I have a completely different take on the Brett Favre situation and whether or not he should return.

Stay away Brett. Stay away.

It pains me to say that because I never thought he should have retired to begin with. But I just learned that Favre will don the cover of the Madden 2009 video game on Aug. 13. Haven’t you paid much attention to the Madden Curse?

Yes, it sounds stupid. And I can’t believe I’m writing about it. But it’s true. In a nutshell, each year the makers of the game feature a different elite player from the previous season. And each year, that cover boy misses significant playing time or has a downturn in production.

Barry Sanders, Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander and Vince Young have all had something weird happen to them once they were hand picked for the cover. Alexander – coming off an MVP season -- cracked a bone in his foot, Daunte Culpepper missed the last five games of the 2002 season with a knee injury and Eddie George bobbled a pass in a playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens – who eventually went on to win the Super Bowl. The previous season, George was instrumental in leading the Titans to the Super Bowl.

Speaking of Titans, just last season Vince Young – who was coming off Rookie of the Year honors from the previous year – looked horrible -- which again hurts me to say this because I’m a huge VY fan. He was hurt early in the year against Tampa Bay and never looked the same even though he took the Titans to the playoffs.

Now perhaps the makers of Madden were feeling extra pressure from this “supposed” curse and felt it’d be a great idea to put Favre on the cover – since at the time he was already retired. He would have been the first non-active player chosen for the cover – which one would think could end the Curse.

But then Brett decides he wants to come back.

We all know Brett has had a storied career. He holds numerous records, is the only three-time Associated Press MVP and led the Packers to two Super Bowls – winning one of them. Last year, he bounced back from several down seasons and took the Packers to the NFC title game.

So why waste a good thing? I know that he’s got plenty left in the tank and is a far better pick than Aaron Rogers or most other younger quarterbacks out there. But this Madden Curse thing is not worth putting a storied career on the line for.

Not to mention the fact the Packers don’t really want him back. It would be truly strange to see Brett try to keep his career going in another uniform, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t that be a curse in and of itself? Can you imagine him in a Redskins uniform? How about in Chicago? Uggh.

Just stay away Brett. We love you, we wish you never left in the first place. But sometimes, even the corniest of superstitions can make you think twice about making another run at it.

 Until next time, I’ll see you on the sidelines.