It was a funny segment. Mike and Mike — Greenberg and Golic — were calling the National Spelling Bee for ABC; so why not do a Sports Center Bee on ESPN with competition between the two Mikes?
They would have to spell the names of sports figures, which in the end explained why they do radio and TV.
Anchor Brian Kenny was the moderator. Golic was first up. Spell Brett Favre’s last name was the charge from Kenny, who pronounced Favre as all sportscasters do, Farve, the “r” before the “v.” That version rhymes with carve.
“Is there any other pronunciation?” Golic asked.
“No,” Kenny answered.
Whoa there, Brian. That’s a foul.
Yes, there is another pronunciation. The right one. Favre, the “v” before the “r.” This version rhymes with suave.
How do I know? I have been saying my name from the time I could first talk until now, and I have passed my 72nd birthday.
But Golic ignored the Kenny error and got it right. After all, it is only five letters and he did graduate from Notre Dame.
And I really can’t blame Kenny. People were struggling with Favre long before Brett turned it into a household name, including many in the family. As a kid you learned to answer to almost any way it was pronounced. I will always remember our son, Jeff, calling with glee the day Brett was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. “Dad,” he exclaimed, “at long last, everyone will know how to pronounce our name.” Little did we know. And surely you remember that scene in “There’s Something About Mary” when Brett appeared and our last name became the joke.
On the flip side, it really does wonderful things for making reservations when I am in Wisconsin, even if they do butcher my name. It’s good to be kin to their football god.
I knew Brett’s grandfather, and his mom attended high school with my younger sister. But I left home long before he was born, and I’ve never met him. Nevertheless, I have been a great admirer of his talent and the fact that he always answers the opening whistle. He inspires others, as a great leader should. And he has never forgotten where he came from or the friends he grew up with.
I just wish he would tell everyone it’s the “v” before the “r.”
Perhaps we all should do as some, not all, of our Native American cousins in Oklahoma did. They officially changed the spelling to Farve. Why fight it?
Old habits are hard to break. And I have grown accustomed to the right way to say Favre. The “v” before the “r.”
Oh, by the way, Golic won the Sports Center Spelling Bee. Well, he didn’t lose it.
