Four years ago, the Packers welcomed Brett Favre back to Lambeau Field

Brett Favre’s name still occasionally surfaces in Green Bay Packers news, including this past June as he expressed concern over his successor Aaron Rodgers’ relationship with new Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. But more or less, Rodgers’ drama has taken center stage while Favre’shas faded away in recent years. Still, there was a time when Favre’s name was a topic of heated discussion.

Some of that controversy began to come to an end four years ago today as Favre was welcomed back to a sellout crowd at Lambeau Field. On July 18, 2015, the Packers officially retired Favre’s #4 jersey number while accepting him into the team’s Hall of Fame. There were 67,000 people on hand to give Favre a standing ovation before he took the podium to express his appreciation for the fans and his memories in a green and gold uniform. A teary-eyed Favre was touched by the support of Packer nation despite the strained relationship between him and the fans of the previous seven and a half years.

The welcome back event was Green Bay’s first step in repairing their damage with perhaps the most storied player in Packers history. The Packers would officially retire Favre’s number at halftime in a November game that year before celebrating his achievements in a Ring of Honor ceremony at halftime of a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys in October 2016. But the most special moment commemorating Favre’s time in Green Bay and restoring the once-lost relationship was the first event, one that was summed up in Favre’s words.

“I have been away from Green Bay for quite a while. A lot of the people I’m close to have forgotten the body of work that’s taken place over the years simply because of what’s happened in the departure. That is all forgotten. Today has been such a special day. I’m so thankful.”

As another season kicks off with the start of training camp in a week, today’s look back in time is a tribute to a player that helped the Packers get back to being a championship-chasing franchise.

But the question may always linger in Favre lore - will he return next year?