The Green Bay Packers were favored to win a second straight Super Bowl after the 1997 season. They were upset 31-24 by Denver, which won the first of its two that came at the end of quarterback John Elway's career.

The Packers were attempting to drive for a tying touchdown late in the game. They reached fourth down. Quarterback Brett Favre tried to force a pass to a well-covered Mark Chmura and it went incomplete.

It was noted that other receivers appeared open, yet no one in Packerland was surprised that Favre had tried to get the ball to Chmura with the game on the line. "Chewy,'' the tight end, was Favre's most-trusted receiver.

The Packers' next best chance to return came a decade later. They were surprising 13-3 during the 2007 season. That gave them the NFC's No. 1 seed and wound up putting the NFC title game inside Lambeau Field against the New York Giants.

In the name of rating, the NFL made what was an ruthless decision - putting the Packers and the Giants in the late slot and forcing them to play in a fierce cold.

The teams functioned remarkably well. Eventually, it appeared the Packers were moving for what would be a winning field goal. That's when Favre tried to hit Donald Driver, against his most-trusted receiver. In that cold, Favre couldn't put enough steam on that pass to the sideline, the Giants' Corey Webster stepped in front for an interception and New York moved to a winning field goal.

A look back at those two plays in enormous situations might explain the sight of Favre - a Minnesota hero of amazing proportion in one Vikings' season - trying to jam a pass to Sidney Rice on Sunday and create a routine, game-winning field goal for his buddy Ryan Longwell.

As Favre moved to his right, Bernard Berrian came open late and was standing open on that sideline. A glance back to Berrian, the main option when the play started, and there was an easy 10-yard gain.

Sadly for his Purple admirers, Berrian was covered initially and that had Favre in a spontaneous mode. And when faced with that in huge games, Favre's history indicated that he would look for the receiver that he trusted the most.

For good reason, that was Rice, the young man from South Carolina who had emerged in his third season to a place among the NFL's best receivers. Rice had made any number of stupendous catches for Favre this season, to the point the old QB had to believe, ‘'I can throw it Sidney's general direction and this kid will use his magical hands and long reach and amazing ability to adjust his body and bring the ball down for me.''

You couldn't blame Favre for thinking that again - not with the stake being a return for him to a Super Bowl.

This was going to be more than a chance to quarterback in a third Super Bowl. This was going to be more than getting back on the largest stage after a 12-year absence.

At age 40, this was going to distinguish him from all the great quarterbacks who had come before him. There never had been an ironman quarterback to compare with Favre - never been a position player in NFL history, for that matter. And now he had been battered to the Superdome's hard turf, and he had gotten up again and again, and he had hit Rice with a bullet that would make even Peyton Manning envious, and all that was needed was one delivery to his most-trusted receiver and everyone would have to sing his praise.

Back in the Super Bowl at age 40. Take that, Packers - end especially you, GM Ted Thompson. Take that all you smart alecks that ridiculed what had become annual retirement dramas.

These were the moments that would be replayed on ESPN and the networks for two solid weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. It would be wall-to-wall Mississippi legend: climbing off the turf, limping to the sideline, and back to the huddle, and now marshaling the winning drive - first the laser to Rice to move into the position, and now this, running right, throwing back across the middle, Sidney snaring the football, Longwell jogging on and knocking the game-winner down the middle.

"Only Brett Favre can make a throw like that - on the move, finding his receiver in the middle of the field, delivering the ball to Rice a fraction ahead of the defense,'' the TV commentator would say.

"Only Brett Favre. He's the greatest quarterback of all-time.''

Except, New Orleans' Tracy Porter dashed in front of Rice, made the interception, the game went to overtime and the Saints kicked a winning field goal.

"Guess what, Vikings fans? You've been ‘Favred,' ‘' said Jay Kolls, my morning show partner and a rabid Packers fans.

He's been saying it to any Vikings fan he could find, even Tim Pawlenty during our interview with the Minnesota governor on Tuesday morning.