FORT WORTH, Texas — And all this time I thought those cheesehead hats were just for decoration.

I didn't realize that the cheddar in Green Bay was starting to affect their brains.

Do the people who run the Green Bay Packers these days really think that they can get away with turning their backs on Brett Favre?

The Packers have "moved forward," general manager Ted Thompson said Saturday.

They've turned the page, he meant. In their minds, they've officially closed the Favre era. They whisked the future Hall of Fame quarterback out with the spring cleaning.

They've lost their minds.

If Brett Favre, even at age 38, calls the Packers and tells them he would like to un-retire and return as their quarterback, there are only three acceptable responses:

1. Of course we knew you were only kidding back in March.

2. No problem. We'll tell Aaron Whatsisname that he has to wait another year.

3. When can we pick you up at the airport?

Instead, Thompson and the team's new president, Mark Murphy, have tried to chide Favre for his chronic indecision. Murphy, once a safety with the Washington Redskins, made some kind of remark about players not knowing what to do when it's time to move on.

"No player leaves the game gracefully," Murphy told the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Earth to arrogant Murphy: This is Brett Favre. He has earned the right to leave the Packers franchise any way he wants to.

It's not as if Favre would be returning in a wheelchair. He enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2007 and quarterbacked the Packers to the NFC Championship Game.

He thinks he can still play. The whole league thinks he can still play. Curiously, Thompson and Murphy must at least suspect that he can still play, or they would have no problem in granting Favre his release. Right?

Instead, the poker game has begun. If Favre un-retires and reports to Green Bay training camp, there will be "some role" for him, GM Thompson said.

Holding a clipboard, presumably — while the boos at Lambeau Field rain down on Thompson, Murphy and coach Mike McCarthy with every incompletion and interception that young Aaron Rodgers throws.

No, Favre holds the cards in this game. The Packers can either play him or appease him. But they won't be able to bench or ignore him.

In this game, Favre comes across as genuinely believable when he says that he was rushed into making his retirement announcement in March. But now he wants back in. He wants an 18th season and — horror of cheesehead horrors — he'll spend it in Chicago or Minnesota if he has to.

The Vikings, by the way, open their season on Monday night, Sept. 8, at Lambeau Field.

With Favre, wearing No. 4 in Vikings purple?

The Packers have lost their minds.

I don't know that Favre, fresh off the retirement farm, can lead an NFL team to this season's Super Bowl. But I wouldn't dare say that he couldn't, either.

Here's a quiz for you. Take the same offense. Put Favre at quarterback, and then put Tony Romo. Which one makes it farther into the playoffs?

Give me Favre. His track record says so.

At some point, granted, all the great ones have to move on. Joe Montana. Jerry Rice. Michael Jordan.

Some clearly do move along more gracefully than others. But in Favre's situation, there are no lingering concussion issues, as there were with the Cowboys and Troy Aikman. Rodgers may turn out to be a fine quarterback, but as of now, he's no Steve Young.

If Favre reports to Packers training camp, he'll be the best quarterback there. Even more so, even if the day is cloudy, his shadow will hover over Thompson's and Murphy's golf carts. Favre is still the big cheese in Wisconsin.

The franchise's reluctance to grant Favre's request for a hasty release is understandable. The team would rather trade him — to some place not named Chicago or Minnesota, and probably to the AFC. Trade terms won't really be an issue, just the destination.

For Favre, it might be fun. Playing a season with Bill Parcells' Miami Dolphins might stoke his fire. Or send him quickly back into retirement.

The line for Favre's services is limited, but it's certain to form to the left. Maybe Tampa Bay, if Favre squeezes the Packers hard enough?

However it happens, Thompson can appease No. 4 now or appease him later.

But bench him and ignore him? Packers fans will never allow that.

They'd rather know when Thompson is going to pick up Brett Favre at the airport.