The Ironman shows he's a softy

Brett Favre was honored yesterday by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America as one of eight winners of this year's Chris Greicius Celebrity Awards, "honoring top celebrities and organizations who embrace the Foundation's mission and granted remarkable wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions." Not surprisingly, many of these kids want to meet one of their sports heroes. And, really not surprisingly, for many kids in Wisconsin and elsewhere that sports hero is Brett Favre. Nine-year-old Anna Walentowski, a "wish kid" Favre met three years ago, was on hand to share the stage with Brett. Anna was mentioned in both the Sports Illustrated article naming Brett as the 2007 Sportsman of the Year, as well as in Deanna Favre's book, Don't Bet Against Me.

When asked to say a few words after receiving the award, Brett got choked up several times. But rather than have me tell you about it, why not watch the video for yourself here. You'll have to sit through a brief commercial first, but then settle in for the next 12 minutes or so. If you don't have that much time, Brett's on at about the 5 minute mark.

Yes, Brett is one of the greatest QBs to ever play the game. But he's also one of the best men to play the game...period. And as much as we like that QB part of things, the other part is the one that is truly most important.