Associated Press

CANTON, Ohio — Brett Favre seemed a bit surprised by the question.

Asked if he ever imagined himself wearing a gold jacket in Canton, Favre quickly responded: “Absolutely not.”

He’s still not sure he belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which he entered Saturday night.

“Pretty amazing,” the record-setting quarterback said Friday. “Incredible. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the game. I hold these guys in the highest regard. I just find it hard to believe I am in with those guys.”

Those guys are the 295 members of the hall that Favre joined, along with Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison, Orlando Pace, Kevin Greene, Ken Stabler, Dick Stanfel and Ed DeBartolo Jr.

That Favre even remotely doubted he belonged after one of the greatest careers in NFL history — 20 seasons, tons of records, including a stunning 299 consecutive games, an NFL title in 1996 — is folly to most.

The first three-time league MVP (1995-97), Favre has put up numbers that can be overwhelming. Add in his spirit, competitive fire and fun-loving attitude, and he was such a slam dunk in his first year of eligibility that his candidacy wasn’t even discussed by the selection committee in February.

When he began getting text messages from his heroes, particularly Roger Staubach, Favre said he had to “pick his jaw off the floor.”

“It wasn’t a goal of mine,” Favre said. “I have the utmost respect for the players who go in, but I just wanted to play, and people who saw me identified with that. If they paid me $50, I would have felt the same way. What they pay is a lot of money. When I’d drive home, I would say to myself, ‘This is stealing!’”