Brett Favre's Will He or Won't He Game: Another Long Winter of Drama Awaits

Brett Favre rolled to his right, flushed out under the same constant pressure he had faced all day. He scanned the field as he continued to sprint, now three yards behind the line of scrimmage, now two. He uncorked a twisting, cross-body laser to his left, over the middle of the field.

Tracy Porter watched Favre's eyes the whole way. He saw the gleam, the glint in the old gunslinger that meant he was going to force one. He could feel Favre look right through him.

When the time came, Porter had fairly little to do. The New Orleans Saints cornerback simply took two steps forward, stretched out his hands, accepted the ball and began searching for the fastest route back up the field.

When the dust settled, the Minnesota Vikings' last-ditch effort to win the NFC Championship was thwarted, and the Saints had seven seconds to try to do so themselves.

New Orleans came up short in that endeavor, but without giving Favre any further chances, they won in overtime on a series of close calls and a 40-yard field goal by second-year kicker Garrett Hartley.

It is the first Super Bowl in Saints history, which will be one of the great story lines going into Super Bowl XLIV two weeks hence in Miami.

For Minnesota, however, the magical mystery tour ends here, and another (less magical but more mysterious) begins. For the third straight off-season, we have six long months of drama ahead of us surrounding the Vikings' living legend: Will Favre retire for good, or won't he?

For the second time in that three-year run, the best question to ask ourselves may be whether Favre (the consummate competitor, not to mention re-writer of the NFL record books) can stand to have his last professional pass be an interception. After he threw a pick in overtime of the 2007 NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants, Favre hemmed and hawed for two full months before announcing his retirement from the Green Bay Packers.

Yet, the next fall, there Favre was, under center for the New York Jets. The grab bugged him, he explained. He just couldn't stay away.

The season started smoothly, including a six-touchdown performance by the grizzled veteran against Arizona in week four. As the season wore on, however, Favre wore down, and he would finish the season with as many interceptions (22) as touchdown passes.

This year, there was no letdown. With perhaps more motivation to disprove his doubters than at any time since his second MVP season in 1996, Favre responded in his unique fashion: he had the best season of his astonishing NFL career.

He completed a higher percentage of his passes than in any other season of his career and threw 33 touchdowns with just seven interceptions, the latter figure being a career-low.

Yet, the season ended with a bitter and narrow defeat, and now Favre must again decide whether the joy of throwing game-winning touchdowns is worth the six days of grueling preparation he must endure each week to get there.

My guess, as a lifelong Packer fan who has seen this lone ranger work since the mid-90s, is that he's too stubborn to ride off into the sunset with that interception-sized burr under his saddle. Don't be surprised, however, if family pressures force Favre to finally, really, call it quits.