Favre to support McGraw concert Packers' quarterback Brett Favre is a longtime friend of country superstar Tim McGraw By Todd McMahon News-Chronicle This should come as music to the ears of the hundreds of hardy fans who will be lining up at the Resch Center the next couple of days. Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre told The Green Bay News-Chronicle on Thursday he's planning to attend at least one of the upcoming Tim McGraw concerts. "I'll probably come over there as a guest," Favre said after a team workout at Lambeau Field. "But, I'm not doing anything (special)." Since the shows were announced last week, speculation had been rampant that Favre would make an appearance. He's a close friend of McGraw, considered country music's top male performer. The concerts are scheduled for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Resch Center. Tickets, which are $67 and $57, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the arena, as well as at Ticket Star outlets and by phone at 494-3401. Also on the bill are Big & Rich, The Warren Brothers and another act yet to be announced. One name prominently mentioned is country superstar Faith Hill, McGraw's wife, who has been known to appear at a number of his shows. The added attraction for concertgoers is McGraw picked the two shows in Green Bay to be featured on his second TV special for NBC, which will air in November. "As big as he is, yeah, this is a big deal (for Green Bay)," Favre said. Packers backup quarterback Doug Pederson, also an acquaintance of McGraw, agreed. "For the city of Green Bay, this is tremendous to get this kind of national exposure," Pederson said. "Anytime you get a national telecast and get a guy like Tim McGraw coming in, it's going to draw a lot of enthusiasm and you're going to have a lot of people watching. It will be great for the city." Eager fans were allowed to start forming a ticket line at the Resch Center late Wednesday afternoon. As of Thursday, more than 20 tents were set up, and the line snaked from the front of the arena on the south side around to the east side of the building. Favre and McGraw, both hailing from the Deep South, have forged a friendship for a number of years. McGraw has regularly attended Favre's annual fund-raising golf outing in Mississippi during the summer. Favre has reciprocated by making appearances at a charitable event hosted annually by McGraw in Louisiana. Earlier this year, the Brett Favre Forward Foundation made a $10,000 donation in the name of McGraw's late father, former baseball pitcher Tug McGraw, to needy students in Louisiana. Tim McGraw and his wife have been guests of Favre and his family at Packers games and sung the national anthem before games at Lambeau Field. The 36-year-old Pederson's familiarity with McGraw, 37, goes further back. They attended Northeast Louisiana University at the same time in the late 1980s. "I knew him back when he was singing in bars and trying to make a name for himself," Pederson recalled. McGraw enrolled at the school on a baseball scholarship but, after a couple years, gave that up as well as his studies in order to launch his singing career in Nashville. At the time, Pederson, a three-year starter at quarterback, was big man on campus. "He actually remembers me more playing because he used to come to all the games and watch us play," said Pederson, who's in his 12th NFL season. "He's on the top of the world now," Pederson added of McGraw. "And, obviously, with me coming from a small school to where I'm at right now, 12-14 years later, is awesome, too."