Be careful what you wish for, Packers fans. And most of all, be careful what you don’t.

The Packers have gone from doing everything to keep Brett Favre from rejoining the team to, in essence, handing him the starting job again. Because, really, truly, who out there believes he’s not going to win this competition?

The word “win” is operative here; you can bet by the time the Packers name a starting quarterback that Favre’s and Aaron Rodgers’ preseason statistics will be stacked on top of one another, and even if Rodgers has better stats, Favre will win this job because of his experience, his moxie and his salary. And because, what Brett wants Brett gets.

Heck, at this point, I wouldn’t put it past the Packers coaches calling plays during Favre’s preseason series to help him beef up his numbers, such as short receiver screens that his talented group of pass catchers can turn into good yardage. Considering how far we have gone with this Favre nonsense, I wouldn’t put anything past this team.

The only thing that will keep Favre from getting his job back is a trade. And the only team that appears to want him badly enough to make a deal for him is the Vikings. And we know why the Packers don’t like the idea of that deal.

I know what America thinks of this story, but I don’t really know what Packers fans feel about Favre and the fact that he’s back. I think ambivalence is what most feel, but judging by the sight of dozens of fans gripping metal fences near the airport last night during a lightning storm, I think we all can agree that there are some hardcore Favre supporters who are tickled at the news that he’s back.

Be careful …

There’s no denying that Favre was mostly excellent last season. He really had one bad game — the loss to the Giants in the playoffs — and it has stuck as the lasting memory of an otherwise excellent season. But why did it seem that the Packers weren’t too distraught when Favre decided to hang it up? Their coaches surely had some inkling that they had gotten all they could out of him last year and that, at 38, there might be a precipitous drop-off.

Dan Marino had a very good season at 37. Warren Moon even had one at 41. But with both guys, the following seasons were not too pretty. I could see this happening with Favre.

After all, the two seasons before this last one, Favre was an interception machine, and his combined completion percentage was under 60. I’d be willing to bet that he’s closer to those numbers this season than to what he did in 2007, excellent receivers and strong line notwithstanding.

Don’t believe it when they tell you there’s an open competition. The only thing that is open is the door for Favre to come waltzing back through. He’s the king in Green Bay, and the round-the-clock coverage and ESPN ticker is proof of that. He held his team hostage with this campaign to return, and he got his wish: He’s back in Camelot, and he’s not there to play second swordsman.

I am not going to tell you that Rodgers right now is the better quarterback. I don’t have much of a way of knowing, really. I watched him play most of one preseason game last year and a little more than half of the Cowboys game. Sure, I was impressed in his relief performance at Dallas, but that’s really all I have to go on. I won’t let a couple of bad throws from last night’s scrimmage color my opinion of him.

But what convinces me that Rodgers probably should get a chance is that the Packers have spent significant time, money and effort to make this situation disappear, to make Favre go to any team not named the Vikings or Bears. But right when you think Favre is going to play elsewhere, or perhaps stay retired, he all of a sudden has been invited back.

Why? I think the decision has far less to do with the coaches’ and front office’s faith in Aaron Rodgers than it does to Packers management not wanting to tug on Superman’s cape too many times and peeve their biggest legend. The great irony of this is that the Packers truly are the people’s team, being owned essentially by the town of Green Bay, and yet the fans have been caught in the middle of this mess, torn between the fleeting greatness of the past and the potential of the unknown. For now, they are getting another dose of the past, whether they like it or not.

The other real losers here are Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy. Rodgers gets his crack — he was told he’d be the starter — and then has the rug pulled out from under him. I admire his character for talking about his opportunity to win a job, but we all know what’s really going to happen. I am holding out a sliver of hope that McCarthy, should he realize that Rodgers is the better option, makes the excruciating decision to bench a legend and move on.

But it won’t happen. The reasons are many. Favre’s consecutive-games streak is one, but his giant ego is another. If you think Favre was being a pain in the rump before he got to camp, imagine what he’d be if he was told to grab a clipboard. And that’s why it won’t happen. He’ll start the opener against Minnesota, and I’ll bet he has an awfully hard time doing much against Jared Allen and Co. You think the debate is hot now? Wait until Favre loses a few games.

I have never made it my job to say when or how an athlete should bow away from the game. I never felt it was my duty. Retiring from football is an excruciating thing. Phil Simms told me this offseason it took three years for him to fully get over the game after he had walked away. In Brett Favre time, three years probably seems like 30.

But I do think I can point out when a player has become bigger than the team, and perhaps the game. I admire Favre as a football player, and I always have enjoyed watching him play. You never knew what could happen. So, who knew that same controlled chaos ruled his decision-making, too? I guess the three or four feigned retirement dances the past few years should have been our evidence.

Surely a man who has been around the game as long as Favre has should know how to handle a situation like this better. But maybe he’s the smart one — after all, he strong-armed his team and got his wish to play again.

For that, he should be careful.