Everyone has a Brett Favre memory.

Even if you weren’t a fan of the Green Bay Packers, some game, play or moment from Favre’s highlight-laden career popped into your read as you read the previous sentence. Green Bay fans will remember the unbridled joy he displayed – like when he hit Donald Driver with a snowball in a 42-20 playoff victory over the Seattle Seahawks – throughout his 16-year career as a Packer. Longtime Detroit Lions fans likely thought of No. 4 launching a bomb to the other side of the field to Sterling Sharpe for the 40-yard game-winning touchdown, giving the Packers a 28-24 in the NFC Wild Card game on Jan. 8 1994. Fans who sport purple and white would remember the 2009 season – one of Favre’s finest, statistically (4,202 yards passing, 33 touchdowns, seven interceptions) – when Favre led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship. And then if you are a fan of the Chicago Bears, Favre was Public Enemy No. 1 for nearly two decades, racking up an impressive 23-13 record against the Bears.

Favre came into the league when I was born, so before he retired, he was an NFL quarterback for each year of my life. I can’t narrow my favorite down to one. At least 10 came to my mind. But I will narrow it down to one memory for each part of my life.

– Childhood: December 22, 2003 at Oakland –

I always knew Favre would play after his Dad died. While all the pregame shows speculated before the Monday night showdown with the Raiders, I shrugged it off and figured he’d play. That probably went with the idea that all childhood heroes are impervious to any adversity.

My sister’s boyfriend and I were playing video games (Driver 2 on Playstation) downstairs in my parent’s house between plays and commercials while the game was on. I remember Favre dropping his first touchdown pass in the corner to Wesley Walls for a 22-yard score and thinking, “Hey, maybe he won’t do so bad tonight. That would be impressive.”

Then the bombs started dropping. Favre began launching deep, high-arching passes down the field; I didn’t even think he was aiming, but somehow, the passes missed the flailing arms of Oakland defenders and landed into the chests of Green Bay receivers. Pretty soon we stopped playing video games altogether to witness Favre’s magic, and I had to run upstairs to see if my parents could believe what was going on.

Favre threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. He finished with 399 yards after being pulled early in a 41-7 win.

I can still remember Al Michaels saying, “If you brought this script to Hollywood, they would throw it out because no one would believe it.”

– Teenage years: 2008-09 –

Some Packer fans might have been on the fence when Favre went to the Vikings. But not me. I bought a purple No. 4 Vikings jersey when they went on sale. The next year I would wear that jersey into Lambeau Field when the Vikings visited and boisterously cheered for Favre and Minnesota. Favre lost his last game at Lambeau, but the year before was one of my favorite as a sports fan.

Both the Packers and Favre were to blame for the split, but at the time, you had to pick. You couldn’t be a Favre fan and a Packers fan when he was in Minnesota. I selected Favre; it wasn’t a hard decision since he was my favorite player for my entire life.

But when you chose one side you alienated the other. Every day throughout the season I saw Favre-bashing posts on Facebook, and all the TV analysts questioned if Favre had anything left. Then Favre beat the Packers twice and led the Vikings to the NFC Championship. I had bragging rights over friends and watched analysts sing the praises of Favre’s return. That was fun.

– Now –

I almost went with Favre’s jersey retirement ceremony against the Bears at Lambeau on Nov. 26. It was the coldest I have ever been. I wore just a jersey and jeans and it was raining hard while the wind blew in our face. The only time I forgot I was cold was during Favre’s speech and seeing him embrace with Bart Starr and eventually Aaron Rodgers. But that’s too easy of a moment to select, so I went in another direction.

After traveling to Chicago this past October and watching the Cubs clinch a spot in the National League Championship Series with a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, the city celebrated long into the night. I met a lot of neat people at each local hotspot.

Once the celebrating was done, I was hungry so I went to McDonald’s. I was eating my food by myself and I noticed this guy a couple tables over – my age or a couple years younger – all decked out in Cubs attire, listening to music and just chilling. We began talking about the Cubs clinching and other sports-related topics. We got around to talking about his passion for the Bears, so I had to ask, “What do you think of Brett Favre?”

“I always have hated the Packers, but you know what, I loved watching Brett Favre,” he said. “That dude could play.”