Brett Favre

Favre, however, was busy off the field. His second daughter, Breleigh, had been born in July of 1999, after in-vitro fertilization and a very difficult pregnancy for Deanna. He told Attner, "I want to be there, I want to be the first person she sees when she wakes up and the last person she sees when she goes to sleep. I think it happens to a lot of men. No matter how tough you are or how big you are, when you have a little girl it tames you." He said that he regretted not being a better father when Brittany was young. "I realize that my family is the most important thing."

Perhaps because of this change in focus, or because he suffered from tendinitis of his right elbow, in the 2000 season, Favre had only 20 touchdown passes and had 16 interceptions. As Devid Elfin pointed out in the Washington Times, "He didn't get an MVP vote, let alone win the award."

In 2001, Favre returned to his former level of play with his best season since 1997. In the regular season, he threw 32 touchdowns, more than in any season since he won the 1997 MVP award; and had only 15 interceptions, his fewest since 1997. He was rated the fourth-best passer in the NFL with a rating of 94.1.

In 2002, Favre continued to play well, but began considering retirement. "I miss home [in Hattiesburg, Mississippi]," he told Peter King in Sports Illustrated. However, if he continued playing, King noted, he could break every quarterback record on the books. Favre told King, "Shoot, if I thought like that, I'd be playing for the wrong reason."