After listening to the media coverage and thinking about it myself throughout the day I’ve decided I don’t believe Brett Favre is retiring. It’s just not going to happen.

First off, the team went 13-3 last year and, despite Favre, was the youngest team in the league. Few predicted such a run heading into the season and this team overachieved its way into the NFC Championship game.

Next, I can’t see Favre going out the way the 2007 season ended for the Packers. His interception, whether a bad read or a slipped ball, will grate on him. I don’t think that’s the way he will let his career end.

Perhaps most importantly, Favre showed last season that if he is surrounded by good talent – a running game and some solid receivers – he’s still as good as all but two or three other quarterbacks playing today. With veteran Donald Driver still in the mix and improving youngsters such as Greg Jennings and James Jones guaranteed to be around awhile, he’s got the receivers. Donald Lee played a solid tight end in 2007 and Ryan Grant appeared to prove that I was wrong for calling him a ham-and-egger.

There simply are no logical reasons for him to be stepping away. If he stayed with the team when it sucked two years ago why would he step away now? And as a lifelong Vikings fan whose suffered defeat snatched from the jaws of victory time after time after time at the hands of Green Number Four, I refuse to give myself the comfort of believing he will step away when the Packers are clearly on the way up rather than the way down.

If I am wrong on this I wish Favre a satisfying retirement. He’s been a bit of a prima donna the past few seasons, making the Packers eternally wait for him to answer the will he or won’t he questions. But for the most part he’s been a warrior on the field. The media fawning has been hard to stomach, but the accolades have been well earned.

But I am a cynic, or maybe just a fool. But I fully expect that the Green and Gold will defeat the Purple in another last minute comeback during the 2008 season. And I fully expect that it is Favre that will be leading that charge.