Even though Brett Favre's return to Green Bay Sunday mercifully puts an end to what seems like 107 weeks of uber-hype, aren't you at least a little curious to see how it all plays out?
Don't you wonder how the salt-of-the-earth folks in Wisconsin will treat the man they once crowned their prince and savior? Because for all the good Favre did in Green Bay during his 16-year reign, is it possible he undid all of it, with his embarrassing, stuttering departure two years ago?
Understand that Green Bay was an NFL wasteland after the glory days of Vince Lombardi in the '60s. Between 1969 and 1991 the Packers had exactly five winning seasons, and appeared in the playoffs only twice.
Really, growing up and watching the once-great team's demise was a crime -- even if you weren't an ardent Packer-backer. Green Bay was the iconic team during the NFL's sonic rise in the 1960s.
The Packers represented all that was good about the sport, what with Lombardi manning the sidelines in his grey trench coat and fedora, a quarterback named Starr in command under center, and a Golden Boy named Paul Hornung running in the wake of the vaunted Packers' sweep.
Of course, all of this took place on the hallowed frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, under the gaze of their hearty fans, who breathed steam from behind their woolen ski masks, while supporting their team through the ice and cold.
The team's protracted fall in the '70s and '80s was like an endless Wisconsin winter.
Then Brett Favre arrived on the scene in 1992, like some comet.
Green Bay promptly rolled to a 9-7 record that year, and was on its way to becoming one of the dominant teams of the '90s.
The Packers ascent back to the top of the football world was complete when they won Super Bowl XXXI over Bill Parcells' Patriots.
The team promptly returned to the big game the very next year, when John Elway's somersault finally eclipsed all of those Favre-led Lambeau leaps, and pretty much ended Green Bay's short-lived, but welcome dominance.
Really, credit for Green Bay's turnaround should probably go first to general manager Ron Wolf, who in 1992 had the good sense to hire Mike Holmgren to lead the team. Holmgren then had the good sense to acquire Favre to run his offense.
And all three of them had the good sense to lasso the menacing Minister of Defense, Reggie White, the very next year, to form the final cornerstone of their mini-dynasty.
But, make no mistake about it, Favre was the seminal figure in Green Bay during this period of prosperity. No. 4 brought Green Bay back from the depths and to their rightful place on top of the NFL's burgeoning landscape. He never missed a game under center, and never lost the importance of what it meant to be Title Town's chosen son.
And when he thought he just couldn't hold the throne any longer, tears were shed, and he stepped down.
Then he didn't, and that's when the trouble started.
Favre's well-chronicled transition out of Green Bay was neither quick, quiet, nor classy.
After a rotten year with the Jets, Favre did it again and retired. And then he undid it again this summer, when he decided to give it another try with Green Bay rival, Minnesota.
When Favre trots onto Lambeau Field in a Vikings jersey Sunday, we'll find out if his legacy in Green Bay has been damaged beyond repair.
It's only fair that the Green Bay faithful decide this. And hopefully once and for all.
