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| gonglue8.com |
Thanksgiving night is going to be a special time for all Green Bay Packer fans, as Brett Favre's number will be retired during the Packers/Bears game and Bart Starr scheduled to attend. Article thanks to jsonline and Martin Hendricks. Links provided:
Bart Starr Jr. is keenly aware of the significance of his father's return to Lambeau Field on Thursday as fellow iconic Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre's No. 4 jersey is retired in a halftime ceremony of the Packers-Bears game.
Barring an unforeseen change in his health, Bart Starr Sr. will fly to Green Bay on Wednesday. Exact details of the ceremony and Starr's role are unknown.
"Dad is determined to make it happen," Bart Jr. said Friday afternoon of his 81-year-old father. "At the beginning of the year, I didn't think he had much of a chance to walk out on Lambeau Field for one last time.
"But here we are, and it's going to happen. Nothing is going to stop us now."
Bart Starr Sr., a Hall of Fame quarterback, played for the Packers from 1956-'71.
Starr suffered two strokes, a heart attack and multiple seizures in Sept. 2014. A big part of his recovery has been the focus on his return to Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving night.
"It's been the goal; we talk about it every day, and that's what athletes respond to," Bart Jr. said. "He's always lived his life that way."
The Starr family has been inspired by the overwhelming support from Packers fans.
"Letters, cards, emails, texts, phone calls, you name it," Bart Jr. said. "The outpouring has really been inspirational."
Bart Starr Sr. completed his second stem-cell treatment two weeks ago in Mexico, but the family has not discussed the impact of the experimental clinical trial. He underwent his first stem-cell treatment in June and has continued extensive therapy to regain strength, motor skills, speech and memory for the past 14 months.
The elder Starr suffered a significant setback in late August, when he was hospitalized for four days with a viral bronchial infection.
On Starr's trip for his follow-up stem-cell treatment, he had dinner in California with former NFL coach and Packers assistant Steve Mariucci and his wife.
"It was my 60th and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday than with Bart and Cherry Starr," said Mariucci, an NFL Network analyst.
Former Chicago tight end and head coach Mike Ditka offered his perspective.
"To have three Hall of Fame quarterbacks of that caliber play for one team is incredible," Ditka said. "I hope Packer fans know how fortunate they are. Bart Starr. Brett Favre. Aaron Rodgers. Those are three MVP and Super Bowl players, but also great people who represent the game with class. They are the real deal.
"Lambeau Field will be something else on Thanksgiving night."
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