By Mike Beacom
March 6, 2008

Brett Favre never backed down from a challenge. Arguably the best case of this came in a 1998 meeting with Tampa Bay when Favre was blindsided by Buccaneers DE Regan Upshaw. Unfazed by the devastating hit, Favre jumped to his feet and began to pat Upshaw on the helmet, almost to say “Nice hit. That all you got?”

Exchanges such as those with opposing defenders were common throughout Favre’s career, and served as the building blocks for side stories within the game. Everyone wanted a piece of Brett Favre; sometimes he was knocked down, but he always got right back up.

During his 16 years as Green Bay’s starting quarterback, countless crazed men chased after Favre, but only a few got the best of him — every now and then.

Here is the list of Favre’s all-time top five rivals:

1. Warren Sapp
The exchanges between Sapp and Favre are well documented, and the image of a helmet-less Sapp roaming around the corner to get to Favre is one of the defensive lineman’s most memorable clips. One of football’s most heated rivalries while Green Bay and Sapp’s Tampa Bay clubs were both fighting for NFC Central Division supremacy, the bad blood turned into mutual respect over time. The two met one more time, almost serendipitously, in December of this past year. Now that both are retired, Sapp can chase Favre into the Hall of Fame.

2. John Randle
Fans might care to remember Randle’s commercial in which he chased around a chicken donning a Favre jersey. On the field, decked out in the face paint of a gridiron madman, the defensive tackle’s fierce inside pass rush disrupted Green Bay every time it visited the Metrodome (arguably Favre’s greatest ‘inanimate adversary’). In a career that boasts 137.5 sacks, Randle got to Favre 11.5 times — more than any other defender Favre faced.

3. Chris Hovan
As a motivation tool, Hovan hung Favre’s No. 4 jersey in his locker. Prior to the 2003 season, Hovan was quoted as saying “I want him to feel me. I want to be breathing down the back of his neck. I want him to feel so anxious that maybe he'll throw an interception.” The response was classic Favre: “I’m sure he’s given a lot of thought to me. That’s fine. Get in line. There’s a lot of people who want a piece of me.” Hovan’s obsession with Favre — bizarre as it was — is what stands out in an otherwise forgettable career.

4. Brian Urlacher
This week, Urlacher called Favre the game’s all-time greatest quarterback; during the eight years the two men shared the field together Urlacher probably called him a few other things, too. In their final meeting, Favre gifted Chicago’s middle linebacker with a misguided pass that Urlacher turned into the only interception return for a touchdown of his career. Of course, as Urlacher pointed out, Favre got the best out of Urlacher’s Bears during much of this rivalry.

5. Robert Porcher
The Lions’ defensive end gave Favre fits during his 13 years in the league, including a two-sack performance near the end of his career. After a 2001 sack, for which Porcher was assessed a roughing call, Favre got up and challenged the 6-foot-3, 266-pound defender.

Mike Beacom is freelance pro and college football writer based out of Wisconsin.