It is easy to be fooled by the outward appearances and mannerisms of two of the NFL's most driven men. In Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre you have a good ol' boy from the bayous of Mississippi.
Footloose and fun-loving, he looks like the kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with at the corner bar. In fact, in Favre's boozing days, he just might have done it.
In Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning, you have what looks on the outside to be a borderline geek.
The perpetual frown is in sharp contract to Favre's perma-grin. And when Manning dresses down his teammates, there is a tendency to want to give him a smack.
Put the two on the same field though -- as they will be this afternoon here in Indianapolis -- and you have one of the most anticipated matchups of any NFL weekend.
Adding to the appeal, is that barring a Super Bowl meeting in the next couple of years, it may be the second and final time the two stars meet head-to-head.
At age 35 next month, Favre has hinted at retirement and since the Colts and Packers will not face each other until the 2008 regular season, this could be it.
At age 28, Manning may then legitimately be seen as the heir apparent to Favre, certainly in the genre of the gunslinging, throw-it-till-your-arm falls off quarterback.
"Five years ago, there was no doubt who the best quarterback in the NFL was," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said.
"Brett probably won't tell you this, but he's probably ready to pass that mantle in the next couple of years."
Same style
New England's Tom Brady might have something to say about where it should go as could Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb or Atlanta's Michael Vick.
But for now at least, Manning is the man that most resembles Favre in football style, if not personality.
"I think he's the guy we all look up to," Manning said of Favre. "He's still one of the best in the league and he has been for such a long time."
Both players love nothing more than to have the game rest in their hands, even to a fault.
Manning shook off one of the big knocks on his career last year when he won a couple of playoff games. Most notable was the most recent contest played here at the RCA Dome when he threw for five touchdown passes in a 41-10 win over the Denver Broncos.
Three more TD tosses on the road the following week in a win against the Kansas City Chiefs and Manning went to the AFC Championship as a hero in waiting.
The leading dissenters in that opinion were those on the Patriots defence who hounded Manning all day, goading him into a deplorable four interceptions in a 24-14 loss.
Favre didn't exactly go out in his usual blaze of glory either in the Pack's overtime loss to the Eagles in an NFC divisional contest. He took the brunt of the blame, when his interception set up David Akers' game-winning field goal.
Favre has been generally noncommittal about how many years he has left in him, but it's difficult to imagine it being more than a couple.
That makes today's showdown between 1-1 teams potentially that much more memorable.
The Packers are stuck with a banged up secondary and the Colts are notoriously soft in that department anyway.
So if Manning or Favre get the green light, they could well raise the roof off the aging Indy dome.
You get the impression that Favre knows such opportunities are running out in his career before the sure fire Hall of Famer leaves the glory to the next generation.
"It's kind of out with the old and in with the new," said Favre, who led the NFL in touchdown passes in 2003 with 32, three more than Manning. "Maybe seven years from now, someone might be asking Peyton the same question."
