The New York Jets' bold move late Wednesday night brings one simple certainty.
Brett Favre's final NFL chapter is going to be a meteor shot or a plummet back to earth. Nothing in between.
Favre leaves the sleepy, chilly town of Green Bay, Wis., for the bright lights of The Big Apple. Sure, he'll actually be playing in New Jersey, but who's kidding who here. The Jets made Favre jerseys available on their Web site just an hour or two after trading for the future Hall of Fame quarterback. He changes the dynamics of the Jets immediately.
And Favre's life will never be the same, either.
Favre made the Green Bay Packers relevant again with his strong right arm, sheer will and keen understanding of the game. In the twilight of his career, that might not be enough to turn around the Jets.
Every move will be scrutinized. Every decision will be open for discussion. Favre was the face of the Packers. He becomes the identity of the Jets.
The good news, of course, is that the drama is over. The mental tug of war between Favre and the Packers has finally reached its conclusion. Favre gets what he wants, the chance to play. The Packers get what they want, Favre playing in the AFC. They even put a stipulation in the deal to penalize the Jets in case they entertained thoughts of trading him to the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers' NFC North rival.
Three first-round draft picks?
When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way.
Favre and the Jets are no longer an off-Broadway act in New York. The Giants have always been the city's marquee football team, and lest we forget, they stunned the previously unbeaten New England Patriots just six months ago to win the Super Bowl. The Giants have one of the league's star quarterbacks themselves in Eli Manning.
There wasn't much room for Chad Pennington on that stage.
Favre's arrival changes everything. He transforms the Jets from an NFL afterthought to one of the league's most compelling stories. They play in the same division as the Patriots, not to mention Bill Parcells' Miami Dolphins. They'll get a lot more headlines on the back of the tabloids. They'll get considerably more television exposure.
Favre wore a broad smile and a green Jets ballcap when he boarded a private plane for Cleveland on Thursday where the Jets played the Browns later that night in the Jets' preseason opener. He wants to prove the Packers made a mistake in not taking him back after a five-month retirement. Aaron Rodgers' job doesn't get any easier in Green Bay, but that's the least of Favre's concerns now.
He's taking on the mother of all reclamation projects.
There will be images of another Jets quarterback, Joe Namath, finishing his NFL career a battered leader on the Los Angeles Rams bench. We all know how it went down for the late Johnny Unitas in San Diego. Down in a hurry.
By the same token, Joe Montana twice took the Kansas City Chiefs to the playoffs, after winning four Super Bowls with the 49ers. He was a couple years younger than Favre then, but he wasn't as durable as Favre, either.
A lot will be expected of Brett Favre in New York.
If he delivers, and we're talking a playoff berth or two here, he'll be hailed as the ageless wonder, a latter-day George Blanda.
If he stumbles, he'll be the subject of countless cautionary tales, the ski jumper who goes down in a heap on "ABC's Wide World of Sports."
Little, if not nothing, in between.
That's how it works in New York.
And no one has to explain it to Favre.
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