The role of the record book

Prior to each of past three seasons, Brett Favre has contemplated retirement. Each time, he chose to come back, despite various difficulties in his private life and the Packers struggles on the field. So when the Favre and the Pack had a great season in 2007, and high expectations in 2008 for the first time in years, what does Favre do? He suddenly, and unexpectedly, retires.

Favre has had a fantastic career, and is without question one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. As for the timing of the retirement, Favre has said that he didn't feel wanted by the Packers and that the only reason to come back would be to win a Super Bowl. But is that the whole story?

Allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment. Prior to 2007, Favre had 57,500 yards, 414 touchdowns, 5021 completions on 8223 attempts, and 147 wins. Oh, he also had 273 interceptions. After the 2007 season, Favre passed Marino's 61,361 yards for a career total of 61,655. His 442 TDs surpassed Marino's 420. He already had the completion record, but the extra season got him to 8758 attempts, bettering Marino's 8358. He easily surpassed Elway's 148 wins, setting the new mark at 160. For good measure, he even passed Blanda's interception total of 277, reaching 288. Might not have hurt to leave that one out, Brett.

I know he's a year older and that he wants to spend time with his family. But the Pack have as good a chance as anybody of reaching the Super Bowl next year. Could the fact that he has no more records to chase play a role in his decision? Better question: Is there anything wrong with that?