On Thursday afternoon of last week, I attended the USA women's hockey game against Finland in the preliminary round of the Winter Olympics-photographic evidence is here. Many in my group of fans were wearing Wisconsin jerseys, which attracted quite a bit of attention. One person who came down to chat with me during the second intermission was a lady with a heavy southern drawl. She asked me if we were from Wisconsin, and I said yes. She then asked, "Do y'all still hate Brett Favre?" I told her that yes, there are many in our fine state who have not forgiven Favre for his off-the-field actions, and explained some of my personal reasons for feeling that way. She seemed disappointed, and went on to tell me that she was Brett Favre's 7th-grade math teacher.
She had only good things to say about Favre, and made some interesting comments about Brett as a person. But I think the most interesting comment she made was about Irvin Favre, Brett's father and high school coach. She said that he was a hot-headed guy who had little interest or respect for the fact that the kids he was coaching needed to get an education as well. Specifically, she mentioned that one student of hers was given a failing grade because he hadn't turned in a single assignment all semester, but that Irv got into a screaming match with her because the student needed to pass the class to play football.
I don't know what, if any, reflection this shows on Brett, but I thought it was an interesting story worth repeating.
At another event, the USA men's curling match vs. Sweden on Saturday, 2/20, I met 49ers TE Vernon Davis. Davis has become fascinated with the sport of curling, and was named an honorary captain of the USA team for the Vancouver Olympic Games. We talked briefly during the match, which I attended with my friend Matt. As usual, my hat was a conversation starter, as Davis mentioned that he liked it. He also noticed Matt's American cheesehead, which can be seen here, and thought that it was pretty great. We just talked for a few minutes about how he got interested in curling, and wished each other's teams good luck.
It's just fascinating who you meet at events like the Olympic Games, and that there are literally unimaginable coincidences and connections that can happen.