What about Bob?

Many of my colleagues in the newspaper industry look down their noses at the idea of doing a story about fans (sorry, fans, but it's true). I do not share that feeling.

Especially when one of those fan stories produces an anecdote as cute as the one I came across last night.

Out in the parking lot, a guy named Tim Donnelly was tailgating before Brett Favre's first preseason appearance against the Jets. I asked Donnelly if he was excited about getting to see a Hall of Fame quarterback now playing for the home team, and he was indeed.

But there was more to it than that.

The morning of Aug. 7, Donnelly woke up to the news that the Jets had traded for Favre. Later that day, his wife gave birth to a son.

"I got a quarterback and a son in one day," Donnelly said.

He tried to convince his wife, Marie, that this was such a good omen the couple should name the baby Brett. No dice, she said. How about the middle name Brett? Sorry, dude.

No worries. Liam Thomas Donnelly will soon become familiar with what it is to be a Jets' fan, although the chances are close to zero that Favre will be the team's quarterback at that point. But if he needs any proof of how special the day was, he can just check out the story we had in today's Newsday.