At long last, the Brett Favre retirement ceremony at Lambeau Field is in sight.
The Packersannounced Monday a plan to unveil Favre's retired number on Thanksgiving night against the Bears. The game and halftime ceremony will be nationally televised on NBC.
Additionally, longtime GM Ron Wolf will be honored on Nov. 15 against the Lions. He will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.
"The Packers are fortunate to have had many great players and general managers in our storied history. You would be hard pressed, though, to name any that have had a bigger impact on the organization than Brett Favre and Ron Wolf," said team president/CEO Mark Murphy. "It is fitting that they will be honored in the same season, since they teamed together to return winning football to the Packers in the '90s."
The news caps a seemingly endless walk-up to the inevitable celebration. Seriously, therehas beena significantbuild up.
The Packers announced last August that the team planned to induct Favre into the team's Hall of Fame this summer, with an official number retirement ceremony to take place at some point during the 2015 regular season. The Hall of Fame induction and formal number retirement will take place on July 18.
"It will be an incredible honor to be in Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving night with Packers fans and have my name and number placed among the greatest players in Packers history," Favre said. "With the great history and tradition of the Packers-Bears rivalry, and remembering the great matchups we had during my career, it seems only fitting to have Chicago as the opponent."
Favre won a Super Bowl and set every relevant Packers passing record during his storied 16-season run in Green Bay. His time with the Packers ended in acrimony, however, after Favre flip-flopped on retirement and forced a trade to the Jets in 2008. He then played two seasons with the Vikings before ending his career.
Favre and the Packers once had concerns about the type of reception Favre would receive from the Lambeau faithful. Those fears have faded, and rightfully so. The place is going to go nuts for the Ol' Gunslinger and millions are going to watch it happen.
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