Super Bowl 2011: Will a Win Finally End the Aaron Rodgers/Brett Favre Debate?

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers can escape just about anything.

300 pound defensive lineman with a free release can be spun away from. 

Blitzing linebackers are avoided with just a simple side-step.

Even the waiting hands of an intercepting defensive back have been avoided with historical efficiency.

One thing Rodgers cannot escape, however, is the name of a certain former Packers quarterback: Brett Favre.

While a question about Favre was certainly to be expected at the NFL's media day in Dallas, Rodgers' response to it maybe wasn't. 

When asked if Favre had reached out to him about the Super Bowl, as Bart Starr, Steve Young and Kurt Warner have—Rodgers simply said, "No." 

Next question?

Read into that response what you will, but it's as loaded a one word answer as you'll see.

First, it's obvious that Favre could really care less about the Green Bay Packers at this point. The Packers playing in, and possibly winning, the Super Bowl is a nightmarish end to a year he'd rather forget. 

And while history will always hold Favre as a great Packers quarterback, he will never be Starr.

Ever. 

This is what Rodgers told Pro Football Talk about his relationship with Starr:

“It’s a privilege,” Rodgers said. “Bart has been incredible to me, in the last three years especially, with the e-mails and conversations that I’ve been able to share with him. He’s an incredible man and a guy I’d love to model my career after.”

Younger Packers fans need to get on board with Starr. Sure, you grew up with Favre and he broke all the records, but there's never been a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers that has meant as much to the franchise as Starr. 

Argue with that all you want, but there's plenty of older generation Packers' fans who will tell you the exact same thing. 

Second, Rodgers and Favre do not like each other. Maybe this is a given, but Rodgers' quick response on Favre certainly confirms it.

And while I'm sure there might be a touch of mutual respect, these guys shouldn't like each other. 

Rodgers took Favre's spot on the throne of Green Bay (even though Favre gave it up first), and no matter what he says publicly, you know that burns Favre to the core. 

But not only did Rodgers take the top spot, he's done it with class.

Not once did you hear him cry, beg for his spot, or complain.

Nor did he stage an assault on the Packers' organization on national television with Greta Van Susteran. 

He simply took his bumps (2008), answered all the Favre questions, and now, three years later, has the Packers in the Super Bowl. 

And once again, Rodgers would never say it publicly, but winning a Super Bowl for Green Bay would be the final nail, if there even needs to be, in Favre's coffin. 

After three years of backing up Favre, in which Rodgers received little to no help from the veteran, and three years into his lead of the Packers, a Super Bowl ring in the same year Favre tanked out of the league and embarrassed himself to the nth degree would have to be especially gratifying for even the humble Rodgers. 

Even so, Sunday won't be about erasing Brett Favre for Aaron Rodgers, and it most certainly shouldn't be. But it's hard to look past that opportunity. 

Lastly, the Green Bay Packers and their fans are over Favre.

There might be a few stragglers here and there, but 99.9 percent of people associated with the Packers have put No. 4 in the rear view mirror.

It has taken some longer than others, but this is Aaron Rodgers' team. Not Brett Favre's.

Maybe that was up for debate in 2008 when Rodgers and the Packers struggled to a 6-10 record, and surely it was a hot topic in 2009 when Favre beat the Packers twice and took the Minnesota Vikings to the door step of the Super Bowl. 

In 2010, however, it's a non-issue.

Rodgers took it to Favre and the Vikings in both games this season (including a 31-3 shellacking in their final ever meeting), and he did what Favre hasn't done in over 13 years—lead his team to the Super Bowl. 

And really, whether or not Rodgers wins the Super Bowl on Sunday isn't the deciding factor.

We can't know for sure, but with a young and talented nucleus, the Packers will probably be back to the Super Bowl during Rodgers' career in Green Bay. 

Either way, the Packers and their legion of fans have fully embraced Aaron Rodgers, just like they did with Favre in 1992.

Sure, Favre answered questions back then about Don Majikowski, and his history will always be tied to the Majik Man tearing up his ankle during that season. 

The same will ring true for Rodgers. His history will be always be tied to Brett Favre and the retirement drama, but Rodgers has already began writing his own Packers' story. 

While the next chapter in Rodgers' book comes Sunday, one thing is for certain:

Favre's novel in Green Bay has already been shelved, and with the story of Rodgers excitedly awaiting, no one is in a hurry to wipe the dust off the book of No. 4.