Fans of Brett Favre probably won’t like what Sporting News has done. The seasoned sports journal has decorated the erstwhile Green Bay Packers quarterback in — gulp! — purple and yellow.

And red and pewter. And green and white.

But it’s the purple that probably smarts most.

Yes, purple is the color belonging to Green Bay’s fiercest rival, Minnesota, probably the last place Favre fans want him to land if he returns to the NFL this season following a tearful farewell from the Packers and football a mere six months ago. Just for fun though, Sporting News dressed Favre’s digital doppelganger in Vikings garb and played him through a season of “Madden NFL 09.”

Then they did it with Favre playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets — two teams the real Favre said he might like to join if Green Bay agrees to relinquish their rights to him.

Then Sporting News played whole seasons for all three teams without Favre in the lineups. The difference, it appears, was notable.

“Madden NFL 09,” which debuts Aug. 12, employs each returning player’s 2008 pro stats, and as almost everyone remembers Favre had a pretty good year (one of many), leading the Packers to one of their best regular-season records in a decade and a berth in the NFC Championship game.

However, the digital Favre apparently also had hot seasons dressed in those other colors. With Minnesota, Favre led the Vikings to a 10-6 record and the playoffs (without him, they finished 5-11). With Tampa Bay, he helped the Bucs to a 12-4 record and the playoffs (without him, 11-5). And with New York, Favre fueled the Jets for a 11-4-1 run (without him, 9-7 and no playoffs).

For good measure, Sporting News re-ran the Packers’ 2008 season with and without Favre. The team didn’t do as well this time around with him at the helm, finishing just 9-7 and out of the playoffs. Removing Favre and putting successor Aaron Rodgers at the helm earned the Pack a 12-4 record and a postseason bid.

So much for digital history duplicating reality. (The real Packers finished 2008 with a 13-3 record.)

Good thing it doesn’t, too, because pro sports would become bigger messes than they are already if virtual games had an impact on the authentic ones. A better measuring stick of the Favre factor would result if Sporting News played several thousand “Madden” seasons with him in the mix and applied statistics to figure an average with Favre in and out of uniform.

Game Guy figures that Sporting News has better things to do with its time, though.