Brett Favre, I Owe You an Apology

Back in the spring, I expressed an opinion that Brett Favre would do us all a favor by staying retired. 

My reasoning was that Favre, who was approaching his 40th birthday, was well beyond his prime, something that appeared quite evident during his one-year stint with the New York Jets. My fear was that by continuing to play, Favre would become another once-stellar athlete, such as Joe Namath or Pete Rose, who stayed on the stage long after he should have gotten off.

Brother was I off.

So far this season, Favre has demonstrated that not only have his skills not disappeared, they haven't diminished all that much in nearly two decades worth of play. This past weekend, the ancient warrior riddled the Dallas defense for four touchdowns in a 34-3 thrashing of "America's Team"; a performance that put the Minnesota Vikings one win away from the Super Bowl.

(As an aside, I'm wondering what Green Bay Packer fans were feeling Sunday? Sure, Favre and the Vikes were ripping the Cowboys, a organization most Green Bay fans despise...but in succeeding, the old signal caller was again "sticking it" to the organization he felt did him wrong.)

Favre may very well come up with a multiple-interception performance Sunday in New Orleans. But that wouldn't be any different than in previous years with the Packers, where it was often feast or famine when Favre unloaded the pigskin downfield. What is certain is that he's still playing the game with the same gunslinger attitude he brought the NFL in the early 1990s, and his arm strength is still good enough to stretch the field.

Personally, I'm rooting for him to capture the George Halas Trophy. Yes, it would be great for the Saints to finally make the Big Game. However, a Vikings victory offers two intriguing match ups.

First, there's the potential for Favre and the Colts' Peyton Manning to face each other Feb. 7 in Miami, a contest between two Hall of Fame shoo-ins. It would the freestyler versus the thinker, a contest between the man who was once the league's best quarterback and the man who currently holds that title.

A Vikings-Jets meeting reunites Favre with some of his old teammates, many of whom weren't too thrilled with him during the old man's one-season stay with the green and white. Also, the media would have a field day writing two weeks' worth of articles about Favre and Jets' rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, and how Super Bowl XXXXIV would be a battle between the NFL's past and present and its future. 

Whatever happens this Sunday, Favre has shown there's still plenty of high-octane fuel left in the tank, and that those who doubted his ability to tap it were wrong.

Including me.