National Football League

LeRoy Butler says Favre was a mix of Wolverine and Superman

Published Jul. 18, 2015 2:46 p.m. ET

foxsports

By Jesse Reed

Brett Favre’s legendary status keeps growing by the day.

As the former NFL quarterback prepares to be inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, stories have been leaking out in droves about the crazy, zany Favre and his many exploits.

Former Packers safety LeRoy Butler added his thoughts about his old captain, via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. He was reminiscing about an injury Favre suffered back in 1995—one that turned his ankle “yellow, green, orange and brown,” as Butler remembers it, and he told Favre, “Dude, you can’t play next week.”

As most of us who watched Favre limp onto the field on many occasions are aware, he had a bearish tolerance for pain. He also had an amazing sense of humor, which only further endeared his teammates to him throughout the years.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Roy Lee — that’s what he called me — there ain’t a damn thing wrong with my arm,'” Butler said. “He said, ‘There ain’t nothing wrong with the chicken wing.'”

And there wasn’t.

Favre completed over 75 percent of his passes the next week, totaling 336 yards and five touchdowns in a huge win over the Chicago Bears at home.

“I don’t think he’s human,” said Butler “Whenever it’s his time to leave this earth, I want to see the X-rays. I don’t believe it. He’s not human. I’m telling you the guy’s a mixture of Wolverine, RoboCop and Superman.”

Adamantium is extremely rare, but perhaps Favre managed to steal some away for himself.

Every week, whether he was healthy or not, the grizzled gun-slinger found a way to get the job done on Sundays. His persistence and grit led to an unbelievable streak of 297 straight starts (321 including playoffs), which will likely remain an NFL record for decades to come.

Perhaps Butler isn’t far off the mark.

Favre was truly superhuman during his playing days. There will never be another quarterback like him in the history of the game.

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