The Good Cop / '97

From SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, January 19, 1998

THEY ARE THE YIN AND YANG OF CHEESEHEAD NATION, ONE spewing smoke from his ears, the other playfully kicking up dust. While coach Mike Holmgren does his best to stomp the fun out of Green Bay's drive for a second straight championship, Brett Favre is setting off stink bombs.

Holmgren may be one of the NFL's biggest control freaks, but he's smart enough to know who rules the football universe. In a driving rainstorm, Holmgren put Green Bay's NFC championship hopes in Favre's hands, and Favre flawlessly delivered a 23-10 victory over the 49ers at 3Com Park.

Neither nerves nor blitzes nor the elements have been able to slow Favre's march to San Diego and Super Bowl XXXII. After tearing up San Francisco with 222 passing yards in a game the Pack was never in danger of losing, Favre conceded that the prospect of facing a team coached by his close friend and former mentor, Steve Mariucci, had made him uncharacteristically jumpy. "I was real nervous last night," he said. "I said more prayers before this game than before any game I remember. No formal prayers, but just praying for, well, wisdom, I guess. We were playing a great team with a great defense, and I just prayed that I'd play smart and make good decisions."

Some players call Holmgren Mussolini; Favre is more like Federico Fellini. During the Pack's 21-7 divisional playoff victory over Tampa Bay, Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp got in Favre's face after one hard rush and said, "I'm going to be after your ass all day." Favre patted the 288-pound Sapp on the gut and said, "With that tummy, I don't think you're going to make it." The day before the Niners game, as he concluded a production meeting with Fox announcers, Favre set off a stink bomb. " John Madden had some sort of adverse reaction," Favre said. "He was bracing himself against the wall, looking ill."

With two weeks to prepare for the Broncos in the Super Bowl, Favre and Holmgren undoubtedly will be more polarized than ever in their approaches. Maybe their good cop/bad cop routine is by design. Says Packers left tackle Ross Verba, "Asses were tight this week, but Brett Favre is the leader of the Pack when it comes down to it. He keeps us loose."

While waiting in the Packers' locker room after the victory, Favre, 28 going on 12, dispensed some advice to Mariucci's 11-year-old son, Adam. "Smell this," Favre urged, offering a tiny vial of yellow liquid. Adam complied and recoiled; the liquid had the scent of rotten eggs. "Here's what you do," Favre said, handing the boy the vial. "Take this to school tomorrow. And at recess, put one drop somewhere and see what people do. One drop'll kill 'em."

It's a game plan Holmgren would hate, but one to which the coach could probably relate. One dose of Favre might be all Denver can take.