Which Brett Favre will the Packers see?

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Now this was a different Brett Favre than we've all been accustomed to hearing.

The nervous Brett.

The defensive Brett.

The Brett who had not sounded quite this awkward since his wooden "There's Something About Mary" lines.

The Brett with the odd inflection in his voice that made it apparent that the bizarre circumstances surrounding Monday night were not just background noise for him on this particular Thursday.

"For what?" was his response to the question of why he has never reached out to Aaron Rodgers.

Other than being a good teammate when the two were together, no reason.

The Favre who was here for 16 years would've handled that type of question differently, but, course, it's hard to blame the guy for being on edge with the 25 or so reporters who were crammed into a 16-by-16 room to hear the voice that wasn't quite the old Brett voice being carried over a speakerphone.

You give him that, because how could things ever be the same for Favre or anyone else connected with the twists, turns and outright weirdness of these last 18 months? This was the first time since that Favre had talked to the local media about the un-un-un-retirement and the Vikings and such, so he had to anticipate the first question just as easily as he reads a cover-2.

"That never was a motivation for that reason, so no," he said about whether he still wanted to stick it to Ted Thompson. "That had nothing to do with it. It wasn't about revenge to begin with."

So was he throwing the Sports Illustrated guy under the bus, misquoted or what?

"My intention was not to do anything else but to play and hopefully win a championship," Favre said.

There's no doubt that Favre still wanted to play after the Packers made the correct decision to move on with Rodgers, just as there is nothing wrong the very human desire to try and prove to the Packers that they made their biggest mistake since the Scooter McLean hire.

And there's absolutely no sin in wanting to be associated with a team that employs three Pro Bowl defensive linemen and a tailback who is half Eric Dickerson, half Barry Sanders and 100 percent scary.

"I'd like to win it all," Favre said.

And good for him, because he just might for the first time in 13 years.

But please, don't insult the people who supported you for all those years by pretending that revenge wasn't part of the deal. That smoking gun has been pointed toward Minnesota since the day the Packers accepted Favre's resignation.

"I'm sure there are some people who are disappointed or upset," Favre said. "I know how personal the Packers are to the fans and the state of Wisconsin. I'm very, very aware of that."

So, after wanting to be a Viking before he became a reluctant Jet, Favre, aware of how much people around here loathe Minnesota, couldn't wait to put on the purple jersey, anyway?

Look, no one is being naive. Any Packer in that situation would've done the same, but this is Brett Favre and those are the Vikings.

Really, it's OK to admit it.

"All that stuff that happened in the past is over and done with," Favre said. "None of that matters now, anyway. What matters is the game Monday night, that's all that matters."

That's a fact, as true as the notion that athletes are just big-top entertainers and mercenaries whenever there are business decisions to be made.

Different voice, maybe, same, ol' Brett.