To Brett Favre:

I normally do not write letters to athletes, but I am finding myself in a financial pickle and you are the only person to blame.

As a fellow Southern Miss graduate who is a native of New York, the news of your trade from retirement to the New York Jets has put me into orbit. For the first time in decades, there is hope for the Jets beyond the first preseason loss, which usually signals the start of another lousy season. But with Old No. 4 under center, well, there are positives.

And that is where you fit in. Because I live in your home state, Jets games on TV are few and far between. To enjoy the Favre in Jets’ garb, I had to buy a big-screen, high-definition television. I also had to buy the NFL package from a satellite company and a new DVD player. Did I mention the TV stand? Oh, boy, the bills are coming in fast.

At the end of the day, I figure your move to the Jets will cost me around $2,000. It could have been less, but I was one of the 7,000 people who bought a No. 4 Jets jersey the first weekend they were available.

And how did I do it? I’m in debt up to my eyelids.

I wouldn’t have done it for many former Golden Eagles, but in an odd way, you were the driving force for my leaving New York for greener pastures of Mississippi in the first place.

In 1990, Southern Miss played Auburn in a game televised by TBS. I hadn’t heard of Southern Miss and had no clue what an Auburn was, but I watched this quarterback wearing a No. 4 jersey lead the Golden Eagles to a victory over Auburn. Soon after, I received information about Southern Miss and 16 years later, well, they haven’t succeeded in chasing me back north.

I also feel a connection because I have been a long-suffering Jets fan. The Joe Namath Super Bowl capped their amazing run six years before my birth. Not until I met Saints fans in the South did I learn other fans in other cities have miseries akin to the Jets faithful.

Opening weekend, sans the Giants and Redskins game, is three days away. The chicken wings will be broiling, the beverages will be flowing and the glow of the new big screen will give us all hope — at least for the first half. Don’t be worried when you throw your first interception and a collective “here we go again” circulates throughout the city. You already have had a huge impact on the franchise — and my checkbook.

So, Brett, as a fellow Golden Eagle and New York Jet, would it be too much to ask for a little reimbursement for the thousands I have spent on your behalf? I’m not a millionaire, just a sports editor, who, by the way, was not one of the ones camped in front of your house during the late-July soap opera.

Sports editors are close enough to bankruptcy without the infusion of Favre-caused financial strife. So, welcome to New York, Brett, I’ll be cheering for you.

You can mail a check to this office and keep me from becoming homeless.

Sean P. Murphy is sports editor. He can be reached at smurphy@vicksburgpost.com.