Favre Gets His Wish in Playing Old Man Winter

GREEN BAY, Wis. _ Old Man Winter _ you might know him as quarterback Brett Favre _ said he never had a snowier, more awesome afternoon.

This, you see, is why NFL teams are said to scrum and claw for the postseason’s home-field advantage.

It’s Tundra Insurance.

Nobody wants to come to Green Bay _ average January temperature, 15.9 degrees _ for the playoffs. Nobody wants to face Packers quarterback Favre when the weather outside is frightful.

Favre is now 42-5 in home games when the temperature dips to 34 or fewer degrees. In Green Bay, they apparently keep track of these kinds of things. I think it’s the same guys who run the shot clock at the Iditarod.

What started out as morning flurries Saturday lapsed into a thick snowfall as the day went on. But it wasn’t only the weather Saturday that buried the Seattle Seahawks 42-20 on the billowy tundra of Lambeau Field.

It was Favre and his pass protection, plus the Packers’ defense and 55 minutes of redemption from running back Ryan Grant.

"That was crazy weather out there," Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said.

Favre, however, considered it a career meteorological afternoon.

"That was awesome," he said. "I’ve been hoping for that for 17 years. I watched the weather all day, and I’m like, `Just give us one of those big snow games.’

"I wanted to play where you couldn’t see the field, and the snow plow comes out, and it just kept getting worse and worse."

One by one, snow plow by snowball, Favre got all of his wishes.

"It was tough to see people," Hasselbeck said.

It was even tougher, let me suggest, to have to watch the Seahawks. After Grant’s two early fumbles gave Seattle an instant 14 points, the Packers scored touchdowns on their next six possessions.

Favre finished the day with 173 yards passing and three touchdowns. He’s had better days in the playoffs, but likely never a more efficient performance under such dicey field conditions.

"It’s amazing," he said. "I’ve played a long time up here, and that’s the first time it’s snowed like that."

For the record, it has snowed seven times at Lambeau Field during Favre’s 17-year career. That figure seems low _ global-warming? _ but Favre and Packers Inc. should know.

While Seattle tight end Marcus Pollard was dropping passes and Shaun Alexander was running to nowhere for the Seahawks, Favre was reveling in the wintry moment.

Seconds before halftime, for example, Favre appeared to be trapped for a loss on third-and-8 from the Seattle 14. But he escaped, stumbled and was able to flip the football underhanded to tight end Donald Lee. Grant scored for the Packers on the next play from scrimmage, and Favre went to the sideline with a wide grin on his face.

"That looked bad," Favre confessed. "Thank God I got it off and got it completed, because it was one of those that I’m sure watching it, it looked slow and unathletic. I’m not quite as nimble as I once was."

At age 38, Favre is not the nimble-cleated improviser he once was. The Cowboys proved that when they smothered the Packers and knocked Favre from the game in late November.

Since that game, however, Favre has found success throwing shorter routes and letting receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings run after the catch.

On a field thick with snow Saturday, the Seattle defenders couldn’t keep up.

Favre had the benefit of constant protection. But Grant’s 201 rushing yards on 27 carries paints a better picture of the kind of day the Packers’ offensive line enjoyed.

The largest crowd ever to see a game at 50-year-old Lambeau Field _ 72,168 _ stayed until the snow-covered end. They saw the Packers advance for the 14th time (counting their pre-merger years) to the NFC/NFL Championship Game.

The significance of that wasn’t lost on Favre, either. Two years ago, he was supposed to be over the hill, after a season in which he threw 30 interceptions. Now he again has the Packers one victory away from the Super Bowl.

"Well, we’d love to play at home," Favre said of next week’s conference title game.

"We haven’t had a whole lot of success in Dallas. I’m well aware of that. But I’m just pleased that we won this game and gave ourselves an opportunity."

No longer, Favre said, will he take such successes for granted.

"Ten years ago I thought I’d be around forever, and I said, `What’s the big deal?’ " the quarterback reflected. "Now it’s a totally different approach and mentality. I hate to say that I’m more appreciative of games like this or seasons like this, because I’ve always respected and appreciated the game. But the last two years, as I look back, I know they’re a little harder to come by than I once thought."

On Saturday at snow-covered Lambeau Field, Brett Favre enjoyed the moment as much as the wintry weather.

Old Man Winter, again, is one game away from the Super Bowl.