Getty Brett Favre #4 of the Green Bay Packers drops back to throw a pass against the Atlanta Falcons during their game in 2005.
30 years ago today, the Atlanta Falcons drafted Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Farve at No. 33 overall in the 1991 NFL Draft.
The official Twitter account of “This Day in Sports Clips” took as back to the hilarious moment when Brett’s name was mispronounced as “Favor.”
April 21, 1991: In the second round of the #NFLDraft (33rd pick overall), the Atlanta Falcons select Brett “Favor.” @BrettFavre.
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Farve Couldn’t Handle the Atlanta Night Life
Favre was really young and drafted into Atlanta—one of the largest cities with a crazy nightlife that attracted the rookie. Several stories claim he nearly ‘drank the whole city dry’ and was always seen out enjoying the Buckhead bars, hence the nickname ‘Buckhead’ Brett.
At the time, the Falcons were already a disaster and the last thing they needed was Favre’s behavior.
Falcons head coach at the time, Jerry Glanville, made it known that he was not the biggest Favre fan. When he met Favre face-to-face at camp he embarrassed him in front of his teammates by telling him he meant to draft “the guy from Mississippi State.”
Glanville barely played Favre during his rookie year. The Southern Miss product played a total of five snaps and completed zero passes, threw two interceptions, and was sacked for an eleven-yard loss.
In his last appearance as a Falcon, Favre played 55 seconds and still managed to mess it up. The Washington Redskins were up 49–17 when he threw a touchdown pass to the other team.
He went back in on the fourth down and with eight seconds remaining, Favre lofted a 55-yard Hail Mary that was picked off by Redskins’ cornerback Sidney Johnson.
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The Last Straw for Farve
Gunslinger by Jeff Pearlman tells the story of Favre and his remarkable, improbable, and iconic life through 500 different interviews.
Favre is said to have strolled into rookie camp as cocky as ever.
Former Atlanta Falcons’ guard Chris Hinton was one of the interviews and gave his memory of Farve that season. “I’d played in six Pro Bowls by that point, and this kid comes up to me in camp and tells me he has the strongest arm in the NFL,” says Hinton. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’”
The one moment that sparked Glenville to end it all with Favre was during the annual official team photograph at the Suwanee training facility. Favre sped into the parking lot an hour after the team photo had already happened. He confronted Glanville and told him he had “gotten stuck behind an awful traffic accident” until he saw Glanville wasn’t catching onto the lie and told him he was hungover and forgot to set an alarm.
“I got trapped behind a car wreck,” Favre told the coach.
“You are a car wreck,” Glanville replied.
Favre was fined $1,500 for missing the picture and when Favre would tell people he played for Atlanta, they would accuse him of lying from not being in the team’s 1991 photo.
The Falcons would later trade the future Hall of Famer in that offseason to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a first-round pick.
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