All-time uncomfortable clip in which Mark Gastineau confronts Brett Favre about the controversial dive he took 22 years ago to give Michael Strahan the sack record

All-time uncomfortable clip in which Mark Gastineau confronts Brett Favre about the controversial dive he took 22 years ago to give Michael Strahan the sack record

Yes, this is about the most uncomfortable clip you’ll find. Mark Gastineau, one of the greatest pass rushers of his time, took it upon himself to surprise Brett Favre at an autograph session of sorts as part of an ESPN 30 for 30 on the New York Jets’ legendary sack exchange. It’s uncomfortable to crawl out of your own skin.

About a second or two into the clip, I thought it was going to be a friendly encounter. Two football greats just chop it up and tell old stories about the gridiron. Boy, was I wrong? The next 20 seconds or so were a car crash. It was like Borat ambushing Pam Anderson for a marriage proposal, except it wasn’t staged and Gastineau wanted to hurt Favre.

Obviously, the matchup with Favre is fueled by Michael Strahan’s 2001-2002 season, when he broke Gastineau’s all-time sack record. The Packers gunslinger made a real leap in the final minutes of the regular season to give his buddy the record.

You have to imagine that Favre was pretty relieved. This is what someone called him out on and now his other scandals. I guess I thought it was a no-brainer considering what it could have been about.

Anyway, the story goes that Favre made a rush in the scrum and then hurled a naked bootlegger straight into the arms of Strahan. The week before the game, Favre joked that he would “negotiate a deal” with Strahan. Turns out he had no qualms about making his buddy a record breaker. The Packers’ O-line was upset afterward, as they had worked hard in that game to prevent the record from being broken. They took on the challenge of denying him the chance, only to make Favre give it away. It’s definitely one of the strangest record-breaking moments in sports history.

But it’s even stranger to capture this moment for 22 years and take Favre to task about it. It’s definitely more sad than weird. Gastineau has been battling Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s for years, with football likely being the main cause. He’s practically on Pluto as he goes about his daily life, with ESPN following him with a camera. Who gave the green light to this idea? This is the way you want to design your content for 30 for 30? While he obviously looks terrible in the clip, at the same time, do you think he even cares? It looks like he’s sitting at home thinking about how he can get back at Brett. That sack record is the only thing he holds on to, even though TJ Watt is tied with Strahan for the lead with 22.5 sacks. What a bizarre moment. If Favre were to one day turn up murdered, I would put Gastineau at the top of the suspect list, alongside all the poor people caught up in his social scandal, of course.

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