As I was up until 2 am last night listening/watching the guys on NFL Network talk about Brett Favre’s consecutive game streak and the possibility of it coming to an end tonight.
I began to wonder, where does Favre’s consecutive game streak rank in all of professional sports?
Some people have said that Favre’s consecutive game streak is greatest record ever in pro sports. I somewhat agree with that however not all sports are equal and trying to compare Favre’s streak to other records may be a little hard to do.
Currently Favre has made an NFL record 297 consecutive starts (321 including playoffs) that began back on September 27, 1992 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Besides Favre, there is only one other active streak of 100 or more games among quarterbacks, that of Peyton Manning (205).
The consecutive starts streak is widely considered one of the most notable streaks in sports, so much so that the Pro Football Hall of Fame has as an exhibit displaying the jersey Favre wore during his record breaking 117th consecutive start as a quarterback, and a section of their website devoted to what the Hall of Fame calls an “Iron Man”.
Favre’s record is often compared to Cal Ripken’s consecutive game record but does it rank higher than Cal’s?
Does it rank higher than Roger Maris’s 61 homerun season, Barry Bonds (albeit done on P.E.Ds) single season homerun record of 73, Hack Wilson’s 191 RBI’s, Barry’s all-time home run record of 762?
How about Hank Aaron’s legit record homerun record of 755, Wayne Gretzky’s 92 goals (most goals ever scored in one season) or Jack Nicklaus’s 18 PGA Tour wins in Majors?
If you were to compare Favre’s record to other great football records, Jerry Rice holds numerous records that are pretty impressive and it would be hard to say that they should take a backseat to Favre’s streak record.
Don Hutson’s record of leading the league in scoring 5 years straight and in touchdowns for 8 years straight is another great record.
Personally I can’t put Favre’s consecutive games played record above all others. I would say top 5 or 10 easily, however as great as Favre’s record is, in my honest opinion there are certain individual records in other sports that seem to be a little more prestigious.
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Your kidding right. I guess things have to be conssecutive for them to be real records? It just makes him lucky, and proves that the rule changes to protect QB's will give us lame old men as long as they can stand up, and take three streps back…
The Old "Iron" man is Gordie Howe, Mr. Hockey played with son's in Detroit, and he was competive to the end…And if you don't think hockey is more physical than Football, then put on some pads and head to a local rink.
Ironman is Nonsense.. He only plays 16 games a year and QBs generally don't get knocked around alot in those; They don't hit him in practice; Farve never would NOT play because of his so called streak which hurts the team's chances of winning – thus he puts himself above the team… hearing his name pleases only him, the rest of us are sick of hearing you guys blubber over him…
Brett Favre's streak of 297, (Actually 321) is one of the most unbelievable record ever. If Favre wasn't such a run out of the pocket quarterback that never got hit this would be different but Favre took hit after hit after hit and kept coming back week after week. I'm sure Peyton Manning will come close to Favre's record number but in all seriousness it won't even come close in comparison because Manning just doesn't play the game like Favre does. Favre has been sacked 1.74 times per game over his career where a guy like Manning goes down 1.1 times per game. Doesn't sound like much? That's 63% more sacks over a career. Manning rushes the ball an average of 2 times per game where Favre rushes the ball 3.1 times per game. Again, 65% more rushes. And lastly, Favre has won just as many Superbowls as Peyton Manning. BTW, I'm a Manning fan.
I played Div I A football and three high school sports…even a couple of semi-pro baseball games and fast pitch softball against world class teams & have watched sports for nearly 60 years. There is so much to like about the way Farve plays the game, but his mental and physical toughness is incomparable at his position. He epitomizes the word "tough." This record has to be right at the top in pro sports…he and Ripken, neck and neck in my book.