Brett Favre Given Key to City Ahead of Jersey Retirement Ceremony

Rarely does a showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears ever take a backseat in Green Bay, but Brett Favre made headlines in his old stomping grounds Thursday.

According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, the former Packers quarterback received the key to the city of Green Bay before the ceremony in which his No. 4 will be retired on the Lambeau Field facade during Thursday night's game. What's more, Pro Football Hall of Famer Bart Starr will reportedly be in attendance to watch the ceremony.

It will be the first time Favre visits the legendary stadium for a game since he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings in 2010.

Demovsky shared an image of the gunslinger's receiving the key:

Favre was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame during the offseason and made an appearance in front of more than 67,000 fans in the stadium.

He discussed all the honors coming his way, per Demovsky: "I never dreamed of the unveiling of my jersey. I never dreamed of the Hall of Fame. Granted, that's awesome. But I dreamed of playing. Very few people can probably say this: The dreams that I had as a kid, mine have come true and then some."

The Packers are calling Thursday night's Favre ceremony and the game against the Bears Th4nskgiving:

Favre played for the Packers from 1992 to 2007 and threw for 61,655 yards and 442 touchdowns in that span. He won the Super Bowl following the 1996 season and reached the Super Bowl the very next year but lost to the Denver Broncos.

Teams retire their legends' numbers on a fairly regular basis, but Favre's takes on more meaning and intrigue because the superstar and franchise had an ugly breakup after the 2007 campaign. Peter King of Sports Illustrated summarized the divorce:

"

When Favre announced his retirement in March, it stunned the world. The Packers wanted a decision from Favre in March on whether he'd play in 2008, and if that decision wasn't forthcoming, they were giving the job to Aaron Rodgers, who'd sat and learned the job behind Favre for three years. Favre wasn't ready to commit, so he retired. ...

... July. Almost time for training camp. Now news broke that Favre, 38, still wanted to play, and he was going to try to force the Packers to release him so he could play elsewhere. I talked to [general manager Ted] Thompson, and he was adamant that the Packers would not let Favre go.

"

Green Bay did not want him lacing up for a division rival, so it eventually traded Favre to the New York Jets, where he played one year. He flirted with retirement once again after the season with the Jets but eventually signed with the Packers' division rivals in Minnesota.

While there was a level of awkwardness to the entire situation because of Favre's legendary accomplishments with the Packers (the Lambeau Field crowd was not pleased to see him play against the Packers in a Vikings uniform), both sides have clearly moved on given Thursday's ceremony.

Favre may have played with the Jets and the Vikings late in his career, but he will always be remembered as a Packer.