This year’s Super Bowl may showcase one of the greatest talents of all time.

An aging veteran who has defied his critics time after time. A man whose supporting cast has gone through some changes but is back and just as strong as ever. Many assumed he would have retired by now, but he still takes the stage with a youthful exuberance that puts most of the youngsters to shame.

Some might even call him the Brett Favre of music.

No matter who wins on February third, the real winners are everyone watching the halftime show. A show that will feature Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The 57-year-old rocker may be the best possible fit for a Super Bowl halftime show. Even if there are better, few can argue this isn’t the best choice in the history of the game.

Sorry Michael Jackson and U2; you come a close second with your performances. And halftime shows by The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Aerosmith would have been good ­- had they performed 20 years in the past.

Unlike those artists, Petty hasn’t lost much of a step throughout his career. And with the Heartbreakers in his corner, he stands a good chance of actually being entertaining – something unheard of in halftime history.

In fact, should the Packers and the Patriots – two teams I hate – meet in the Super Bowl, I will be wearing my Heartbreakers jersey that day and cheering for them.

In comparison, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers pretty much are the Green Bay Packers. Petty and Favre have both been constants over their entire career. They both have the ability to carry a struggling team or drag it down with them.

If Petty isn’t writing good songs there isn’t much the Heartbreakers can do to save them – just like if Favre is throwing 30 interceptions in a season, the rest of the team cannot recover.

While the main focus of the Super Bowl should be on the game itself, at least the NFL isn’t shoving novelty acts or teen pop-stars at us this year … or even worse, New Kids on the Block like they did in 1991. I think I’d rather watch a Brett Favre highlight reel at halftime than that.