SI, Feb. 28, 2005 Update

MOTHER'S DAY came two weeks early for Carolyn Witthoft. On April 23 her 12-year-old son, David, gave her a priceless gift: He changed his shirt for the first time in four years. For the previous 1,594 days the Ridgefield, Conn., sixth-grader had worn his beloved Brett Favre jersey. Why break the streak? It just felt like time. The jersey is faded in some spots and darkened in others, the numbers have peeled off, the favre name tag has been hand-stitched back on, and while David says it's not too gamey now, he concedes, "It has smelled before." (Like when he wore the jersey under his Little League baseball uniform.)

The shirt was a gift from Santa in 2003, when David was seven. As the jersey shrank and David grew, he knew the day would come when he'd need to take action. "We talked about the best way to go about this," says his father, Chuck. "We decided not to make a big deal about it and just picked a date." They settled on the 23rd, David's 12th birthday.

David and his father will be in Green Bay on Sept. 8, when Favre's actual jersey will be retired. For a change, it is not known what David will wear.

PHOTO

JIM MATTHEWS/THE PRESS GAZETTE/AP (UPDATE)

GREAT UNWASHED The streak lasted a third of David's life.