Mark Gastineau Wild Confrontation with Brett Favre over Sack Record
Former New York Jets defensive lineman Mark Gastineau won’t be sending former Packers and Jets quarterback Brett Favre any Christmas cards this year.
The two NFL legends collided at an autograph signing sometime last year, in an awkward moment that was recorded and is now part of a documentary highlighting Gastineau’s time as one of the key members of the New York Sack Exchange.
Gastineau is not pleased with Favre, whom he feels laid down before Michael Strahan back in 2001, giving the Giants Hall of Famer the single-season sack record.
Get ready to squirm in your seat if you haven’t seen it.
There is so much ice in this video even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s infamous Mr. Freeze would take notice. Ouch.
Titled “The New York Sack Exchange” the documentary is part of ESPN’s award-winning 30-for-30 series which spotlight particular players and moments in sports history. One of their more famous docs featured the 1986 New York Mets World Series run called “Once Upon a Time in Queens.” If you haven’t seen that, you should.
How did we get here?
Gastineau was one of the most feared linemen of his time in the 1980s. He along with Hall of Famer Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, and the late Abdul Salaam, formed the Jets quartet of pass rushers known as the Sack Exchange.
In fact thanks to the exploits of the Sack Exchange as well as New York Giants Hall of Famer, Lawrence Taylor, the sack became a tracked statistic.
Here is where our story gets interesting. Back in 1984, Gastineau set the NFL sack record with 22. Years later in 2001, Giants defensive end Michael Strahan broke that record when he got a sack of – you guessed it, Brett Favre in the final game of the season.
The play is most infamous because it appeared that Favre gave up on the play, and slid underneath Strahan for the sack. Ironically, Gastineau was there that day and did embrace Strahan afterwards.
Who knew that the Jets legend held such a grudge for so long?
Favre approaches Gastineau and extends his hand for a shake. Once it becomes apparent that Gastineau is not going to play nice, Favre’s tone of voice changes, and the moment gets incredibly awkward.
So how do you feel about it?
Oh, and if you are looking for more Jets-related content, have no fear Netflix is about to premiere a documentary on Favre’s former Packers teammate, Aaron Rodgers. That trailer looks like a doozy.
