Now that graybeard Brett Favre has successfully intercepted his way out of the NFL playoffs, get ready for the never-ending monotony of speculating whether or not he will retire, again.

Despite being battered and bruised by the Saints in the NFC Championship game, Favre offered no hints regarding his future. Did anyone really think he would? The guy relishes holding the entire sports world hostage with his hemming and hawing.

Unfortunately, media outlets like ESPN and FOX kowtow to Favre’s every whim. Their fierce campaign to enshrine him as the one true God of quarterbacking has turned from frustrating to comical. It would be nice if the talking heads ceased their cheap histrionics, which serve no purpose other than to feed Brett’s humongous ego, but they won’t. They simply can’t get enough of his wholesome charm and phony everyman persona.

Favre is great. We get it. He had a tremendous ’09 season. Agreed. He’s a tough SOB. No argument here. That doesn’t dismiss the fact that the guy hasn’t played in a Super Bowl since 1998 — twelve years ago!  During that time frame all he’s done is lose two NFC title games.

While his on the field production has dimmed, his relevance as a personality has not. He wears Wranglers and cuts his own grass and drives a truck and hawks big screen TVs. He’s colloquial. He’s country. The act is beyond tiresome at this point.

All the “will he or won’t he” talk is mind-numbing and frivolous. Until Favre goes an entire season without donning a uniform, he’s not officially done with football. No matter what he says today, next week or six months from now, he has no idea what his final decision will be.

You would think after all these years, the media would have figured out the rules of the Favre game. Evidently that’s not the case. Or maybe they just don’t care? Favre is an aging Hall of Fame quarterback nearing the end of a career. Nothing more, nothing less. In the grand scheme of things, he’s not that important. How about we stop treating him like he is.