Dressed in jeans and an untucked dress shirt, Brett Favre walked alone to the front of a media briefing room in Green Bay, Wis. just after 11:30 a.m. local time this morning.

He announced his retirement after 17 years in the NFL. Seventeen years that included nine Pro Bowls, seven All-Pro selections, one Super Bowl Championship, selection to the NFL's All-Decade Team (1990s) and eight MVP awards (from various news outlets).

And through the opening moments of his statement... tears.

Tears from a man that is viewed as a hero by every Packers fan on the face of the planet. Considering the history of the Green Bay Packers, that's nothing to take lightly.

"It was never about the money, fame or records," Favre said. "It was never my accomplishments. It was our accomplishments... It was never about me; it was about everybody else. It just so happens that the position I played got most of the attention.

"I hope this organization and the fans appreciate me as much as I appreciate them."

The resolution on the video stream I watched on the Internet never hiccuped. The only pauses were taken by Favre as he wiped raw emotion from his face.

I found myself upset that my future children weren't watching this piece of history with me. I may be young but I know an inspiring moment when I see one.

There on my computer was Brett Favre -- one of the greatest football players ever to play the game -- recalling his career breath by breath.

Every touchdown.

Every triumph.

Every professional mistake.

Every personal hardship.

It came rushing back in a way that any fan of football -- any fan of the human spirit -- could relate.

"I've given everything I possibly could give to this organization (and) the game of football and I don't think I have anything left to give and that's it," Favre said. "I know I can play, but I don't think I want to. That's really what it comes down to... It's been a great career for me and it's over. As hard as it is for me to say, it's over...

"I will wonder if I made the wrong decision. I'm sure on Sundays I will say 'I could be doing that; I should be doing that.' I'm not going to say (that I won't miss it) because I will. I just don't think I can give anything else."

In written form, the comments lose something and can be easily misinterpreted as the words of a broken man. On the contrary, Favre never appeared stronger.

He expressed his gratitude to the fans and the Packers franchise throughout the press conference. He spoke from the heart... and you could tell.

The NFL must now move on without one of it's greatest heroes. Favre wasn't perfect (take a look at his interception numbers), but he was genuine.

He handled family difficult with class and turned away from football mistakes in a way every little league coach instructs.

I always wanted to know what he said to his teammates in the huddle to inspire comebacks. I imagined a combination of your grandfather and your best friend speaking with love, criticism and humor through a Southern-Mississippi drawl.

Of course, maybe we got a glimpse of it today... before it was too late.

"I hope everyone knows how special this is and I truly appreciate the opportunity," Favre said. "As they say, all good things must come to an end."

Last Thursday the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame announced its class of 2008. Two former Falcons -- Steve Bartkowski and Claude Humphrey -- were among the new inductees.

An induction ceremony will be held at the end of May.

Falcons greats Tommy Nobis and Jeff Van Note are already members of the Hall.

Bartkowski played for the Falcons from 1975 to 1985 and is on the team's Board of Directors. Humphrey was the third overall draft choice by the Falcons in 1968 and went to six Pro Bowls.

But here we are the morning after a 17-14 Giants victory.

Can I get anyone a second helping of crow?

It's amazing to look back on how little a chance the Giants were given over the past two weeks and how much of a "sure thing" a Patriots world title was going to be.

The Giants opening scoring drive, which included three huge third-down completions by Eli Manning, had me questioning my choice.

I felt better after Manning threw an interception and the Patriots were in prime position to build on a 7-3 lead.

I grew concerned again as the Giants defense held the Patriots to six plays for minus-7 yards on the next two possessions.

Wait a second... What is going on here?

Then -- after finishing off one of my father-in-law's world-famous quesadillas -- my fears were put to rest again... Tom Brady with the ball, clock running down, TOUCHDOWN! Patriots lead by four with less than three minutes to play.

I have plenty of respect for the Manning family, but at this point I had to turn to others in the room and say:

"I'd only trust a few quarterbacks in this situation: Eli Manning isn't one of them."

Bravo, Super Bowl MVP for proving me wrong.

In my opinion, this Super Bowl reached epic proportions the moment it became obvious the Patriots would be held under 50 points and that Brady was, indeed, human. But the final drive by the Giants and Plaxico Burress' game-winning touchdown grab secured the game's spot in history.

Heading into Super Bowl XLII fans could breath easy knowing that history would be made no matter who won. Patriots were going for 19-0 and the Giants were looking to knock off well, the giants.

But is it as big a part of history with the Giants winning?

I don't know.

I suppose you can ask the 1972 Dolphins, who woke up this morning still the proud owners of the only undefeated season in NFL history.

A Patriots win would have been one for the ages, but I'll change my tune to reflect the importance of the Giants win -- a hard-fought victory after an 0-2 start to the season against incredible odds (oh yeah, they also won 10 straight road games).

I don't know about other writers who picked the Pats, but I slept a little easier last night knowing how gratifying a victory it must have been for the "G-men."

Now, let's see if there's any leftover crow for breakfast

The way I figure it, there are four ways to watch the Super Bowl.

On television as a fan of one (or both) the competing teams...

In person and likely set back a few thousand dollars or...

In person as a team or NFL employee...

I know that's a bit simplistic. But, when you spend your working hours focusing time and energy to making it to one game, life becomes much more focused.

The only thing that's complicated is fantasizing about events where you'd like to wear your Super Bowl ring.

That's life in the NFL -- even during 4-12 seasons.

Sunday I'll watch the game on the tube as an average American. In the past I've viewed on television as a fan and in person as an intern.

Now, thoughts from an Average American.

No matter the perspective, the Super Bowl appears as both spectacle and sporting event. I can only imagine what it would be like to experience it with a truly vested interest, but I'm confident I will one day cover a victory parade through the streets of Atlanta.

And to think, the Patriots celebrated Super Bowl victories in three of the last six seasons...

Get ready to make it four of the last seven.

The New York Giants played in one of the greatest football games I've ever seen two weeks ago. But, trust me, it takes more than two weeks to recover from such an emotional game in temperatures more fit for a polar bear.

No surprise some of the team is battling the flu.

The Patriots are history's darlings -- 60 minutes away from the first 19-0 season in the history of the NFL. As exciting as it would be to see the Giants pull off the impossible, it's hard to go against Tom Brady ("Boot Gate" or not) and an offense that continues to amaze the most cynical of football analyst.

I've heard a lot of talk about the Giants-Patriots game from Week 17. It was a fantastic game -- maybe the best of the regular season -- but the Patriots still won in the face of the first 16-0 season in league history.

Think 19-0 will be a little more important? Does Bill Belichick even give a pre-game speech?

Look for another great game Sunday. Maybe field goal to win it. At this point, I'm wanting to see an exciting narrative to this whole Patriots saga.

The pursuit of history... It's driven some of this nation's greatest politicians, explorers and heroes.

Why not a football team?

Maybe there's a fifth way to watch the Super Bowl... as a witness to greatness.

Giants, Cowboys, 49ers, Cowboys, Packers, Redskins... All NFC teams that combined for 13 straight titles from Super Bowl XIX to Superbowl XXXI.

Could we be starting a new era as the Giants and Packers meet Sunday for a chance at Super Bowl XLII?

Are we seeing the return of "Super Bowl Lite."

No. 3 San Diego Chargers at No. 1 New England Patriots

There were many times this season I felt like I was a front-line witness to history.

And that's not totally attributed to the Falcons unprecedented list of obstacles.

I got the feeling a couple times just from watching Patriots games.

If you woke up this morning as a San Diego Chargers fan, you know what I'm talking about.

Two more victories and New England will become the first team to win 19 straight games. I say two more games because -- contrary to popular belief -- New England needs to beat San Diego on Sunday just to earn a spot in Super Bowl XLII.

Then again, maybe we're looking at this the wrong way.

What's a bigger piece of history? Going 19-0 or being the team that prevents a perfect season?

As a friend of mine who works over at Chargers.com puts it: "Let's go shock the world!"

Positive thinking for a team that's been hit hard by injuries at the wrong time. 

Starting quarterback Philip Rivers (knee), running back LaDanian Tomlinson (knee) and tight end Antonio Gates (toe) aren't locks to play this weekend.

Those are troubling questions for the Chargers, who need every man they can get if they're going to defy popular logic and "shock the world" in Foxborough, Mass.

Not only are the Patriots talented, they're deep.

You all know about Tom Brady, Randy Moss and the 36-point per game average. You may not know that Brady hit 14 different receivers in the regular season.

New England also turned the ball over just 15 times.

With star offensive players injured, San Diego's only chance may come from its defense, which recorded 48 takeaways in 2007.

I'm not sue how, but my gut tells me the Chargers will keep the game close in the early going -- maybe take an early lead.

Still, the Patriots have the luxury of a score-at-will offense, which opens the door for plenty of risk-taking on defense.

This one could get ugly.


No. 5 New York Giants at No. 2 Green Bay Packers

How serious is the City of Green Bay about hosting it's first NFC title game since 1996?

A local television station reportedly plans to not air reruns of "Seinfeld" on Saturday night because it's Giants quarterback Eli Manning's favorite show.

Funny, I thought the single-digit temperatures would be enough.

The playoffs are uncharted territory for Manning. Even though he's performed well in two games thus far and the Giants are 9-1 on the road this season, he could be the focal point at a key position.

The advantage would seem to go to veteran signal-caller Brett Favre, who is 45-3 in Green Bay when the temperature drops below 34 degrees. The Packers are 14-2 all-time at home in the playoffs (the Falcons, of course, had something to do with one of those losses).

The Giants led the league in sacks this season, but it may not be enough to overcome one of the best home-field advantages in the history of sport.

It seems incomprehencable that the Packers would lay an egg in an NFC Championship Game during the 50th anniversary of Lambeau Field.

Then again, stranger things have happened.

I look for both teams to establish the running game and -- if successful -- stay with it throughout the day.

Green Bay's Ryan Grant, who was traded from the Giants before the start of the season, rushed for more than 200 yards last week.

It's also not hard to imagine Giants bruiser Brandon Jacobs plowing into the line of scrimmage as bits of ice and frozen grass crumble beneath his cleats.

The Giants defense ranked in the top 10 against the run this season and has to be riding a wave of confidence after defeating the Cowboys' offensive machine.

The Packers are used to the cold, however.

Give me Green Bay followed with a healthy dose of "Brett-Favre-in-the-Super-Bowl stories."