Rhett Lewis said, "If there was any uncertainty as to how Brett Favre would be received, those 67,000 fans leaving no doubt. ... That was something special to see: The roar, the welcome, the ovation Brett Favre got from the fans there inside Lambeau. That's about second to none." NFL Network’s Steve Mariucci said, "You missed something if you weren't here in person because it was the most amazing, heartfelt, unbelievably ridiculous ovation that you've ever seen in sports. ... The roar of the crowd was as loud as it was when he threw that touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor against Cincinnati in his first win. It was an over-the-top, sensational tribute to a guy who played 16 years here, never missed a game, and it was well-deserved. But it was so amazing to see these Packer fans do their thing” ("NFL Total Access: Favre's Return to Lambeau," NFL Network, 7/18).
