Green Bay - - Brett Favre, the greatest athlete to wear a number 4 jersey in professional sports since Lou Gerhig, will have his number retired at during the season opener Monday night, September 8th, when the Packers host the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field  on Monday Night Football.

Gerhig was the original ironman of baseball. Favre the ironman of football.  

 Gerhig said he was the "luckiest man on the face of the earth" as he walked away from baseball suffering from a disease that would later be named after him. Now called ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). 

When Favre referred to himself as a lucky man, he meant it. Despite his hard work ethnic and unusual "genetics or something" as GM Ted Thompson calls it, Favre is a lucky man to somehow walk away upright from 275 consecutive football games over 16 amazing NFL seasons.

 “The season-opening game is always an exciting event, and now we’re very pleased to add the retirement of Brett’s No. 4 to that evening,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy in statement. “It will make for an electric atmosphere at Lambeau Field, as well as a great opportunity for our fans around the country to share in it while watching the game on the national broadcast.
 
“Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and I looked at the entire schedule and felt the first game would be an ideal time to have the event," said Murphy. " I spoke with Brett, as did Ted and Mike, about which game to choose. Ultimately, through our communications, we decided the first game would work great.”
 
Planning for the ceremony is underway with further details to be announced at a later date.
 
Favre’s No. 4 will become the sixth number retired by the storied franchise. Other retired Packers numbers include the No. 14 of wide receiver Don Hutson (1951), No. 3 of fullback Tony Canadeo (1952), No. 15 of quarterback Bart Starr (1973), No. 66 of linebacker Ray Nitschke (1983) and No. 92 of defensive end Reggie White (2005). All five bearers of the previously retired numbers are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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- Mike Clemens