Interception, Part Two

Two retirements, two comebacks and two teams later, Brett Favre is in the same position he was in two years ago.

He is the quarterback who threw an interception on his team’s final offensive play in a NFC championship game loss – and maybe on the final pass of his Hall of Fame career.

There is a lot of irony in the symmetrical stories but the next 24 hours could serve as the point of divergence. It is the period that will serve as the litmus test for how far the once-beloved Favre has fallen from grace.

Two years ago, after his overtime interception cost the Green Bay Packers against the New York Giants, every football-watching American understood that the mere idea of Favre’s final pass being an interception was unjust.

Tears were shed for the hero who was dealt a villain’s ending.

Will anyone share that opinion this year? Will anyone still pity Favre after a two-year journey in which he has looked spoiled, selfish and greedy?

Or will his tarnished image lead to calls that the potential send-off served Favre right for being too much of a gambler in a big spot?

The only things we know for sure are not to expect a quick decision on whether or not the 40-year-old gunslinger will be back again next season and not to believe that decision.

Call it karma.

Call it bad luck.

Call it whatever you like.

But Favre again has been cast in a villain’s ending, and this time the role fits him much better.