Rabid San Francisco fans absolutely hated the man because he was a 49er killer.
But as a man, Brett Favre is the kind of guy that many can all relate to. From his personal tragedies to his down to earth nature, he is still a likable figure in the NFL.
When the smoked finally cleared after his first retirement at the end of the 2007 season, Favre was the holder of an astounding 11-1 record against the San Francisco 49ers.
Ouch. Major ouch.
But, "glory, glory hallejuah," the San Francisco 49ers finally beat Brett Favre again with a 24-14 victory over the New York Jets on Dec. 7, 2008, making a slight dent in the inflated record to a somewhat respectable 11-2.
All anyone can do is simply commend the man for what he has been able to do against the San Francisco 49ers.
Throughout the years, Favre and his Green Bay Packers were kind of like San Francisco's brothers in law.
Many of Favre's coaches like Mike Holmgren were once employed in 49er-land and whenever it counted, they always seemed to get the best of the San Francisco 49ers.
There were many times when Favre threw a perfect slant for a touchdown to Antonio Freeman against the 49ers' confused secondary, virtually mimicing the same attack that San Francisco made popular in the NFL when Bill Walsh introduced it.
Those were some fun times (agonizing too), and whenever Steve Young versus Brett Favre would occur, we knew a battle would ensue.
A final memory of those times brings me back to the 1999 NFC Wildcard game when a stumbling Young threw the game winning 25-yard touchdown pass in between a sandwich of Green Bay defenders to an emotional Terrell Owens, who made many mistakes earlier in the game.
The 49ers finally got the best of Favre and the Packers 30-27 that one time.
The San Francisco 49ers sure love to beat old nemeses like the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in exciting fashion.
Without a doubt, Brett Favre is a Top Five quarterback in the modern era and first ballot Hall of Famer whenever he finally decides to officially retire.
Brett Favre's always pending departure from the game of football tends to make 49er fans either cringe or rejoice and even both at the same time, but with Favre informing Minnesota brass that he intends to stay retired, it appears his playing days are finally over.
Eleven to three would have been on the line when the San Francisco 49ers travel to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 27, 2009.