Record breaker: Brett Favre

Records have never been what inspire Favre - it is wins, championships and the sheer competitive fire of a true sportsman that keep his wheels turning.

View from America.
Quotes of the week

View from America

US-based British sports-writer Simon Veness offers his thoughts from over the pond.

All eyes are on Minneapolis this Sunday in anticipation of the suddenly red-hot Green Bay Packers taking on the Vikings (Sky Sports 2, 6pm).

But it will have little to do with if the surprising Packers can go to 4-0 and plenty to do with No. 4 himself, Brett Lorenzo Favre.

Of course, it will be significant if Mike McCarthy's men continue their dream undefeated start. It will mark them out as serious contenders in a sea of NFC mediocrity and signal McCarthy as one of the potential visionary coaches of the future.

Just two years removed from a 4-12 season and with no major new talent, the Packers head coach is forging a tough and eye-catching unit.

But the talk of the town is still all about Brett. The amazing, resilient, hard-as-nails Green Bay quarterback; 260 consecutive games and counting; a record 150 wins and counting; and, more importantly, one touchdown from one of the most coveted records of them all.

When Dan Marino hung up his cleats in 1999 with a stunning 420 touchdown passes, shattering the previous best of Frank Tarkenton (342) along the way, it seemed the record might be safe for some time.

Yet, just eight seasons later, Favre is one scoring pass away from holding this magic mark, and a football nation will be hanging on every drop-back.

Minneapolis TV station WCCO reports that demand for tickets is at play-off level (up to $1,200 on the re-sale market and likely to be higher by game day) and it is certainly nothing to do with the anemic 1-2 Vikings.

Local ticket broker Michael Nowakowski explained: "Our website went crazy Sunday night and Monday because people want to be part of a historical event. Whether you love or hate the Packers, you can't dislike Brett Favre. The Packers-Vikings is THE game at the Metrodome."

The great record bid seemed distinctly unlikely just 18 months ago, though, as the Green Bay ironman was seriously contemplating retirement after that dreadful 4-12 season, when he threw just 20 touchdowns (a third down on the previous year) and a career-high 29 interceptions.

He eventually decided to give it another go, but struggled through the 2006 campaign with an 18-18 touchdown-interception ratio and, at times, his seemingly unquenchable thirst for the game looked all but dry.

Records have never been what inspire Favre - it is wins, championships and the sheer competitive fire of a true sportsman that keep his wheels turning - and there were serious doubts he could rekindle the flames for a 17th successive season, especially with his 38th birthday looming large on the horizon.

There was also the little matter that the Packers seemed more focused on building for the future than winning now; there were no major off-season moves; their top draft pick was a defensive lineman (who has yet to play a single down); top running back Ahman Green was allowed to leave; they had (another) rookie kicker, Mason Crosby; and his still wet-behind-the-ears receiving corps (Donald Driver apart) could muster just FOUR career touchdowns between them.

It all makes The Return of Brett Favre even more remarkable, and heightens the sense of anticipation for Sunday to fever pitch. After struggling to look anything like his former self in the Week One win over Philadelphia (when the Eagles' two muffed punts handed the Packers 10 crucial points), the Mississippi Gambler has looked right on the money.

Three touchdowns in the 35-13 shellacking of the Giants were followed by three more last Sunday in a mighty 31-24 humbling of San Diego to tie Marino's 420 mark (hence Mike Nowakowski's website went into meltdown).

Now everyone's attention will be on the Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis to see if Favre can indeed become, statistically at least, the greatest quarterback in the history of the game.

LAST WEEK:

Pittsburgh emphatically won the 'Battle of the Undefeated' with San Francisco, to give Mike Tomlin the edge over Mike Nolan. The Steelers are fast becoming the dark horses of the new season and another win at Arizona on Sunday will set them up as potential thoroughbreds, too.