The notable detail of the Brett Favre saga that seems overlooked is that he seems to be doing most of his communicating these days via text messaging. While I can believe that he is considering coming back, I refuse to believe that he considers text messaging a legitimate way of communicating. Nobody over the age of 30 does.

The most pronounced difference between people my age and the generation just behind us is how important we consider the text message. People that are 30 or over that use text messaging to communicate do so as convenience and also a concession to the younger people that see sending a text message and actually calling as equal within the hierarchy of communication.

Not too long ago,I wrote some material that touched on my personal admiration for Brett Favre over the years. I call the material "Gay for Favre" and I'm always tickled to perform it. It touches on what Brett Favre means to me as I grow older, what Brett Favre has meant to me over the years, and how conflicted I feel over having such a profound and intense admiration for a man that I've never actually met.

Gay for Favre isn't meant to be mean to anyone. It is about a level of profound appreciation that a ton of men and women seem to have for Brett Favre that goes beyond ordinary fandom. Women come up to me after shows and admit that they've often wondered just how intense their boyfriend/husband's mancrush on Brett Favre is. Men come up to me and tell me that they've discussed it with their wives/girlfriends and they've decided that it wouldn't really be cheating if it were with Brett Favre. These people are from all over the country- not just from Wisconsin or northeast Wisconsin.

I don’t know that my feelings regarding Brett Favre’s retirement can be accurately distilled into a simple blog post. The man has been quarterback of my hometown football team for 16 years. I’m 30, so that was more than half a lifetime ago. It was before I went through high school when he started his first game.

He’s been quarterback since before I had hair on my balls.

My own hair, anyway.

I want him to not retire, take it all back. I’m selfish. I’ve watched him play a kids game for a damn long time.

Favre retires?

It appears the reports that surfaced on the Packer’s web site last week were true. FOX Sports is reporting that Brett Favre has retired and will not play in 2008.

Favre is the NFL’s all-time leader in several major categories, including touchdowns, passing yards, consecutive games started, and interceptions. Favre is coming off an MVP-type year where he threw for 4,155 yards and 28 touchdowns.

The reaction in the coffee shop where I am currently writing this seems to be unified – without Favre, why watch the Packers?

While the Packers are a good young team, I have to admit I initially agree.

If you are like most other Packer fans in Madison, you'll be heading out to a bar or a friend's house to watch tonight's Packers/Cowboys game on DirectTV, due to Charter's unwillingness to carry the NFL Network in its cable package. You've doubtlessly heard this very thing discussed as though it were some sort of injustice perpetrated on the unsuspecting consumers. Perhaps you are inclined to agree with the people. Your opinion isn't wrong, but the criteria by which you determine the topics that you are going to have opinions on is what is wrong. This is a non-issue.

You can't do anything about it. Hell, the NFL Network can't do anything about it. They are having a pissing match with a fella that is a little more focused on taking the girl home. All the NFL Network can do is ask you to make a phone call and ask why the NFL Network isn't on your cable system. I imagine there will be a petition coming soon and if that doesn't work, the NFL Network is totally going to spread the rumor that Charter Communications is pregnant.

As Madison figures out where to watch tonight's game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, local comedian Nick Mortensen shares with us his checklist. Also, go here to find out why those of you whining about the lack of the NFL Network on Charter should suck it up and just go to the bar.

* Wake Up 5:30 a.m. - Big Day!
* Take Adderall (1 of 2 10 mg)
* Switch on Volcano/Use Volcano (1 balloon) - Big Day!
* Breakfast: Muffin. That kind of muffin.
* Consider that you are 30.
* Decide it isn't every day that the Packers are 10-1 and playing the Cowboys, also 10-1.
* Remember that you are a comedian and it is a part of the job, in a way.
* Workout (Cap Fitness)
* Cardio, weights.
* Remember to listen to the Hold Steady to properly set ass kicking tone for the day.

Now that the football season has started, the offical state religion of Wisconsin, Packermania has reminded us of our priorities for this year, that is, kicking the crap out of the Bears, Vikings and Lions among others. The wonderful and tech-savvy people at The Wisconsin Historical Society have put together an amazing online collection of Packers history.

The collection features 1,000 pages of green-and-gold history, including all the yearbooks from the Lombardi Era and other memorabilia dating back to 1939. The materials are part of their impressive Turning Points in Wisconsin History collection and were generously donated by the Packers. According to the TWHC, the Turning Points collection

Some of the other items in the archive include artifacts such as a Brett Favre jersey-2005, photos of the various Green Bay Packers stadiums, photos of Packers memoribilia, Packers yearbooks, and several books on the Lombardi-era Packers. If you are interested in writing about the Packers for Dane101 click here.

Look, when football season rolls around, I like a good Packer game as much as the next guy, I really do … assuming the next guy isn't a freak about it. I even try to go easy on the freaks, to a point. And here it is. Packer fanaticism has gone too far.

The other day I was driving behind a non-descript car. Foreign make. Doesn't matter. Like so many I find myself behind these days it was sporting two of those ribbon magnets people stick to their tailgates to show their support, one on either side. These things have become so common I barely ever notice them anymore, but there was something about these that caught my eye.