It’s pretty obvious what the answer is, but Saturday night merely proved it.

The one thing we learned from the Brett Favre Hall of Fame induction ceremony was how strong this fan base is.

And the reason I say that is because what other player gets over 67,000 fans to buy a ticket in 90 minutes — for a nongame? The only person I can think of would be Peyton Manning if and when Indianapolis does the same thing not long after he calls it a career which is likely coming after this season.

The main reason why it worked so well was because Favre left. He was polarizing and hated when he wore green and purple jerseys. But plenty of fans were willing to bury the hatchet in an effort to recall some Packers’ love.

Another reason it worked so well is because Green Bay is a tiny NFL fishbowl. If the Packers do well, the entire city skips a beat.

That’s why guys like Derek Jeter, Magic Johnson and Joe Montana wouldn’t get the same kind of fan love that Favre did. They may have played in much larger markets, but not as many fans held an emotional connection with their players.

Not too many fans can say they went hunting with Favre in the Shawano area when he was a Packer. I highly doubt Jeter would’ve said yes to fishing let alone allowed himself to be in public in the country’s biggest city.

So, understand what you heard and saw. Know that the Packers only wanted to earmark the ceremony for the deep-pocketed sponsors, but an overwhelming response made the team change its mind.

Favre may have been one of the league’s biggest lightning rods, but he just packed a stadium that didn’t have any lines painted or field goal posts in the ground. Basically, those people could’ve planted their lawn chairs at a Green Bay-area park and it would’ve gotten the same reaction.

This has never happened before and I highly doubt it will happen again.