GREEN BAY, Wis. -- He's not quite down to the speechwriting equivalent of the two-minute warning, but Brett Favre knows the clock is ticking toward his Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement. So he'd better figure out what he's going to say.
The iconic Green Bay Packers quarterback has 40 days until the Aug. 6 induction ceremony, and he confessed over the weekend that he hasn't started on his remarks. He also hasn't publicly divulged who'll present him for enshrinement.
"At some point, I have to start preparing a speech -- which I am not good at doing," Favre admitted after an appearance at the American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge golf course in Madison. "It's closing fast. As we get older, we find that time flies. That's the case here. It seems like yesterday I was just preparing for [returning to] Green Bay this past summer. It'll be here quick."
Favre was back in Wisconsin to take part in a celebrity foursome with former Packers right tackle Mark Tauscher, PGA golfer and tournament founder Steve Stricker, and two-time U.S. Open champion and ESPN golf analyst Andy North. The foursome played a nine-hole scramble Saturday before Kirk Triplett won the Champions Tour event on Sunday.
The foursome raised money for the American Family Children's Hospital at the University of Wisconsin, and Favre's inclusion marked his second charity-related visit to his adopted home state in less than a month. Favre took part in the Trek 100 bike race in Waterloo, Wisconsin, to benefit Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer on June 11.
For a player who was reviled by many Packers fans after his acrimonious split from the team in August 2008 and two-year stint with the rival Minnesota Vikings, Favre has been feeling the love in Wisconsin since his return to Lambeau Field last July for his induction into the Packers Hall of Fame. That day, 67,000 fans packed the Lambeau Field bowl to give him a lengthy standing ovation.
He then delivered a long speech at the induction ceremony, thanking everyone from former general manager Ron Wolf, who traded for him in February 1992, to members of the equipment room staff. Favre was celebrated again during halftime of the Packers' Nov. 26 game against Chicago at Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving, when he shared the stage with Bart Starr, another Pro Football Hall of Famer and Packers legend.
"[The love] started coming back this past summer. It was a great welcome back," Favre said when asked about the "MVP" and "Go Pack go" chants he heard on the course Saturday. "Again, I am not surprised. The fans here, it's a special place. I tell people all the time, 'L.A. tries to field a team over and over again. They got way more people in L.A. than we have in the state of Wisconsin, I'm sure, but yet there's a 45-, 50-year waiting list for season tickets. It's because this place is special and unique and they support their home folks. It meant a lot this past summer, and it means a lot now."
Favre hinted that he may return to Wisconsin again after his Hall of Fame induction to attend the Lambeau Field College Classic between Wisconsin and LSU on Sept. 3.
"I am looking forward to that Wisconsin-LSU game. I'd like to [come]," Favre said. "It all depends, first of all, on my daughter's volleyball schedule. [Breleigh] will be starting her senior year and I believe they start play around Aug. 14, and I'm not sure of the schedule. But I'd love to. Who wouldn't want to watch that game?"
As for his golf game, Favre, who has started doing triathlons with his wife, Deanna, said he hadn't played much before Saturday, estimating he'd played three nine-hole rounds in the last eight years. North and Tauscher defeated Favre and Stricker, although Favre said he'd like to return next year for a rematch.
"It was getting competitive -- in a fun way, whatever that means," Favre said. "We'd like to come back. It was a lot of fun. Hopefully next year we can play 18 holes."