Brett Favre

However, during the 1995 season he had become addicted to the painkiller Vicodin, a narcotic. Tynes told Ken Fuson in Esquire that in late 1995 she was cleaning out the closet and "found a bunch of little packs kind of rolled up in there. A week later, they'd be gone. I'd think, Jeez, that's a lot of pain pills." She asked Favre about it, and "he got real defensive." The drug let Favre keep playing through numerous injuries, but it changed his personality, making him anxious, angry, and unable to sleep. Tynes started throwing out the drugs when she found them, but Favre always had more, and she eventually threatened to leave him if he didn't stop. "Every-body thinks Brett's so tough," she revealed to Fuson, "but they haven't met me yet."

In February of 1996, Favre suffered a seizure, brought on by the drugs. His seven-year-old daughter Brittany, seeing this, asked, "Is my daddy going to die?" Three months later Favre admitted he had a problem and entered an inpatient rehabilitation clinic for 45 days. As part of his treatment plan, NFL doctors told him he couldn't drink alcohol for two years after he was released. On July 14, 16 days after he left the rehab clinic, he married Tynes in Green Bay.

In the 1996 season, the Packers went 13-3 and, true to Favre's 1995 prophecy, won the 1997 Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. In 1997, they again went 13-3 and made it to the 1998 Super Bowl, but lost to the Denver Broncos, 31-24. In January of 1999, the Packers, having had another excellent season, tried for another Super Bowl appearance, but lost to the San Francisco 49ers in a wildcard game in the playoffs.

After the Super Bowl years, Favre seemed to slow down. Paul Attner wrote in the Sporting News, "The more he altered his personal habits by shedding an addiction to painkillers, swearing off beer, dropping out of the fast lane, marrying his longtime girlfriend, fathering a second child, the less impressive he has been as a quarterback." In 1999, Green Bay had only an 8-8 record, which led the team to fire its new coach, Ray Rhodes. That year, Favre had 22 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, showing a decline in his performance. Part of this was due to a thumb injury that prevented him from throwing well. "And," Attner wrote, "the losses piled up until the Packers became average, and their quarterback didn't play well enough to make the Pro Bowl, one of the most astonishing developments of the 1999 season."