By Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Apr 25, 2008 at 12:29 AM

Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre was typically charming and relaxed -- in both conversation and attire -- and a bit cryptic about his retirement status during a Thursday night appearance on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman."

Favre, who appeared after a stint by actress Tina Fey, was unshaven and wore jeans, an untucked button-down shirt and a tan blazer while talking with Letterman about topics including playing a college game while hung over, bow hunting before a game at Lambeau Field and, of course, retirement.

Asked whether or not he had retired, Favre laughed and said, "I have retired. Watch TV a lot, don't you?"

Letterman asked whether Favre might start feeling something as minicamps draw closer.

"You know what, not with minicamps," Favre said. "I wasn't excited about it last year. I think when training camp gets close, I will -- something's bound to happen."

Letterman jumped on that.

"You just said, 'Something's bound to happen,' so this makes me think you're not retired."

Said Favre: "Butterflies, or -- I don't know, something's bound to happen."

Letterman then asked: "Let me ask you -- let me put it to you this way, and I don't want to be silly about this, but I guess it's too late for that. If there could be adjustments made for your training summer schedule regimen, would that be of interest to you?"

"Can you get that worked?" Favre asked.

"Yes, yes, I can, I can take care of that," Letterman said.

Outside of the retirement talk, the most interesting part of the interview was the revelation that Favre will be on the cover of "Madden '09," the popular video game by EA Sports.

Here is a full transcript of Favre's nine-minute appearance:

DAVID LETTERMAN: Our next guest is the NFL's only three-time MVP award winner and one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history. From your Green Bay Packers, here's No. 4, Brett Favre. Brett?
(Favre walks out, shakes hands with Letterman)

LETTERMAN: How ya doin'?

BRETT FAVRE: Great.

LETTERMAN: You haven't been here in a long time.

FAVRE: It has been awhile.

LETTERMAN: Been a long, long time. But thank you very much for coming back. I know you're ...

FAVRE: Thanks for having me.

LETTERMAN: You're not busy now, are ya? You're probably always busy. What do you do now, this time of year? What is that like?

FAVRE: Ah, nothing really. Drive my daughter to school in the mornings, go back, we have 400 acres, and I just do little things around ...

LETTERMAN: You growing stuff on on the 400 acres? You raising stuff? What are you doing?

FAVRE: Not really, not really (laughter). Not yet.

LETTERMAN: You like to hunt and stuff like that?

FAVRE: I do.

LETTERMAN: Any time that you were late for a game because you were out hunting? I guess that's impossible, isn't it? You've got to be at the game. You can't be out hunting and show up late.

FAVRE: No, I haven't been late, no. Thought about it.

LETTERMAN: Have you ever go hunting on the day of a game?

FAVRE: Um, I have to admit, yes.

LETTERMAN: Really? Wow.

FAVRE: I made it back in time.

LETTERMAN: What were you hunting, and where? Tell us about it.

FAVRE: I was just outside Green Bay. I was bow hunting, didn't kill anything.

LETTERMAN: You were like in, what, the parking lot? Where were you? (laughter)

FAVRE: A little bit further out. I think we were plyaing the Bears that week.
(Letterman laughs, crowd cheers)

LETTERMAN: Oh, golly. So you've been hunting, you come in ...

FAVRE: I think we lost to the Bears that week.

LETTERMAN: Let's talk about the game, it was a tremendous game for New York, Eli Manning and the Giants come to Lambeau, and it's 160 degrees below zero,

FAVRE: Yes it was.

LETTERMAN: With a 70 mile an hour wind. And everybody, even Giants supporters, believed, because Packers were very hot then, that you guys would prevail. What happened there exactly?

FAVRE: They played well, give them a lot of credit. I felt like most people, I thought we would prevail in those conditions -- at home, cold. I mean, this is what it's all about. But that wasn't the case. Eli played well, the Giants had been playing well, progressively had gotten better and better and better. We played them the second game of the year, they didn't play very well, but I give them a lot of credit. They played extremely well, not only in Green Bay but in Dallas and Tampa, and beat the best team in football in New England.

LETTERMAN: After the game with you guys, did you have a feeling that they could beat New England?

FAVRE: I did. In fact, watching film of those guys the last game against New England, the last regular-season game, they played them extremely close and really had a chance to win the ballgame. I thought, `You know, this team's really good, a lot better than the first time we played them. And their defense was playing must better, and their offense ... Eli, he caught a lot of heat throughout the season, but he played extremely well and led that football team and made some great plays against us as well as the rest of the playoffs.

LETTERMAN: Let's talk about, a read a little thing about, when you were playing college football, Southern Mississippi ...

FAVRE (interjecting): By the way, I didn't throw up.

LETTERMAN: OK.

FAVRE: Everything was true but that. I'm embarrassed to say ...

LETTERMAN: You were the seventh-string quarterback. Why do they have seven quarterbacks first of all, and why didn't you consider another position or, I don't know, golf. I don't know. I mean, your prospects looked pretty desperate then.

FAVRE: When I left high school, I threw for 400 yards. Nothing, nothing fancy. So peole didn't know a lot about me, and I kind of got a scholarship by default. Some other guys backed out, went somewhere else and I got that chance. Southern Miss was the only school that offered me, and I went there, believe it or not, as a defensive back. Thank God I played quarterback, because I wouldn't be sitting here today. And so some guys got hurt, and I got a chance from time to time to really run scout team, as they call it, against the first-team defense. Didn't really know where I was throwing it, but I threw it very hard and very far and got attention that way, and just from that point on, they were like, `Hey, that Favre, guy, he can throw.'

LETTERMAN: That's a great thing for people interested, not only in sports, but just in life. Because here's a guy if you would've talked to football experts, they wouldn't give you the time of day, and now look what's happened. So if you think you can do it, if you have an idea that that's what you want, by god don't quit for heaven's sake.

FAVRE: Well, you know, my career has been that way. I was never 'the' guy, and always had to overcome a lot of obstacles and was kind of a nobody and all those things. But I always believed and just kept working hard and here I am.

LETTERMAN: Now, you have retired? (Or) you have not retired?

FAVRE: (pauses) I have retired.

LETTERMAN: You have retired. Now ...

FAVRE: You watch TV a lot, don't you? (Letterman chuckles, crowd applauds)

LETTERMAN: Now, somebody told me the retirement form had not been signed and mailed in. Is there a retirement form that needs to be signed and mailed in?

FAVRE: That's what I've heard.

LETTERMAN: Have you signed it and mailed it in?

FAVRE: No, I haven't signed it.

LETTERMAN: Well, there you go. (Letterman laughs) Your honor ...

FAVRE: I think the only reason to sign that form is so I get a severance check or something. So it's actually in my benefit, I guess.

LETTERMAN: You're only 38, for heaven's sakes.

FAVRE: I know.

LETTERMAN: And as each day, we're getting close to minicamps, do you start feeling ...

FAVRE: You know what? Not with minicamps.

LETTERMAN: OK, forget minicamps. Did I say minicamps? Forget minicamp.

FAVRE: I wasn't excited about it last year. I think when training camp gets close, I will, something's bound to happoen.

LETTERMAN: What does that mean? 'Something's bound to happen.' As you get close to training camp, now wait a minute, 'something's bound to happen.' What does that mean?

FAVRE: I don't know. Did I just say that? (Favre flashes big smile.)

LETTERMAN: You just said, 'Something's bound to happen.' So this makes me think you're not retired.

FAVRE: Butterflies, or I don't know. I don't know. Something's bound to happen.

LETTERMAN: Let me ask you, let me put it to you this way, and I don't want to be silly about this, but I guess it's too late for that. (audience laughs) If there could be adjustments made for your training summer schedule / regimen, would that be of interest to you?

FAVRE: Can you get that worked out?

LETTERMAN: Yes, yes I can. I can take care of that.
(crowd applauds)

LETTERMAN: Did Randy Moss have anything to do with this decision?

FAVRE: Ha-ha, no. (Favre shakes his head) There's a lot of things out there. No, it didn't. Randy, I think, is a great player, will continue to be. But believe me, it had no bearing whatsoever on me coming back or not coming back.

LETTERMAN: Who's going to be the quarterback for Green Bay?

FAVRE: Aaron Rodgers, I think, is 'the' guy, I think he'll do well.

LETTERMAN: Has he ever played before?

FAVRE: A little bit, yeah.
(crowd laughter)

LETTERMAN: (laughing) But you, you were not only the heart and soul of football, but my god, you turned that town upside down. What is Green Bay doing? I heard they're shutting down the town. That's what I heard. I heard they're closing up and they're moving to Michigan.

FAVRE: I haven't heard that yet.

LETTERMAN: What, don't you watch TV? (audience cheers, CBS Orchestra drummer Anton Fig does a rim-shot)

LETTERMAN: Well, I mean, you can obviously go out any time you want, it's been a tremendous career, we're talking about a Hall of Fame career, we're talking about a man who transcends sports, been an inspiration and a hero to kids and families all over North America ...
(Favre gestures for Letterman to keep going)

Oh stop it. It's just, it's going to be hard to start the season without you. That's all I'll say. But good luck to you in whatever you do.

LETTERMAN: Look at this. Ladies and gentlemen, how about this? There he is, right there ...

(Letterman holds up the case to the XBOX360 version of the Madden 09 video game, which has Favre on the cover)

The Madden 09 XBOX 360, there's Brett Favre right there. Nice going. (crowd cheers) You get a pretty good piece ofthis?
(Favre opens the case and shows there's no disc in it.)

Whoa, wait a minute, something's gone haywire.

Well now, now that you've got some time, I've got some time, let's do some stuff together. (crowd laughs)

FAVRE: We've always talked about that.

LETTERMAN: Because I think we could get a lot of attention, the two of us out together.

FAVRE: You're right.

LETTERMAN: OK, talk it over with your family.

FAVRE: Will do.

LETTERMAN: Good to see you Brett. Brett Favre ladies and gentlemen.
(Favre and Lettermen shake hands.)

Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.