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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- His shoulders slumped under a Packers
parka, Brett Favre shuffled off the field while Giants players
celebrated an NFC championship around him. Favre's last pass had
been intercepted, setting up the winning field goal, sending the
Giants to the Super Bowl and the Packers home. That's no way for Favre to go out. It's not a question of whether Favre still has the goods: the
style, the charisma, the howitzer arm. He not only remains a great
leader and showman -- a football icon, if you will, throughout not
only Wisconsin, but the entire league -- but a pretty fine
quarterback. Although Sunday's loss, robbing the 38-year-old Favre of a
return to the Super Bowl after a decade's absence, was one of his
more forgettable performances, he's coming off a sensational
season. A week before the NFC title game, he was superb in beating
Seattle in the snow. Yes, the frigid temperatures at Lambeau Field on Sunday seemed
to bother him more than at most other times in his nonpareil
17-year career. He made some careless throws and some unwise
decisions. But that's always what you get with this riverboat gambler of a
quarterback. And it's just what the Packers, not to mention the
rest of pro football, needs. For years, the only three-time league MVP was the measuring
stick at the most visible position in the game. Unlike some of the
other "star" QBs, Favre never has been dull, rarely has spouted
the company line, and always made it obvious he loved playing this
game. To the kid from Kiln, Miss., it's not a business, not a job,
but a game. If only every athlete kept that outlook throughout such a long
tenure. "Who knows? But we'd definitely like to see him back," said
receiver Greg Jennings, who has become a favorite Favre target in
the two seasons they've been together. "I'd definitely like to see
him in that locker over there again next year. "Playing 17 years, it's a lot of wear and tear on your body.
Whatever decisions he makes, we'll support it. I can only speak for
myself: I'll be back." That drew laughs from everyone gathered around Jennings, but the
fact Jennings and much of the youngest team in the league will
return intact could influence Favre's decision. This is a team on
the rise, just as the quarterback predicted before the 2006
training camp. Wouldn't he like to be around to lead its further development?
Remember, one more step and the Packers are playing for the
championship. Favre was dropping no hints last week or after Sunday's loss. He
promised to make a quicker decision than he did the last two years,
when his uncertain status created a soap opera he and the Packers
unquestionably need to avoid this time. When he did get reflective last Friday, he also gave no
indication how he's leaning. "I think obviously losing games, playing in games, being around
a long time, you gain experience through all these games," Favre
said. "But I try to block out the bad ones. "But I also feel like I've learned a lot from them, and whether
or not it helps you in the next game remains to be seen. But I can
say with each season there's things that I have learned from the
previous season or previous games where -- and it may be one play --
where it has helped me see things a little bit clearer." Favre made it clear after falling to the Giants that his future
did not hinge on any one game. Nor would he allow the emotions of
the moment to cloud his mind. "Had we won this game and gone to the Super Bowl, and whatever
happens in that game," he said, "when it was over, I was going to
go home and think about were I wanted to go from there. I don't
think that's going to really change because we didn't make it. It's
been a great year. "I'm very disappointed. I'm not going to rush to any quick
decisions. ... I'm not going to let this game sway my decision one
way or the other." There have been some difficult times in Favre's family recently,
and his older daughter, 18-year-old Brittany, attends school back
in Mississippi. Favre admits he's a farm boy, and his retirement
more likely will include days riding around on a tractor instead of
sitting behind a microphone. But if the competitive fire still burns within -- and the aches
within are easy enough to handle -- Favre belongs in green and gold
in 2008.
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