This will not be the definitive word on Brett Favre. (It's been too long since I wrote sports full-time for me to be anything more than a casual observer.)

And it certainly won't be the final word on Favre. (If you thought the last month's media coverage was overkill, wait until you see what happens now that Favre will be playing in the media capital of the world.)

But for what it's worth, unless the New York Jets believe they have a legitimate chance at winning the Super Bowl, I wouldn't have made the move to obtain Favre. Because if the Jets go from poor to mediocre, or even from poor to not bad, but not from poor to championship caliber, all they're doing is delaying the development of young quarterback Kellen Clemens.

(By the way, I hope Chad Pennington, loyal ex-Jet, finds a good situation for himself. I know pro football is a "what have you done for me lately?" business, but Pennington sure did get the bum's rush after working hard to compete for the No. 1 job.)

Yes, the Jets will be more interesting to watch. But all the seats are sold in their stadium. And all the TV money is in place and distributed among the teams in the NFL.
They will see more merchandise money. (Has Modell's received its Favre No. 4 Jets' jerseys yet?) But if Favre and/or the team flops, he'll be taking playing time away from the future of the franchise, which will set back the franchise long term.

It's been nearly 40 years since that frigid day in late 1968 when my father and I sat way up near the top behind home plate at Shea Stadium to watch the Jets beat Oakland in the American Football League championship game and advance to Super Bowl III. It was a few years earlier when we went to the Polo Ground to see the New York Titans (later the Jets) play early AFL games. In other words, I feel a historical connection to the Jets, even though in recent years I've paid a lot less attention to them and the NFL than I once did.

Favre to the Jets ought to excite me. Sorry to say, it doesn't.