GREEN BAY — For all the hard feelings there were after Brett Favre's ugly divorce from the Green Bay Packers and subsequent two-year stretch with the archrival Minnesota Vikings, the future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback got a couple of interesting text messages after he beat his former team twice during the 2009 season.
In a lengthy feature by Greg Bishop in this week's edition of Sports Illustrated , Favre says he received congratulatory text messages from Packers general manager Ted Thompson — the same man who traded him to the New York Jets during the summer of 2008, and whom Favre railed against in an interview with FOX News' Greta Van Susteren in the wake of Favre's unretirement.
The story is not yet available online, but can be read in the print edition of the iconic magazine, which hit subscribers' mailboxes Wednesday.
After both of the Vikings' victories over the Packers in 2009 — a 30-23 victory at the Metrodome on Oct. 5 and a 38-26 triumph at Lambeau Field on Nov. 1 — Favre said he received text messages from Thompson, congratulating him.
"Great job," one read. "You played outstanding," read another.
Favre told Bishop that the texts were "positive, whereas when I left, I felt like [the Packers] did this media bash to make their decision look right and mine look wrong."
Bishop also writes in the story that Favre and Thompson used to go out for beers together during the early part of Favre's career in Green Bay at the Fifty Yard Line, a bar across Ridge Rd. from Lambeau Field that has since been razed. Thompson was general manager Ron Wolf's right-hand man during much of Favre's career in Green Bay.
In fact, in a 2005 interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, Thompson revealed that he played a small role — sort of — in Wolf's decision to acquire Favre in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons: Wolf had Thompson, who had been working in finance after his playing career had ended, watch film of Favre shortly after hiring him as a scout.
"I had been here about 10 days when (Wolf) came in with three game tapes from the preseason of the Atlanta Falcons, and he said, 'I want you to look at this quarterback — his jersey number is 4, he'll probably play just in the second half — and tell me what you think,'" Thompson recalled. "I had not been involved in football for several years, so (all) I knew was his name was Brett Favre.
"So I'm flipping through ... and I go back and (Wolf) goes, 'What do you think?' And I said, 'He looks like a guy who's a little bit raw but has a tremendous arm.' And he goes, 'I'm going to give up a first-round pick for him. Do you think that's a good idea?' And I said, 'Well, do you think it's a pretty good idea?' And he goes, 'Yeah. I do.' And I said, 'Well, then I do, too.'
"As long as I was here, you could always look over to Ron and say, 'What do you think?' He was a nice guy to have as a security blanket. Now, (I) become kind of that security blanket. I think time has helped me a lot. I think I'm more prepared now than I've ever been."
Favre is set to have his No. 4 retired on July 18, during his induction into the Packers Hall of Fame. His name and number will be unveiled on the Lambeau Field façade at halftime of the team's Thanksgiving game against the Chicago Bears.
Jason Wilde wrote: