By Brad Listi

LOS ANGELES, CA-

So I'm assuming you saw that yesterday.

The slant to Greg Jennings.  The fastball.  The catch.  The bad angle by Cromartie.  The mad dash to glory.  The roar of the green and gold crowd.

Packers win!  Packers win!

Packers win!  Packers win!

3-0.

Sweet Jesus . 

Grown men wept in sports bars yesterday.  

**

Green Bay heads to the Metrodome this week; the Packers, and Brett Favre in particular, have been known to struggle there.

However, if they somehow manage to come away with the 'W'--a distinct possibility, considering the fact that Minnesota has no quarterback--they would then head into the Sunday night game two weeks from now, at home against the archrival Bears, with a spotless record of 4-0.  

Al Michaels and John Madden on the call at Lambeau, blabbering under stadium lights.

My God:  Can you imagine it?

John Madden's wild, insatiable love for Brett Favre, unleashed before the masses, one more excruciating time. 

The Packers at 4-0.

Favre, again a legitimate MVP candidate.  

Stop for a moment and contemplate what this means.

Stop for a moment and contemplate what kind of inane, hysterical ranting you will be forced to suffer through, compliments of NBC.

Operating from the shotgun ... A quarterback rating of 101.2 ...

Madden in a delirious fever, slobbering wildly on the microphone, his belly full of beer-soaked brats.

Brett Favre is an unbelievable player ...

What more can you say about Brett Favre? ...

At 37 years of age, there's still not a player on the field who loves the game more than that guy right there, #4, Brett Favre ... 

I mean, sure, I get it:  It was written in the stars.  It would've happened anyway.  Madden, no matter what, was always going to expound about the virtues of All Things Favre and "how much fun the old gunslinger is having," and on and on and on--no matter what the Packers happen to be doing on the field. 

The sad truth is, Green Bay could be 0-4 and floundering, and Favre could have a yeast infection, and Madden would still be singing his praises.

But now--now--here in the Year of Our Lord 2007, with this recent, unexpected Brett Favrian renaissance--(and yes, that's what it appears to be:  a full-blown renaissance)--the tendency for Madden to exaggerate will almost certainly be at an all-time, record-breaking high.

And with this in mind, it seems that one must prepare himself for the inevitable onslaught. 

For the gushing reverie. 

For the tidal waves of rank hyperbole. 

And most of all, for the hideous possibility of John Earl Madden at a full gridiron crescendo, locked in the depths of an earth-shaking, red-faced orgasm.

And from there, one must consider making a great escape, hitting the MUTE button on the television, opting instead to hear the ballgame's radio feed on the merciful Westwood One.  

Marv Albert.  Boomer Esiason  

Whoever it is.  Whatever it takes.  

Et cetera.

**

Beyond that, my friends, I would ask you to prepare yourselves for the odd possibility of a most unlikely assault on the Super Bowl.

Old Man North.  The Kid from Kiln.  One last improbable rise.

A long-shot?  Absolutely.  

But stranger things have happened.

Barring injury, barring meltdown, barring accident, barring stupidity--barring any number of unforeseen National Football League calamities--this could indeed be a Magical Year for professional football's most storied franchise. 

You can take that to the bank.

And naturally your thoughts are welcome on the comment board below.

Yours in Favre Christ,
BL