Back in 1995, when my departed friend and mate Cathy and I were first living together, she had given up doing her yoga routine in exchange for tai chi. Among other things, every Monday night she went to her master Lenzie Williams' studio in Berkeley to study, work, and meet with her fellow tai chi students.

Well, Cathy was a sports fan, but, more of the "I like to play" ilk than the "I like to watch" one. Although it was not hard for me to get her to baseball games, but, because of the nature of football, that was a tougher sell.

As we got to know one another better, and, as I tried to explain that football was really just chess in motion, and part of what fascinated me was see how the offensive coach would design a play to outsmart the defensive coordinator, and how the defensive coordinator would try to psyche out the offensive coach, so that ultimately it was really a mind game with the players going through the motions.

And, to be honest, Cathy noted she had never known anyone who looked at football in that way, and it did become a lot more cerebral to her in the process. In fact, I had this fantasy of her family coming over one Thanksgiving, and with the tv on, as Cathy's brother Eric entered the house, I hoped she would say something like "that Herman Moore just does not have the vertical leap he used to," leaving Eric goggle-eyed and slack jawed at the pronouncements of his seemingly non-competitive sibling.

So, back to 1995, and I successfully got Cathy to stay home and watch a MNF game because the Pack were playing, and I thought--well hoped--she would get a kick out of watching the amazing Mr. Favre weild his passing magic.

And, if memory serves, Favre served up four TD passes that night including threading a needle on one that made even Cathy's jaw drop and had her asking, "how did he do that?"

Sure, it was not tai chi, but, Brett showed her how pretty pro football can be when played well.

Surely Favre continued to play brilliantly, winning a Super Bowl, being a high fantasy pick up until just a few years back. In fact I remember in 2005, a few months after Cathy passed away, watching Green Bay early in the season in the booth at the Oakland Coliseum.

Favre was having troubles with his young and somewhat disorganized at the time Packer team. And, like it or not, by then I associated Brett and his success as much with that night Cathy and I watched him together as anything else.

Anyway, a couple of younger heads in the press box were watching and they started ragging on Favre as a dog, which more than wrankled me because they were not old enough to see how good he had been, or how durable he proved to be, so, to me, it was like complaining about Willie Mays at the end of his career.

So, I told both of them to chill, and that they really did not know what they were talking about, and that well, even if Favre was no help to their fantasy football teams, he was still a great player.

Both guys quieted down, but I knew they did not really believe me, however, I would also bet that neither draft Brett to play on their teams in 2007, and as the season progressed, well, I would bet they both wished they had indeed selected him.

As we all know, Favre retired early this week, after setting records and completing a terrific season that almost took him to another Super Bowl. Not quite, but, it was a great ride for Brett, and for those of us who watched and hoped along with him.

So, now his life will change, but, again, I will forever associate him with that Monday Night game, and always admire the discipline he embraced in quitting while still on top.

Thanks Brett. It was indeed, quite a ride.