Brett Favre is truly a hero in more than one sense. When i say hero, I don't necessarily mean some one who is selfless, shameless, or perfect in every way. I am not suggesting the status of epic hero for Brett Favre. Rather number 4 to me has become more than any thing a tragic hero over the years.
The difference between epic and tragic is very definable. your epic heroes are Odysseus of the Odyssey or John Elway of the Denver Broncos, men whose journeys ended in a satisfactory way, fitting or proper rewards for the rigors of their quests. For Odysseus it was a long awaited return home from the Trojan war after 20 long years. For Elway the reward was 2 straight Super Bowl victories in the final 2 years of his 16 year NFL career. While Favre has won a Super Bowl, it was in the middle of his career. He just has too many tragic traits to be an epic hero.

A classic tragic hero is Macbeth who loses his life in his pursuit of power. Brett clearly wants two thing in order to conclude his trek. He desires admiration and respect from the common people.

His pursuance of this has shaped him into a tragic hero. It began with his addiction to the pain killer Vicodin. Favre almost ruined his life while easing the pain that would have forced him not to play. He has also thrown more interceptions than anyone in the game and always finds a way to squeeze one in when it is least helpful. Brett had costly turnovers caused by his over aggressive approach to achieving success in the playoffs and ultimately reaching and winning the Super Bowl again. In the Wild Card round in 2003 vs. the Falcons, the divisional round vs. the Rams in 2002 and Eagles in 2004. and NFC Championship game vs. the giants in 2007 and Saints in 2009 he has turned the ball over late to give the opposing team the means to win. That aggressiveness has been his main downfall.

More recently however I have come to view his addiction to Vicodin and his most recent inappropriate text scandal as a cementing of his title of tragic hero. He is so desperate to win that he disregarded his personal health and abused a drug to play through pain. Likewise I see his sending of pictures and attempted courtship of Jenn Sterger as evidence of the deep need of his to be wanted.

All of this evidence leaves no doubt in my mind that Brett Favre is a true tragic hero.