08/09 — At 1:20 p.m. EDT, Brett Favre left the Jets’ locker room and headed for the football field. With helmet in his hand, he quietly followed RB Leon Washington and S Eric Smith. But when fans see No. 4 walk through the gate, they erupt in a way that many have never seen in these parts.

“I’m not surprised by the response of the fans, which was great,” said Favre late this afternoon, under an outside media tent built to hold the masses.

The song "Glory Days" blasted from Brian Mulligan’s speakers, and indeed this was a glory day. An afternoon full of sunshine accompanied an electric atmosphere. When Nick Mangold and Favre worked on snaps at 1:22 , you got the sense 20,000 eyes were all focused on the exchanges.

“They weren’t on me,” Mangold said of the eyes. “It’s neat seeing all these people out there, it’s exciting. You always get that sense that people are watching that way because there’s a lot of people focused on the quarterback anyway.”

Over the course of the 117-minute practice, Mangold and Favre didn’t have one bobble.

“I think we were pretty clean. It was tough to do, going out there and making sure it was clean and we did things right,” said the big center. “But we got through it and we were able to get some stuff done.”

In all, some 11,500 people made it to the Jets practice — the largest announced crowd for a practice in the history of the franchise.

“I kind of expected it. You can feel the buzz,” said WR Jerricho Cotchery. “I knew we were going to have a good crowd out here today, so everyone was excited about practice.”

We figured it would be cool to give you a timeline on this historic day.

1:30: Associated Press writer Dennis Waszak bumps me on the arm and points to the Hofstra Swim Center. In a Wrigley-esque scene, there are six people up on the rooftop taking everything in.

1:32: The Jets begin their normal warmups under strength coach Sal Alosi. Brett Ratliff is seen instructing Favre on the routine.

1:40: Taking a glance off No. 4 for a minute, I notice David Harris is no longer working with the strength coaches. That means big No. 52 is back in the middle and that’s a welcome sign. Alosi did lead DE Shaun Ellis, TE Bubba Franks, WR Marcus Henry, OLB Jason Trusnik and TE A.J. Schable through a training session. And CB Justin Miller was on the sideline in mesh shorts and a Jets Strength & Conditioning "T" over a long-sleeved shirt.

1:53: Favre and the offense work away from the defense on the FieldTurf. He delivers a couple of handoffs as the crowd anticipates his first throws.

1:57: The drill has the tight ends working with the quarterbacks. Favre drops back (and the crowd goes silent) and the unguarded Chris Baker makes his way into the open field. Extending with his left arm, Bake pulls one into his body and there is celebration in the stands. A couple of yards, but a large step for Jetskind.

1:59: After a couple of other connections between Nos. 4 and 86, the other QBs get in some reps. Then Bake drops one over the middle, which actually followed a low pass from Favre, and the crowd boos the pass catcher unmercifully.

2:01: Coach Noel Mazzone’s wideout group meets up with the quarterbacks for some patterns. I score three slants for Favre — one to Laveranues Coles, one to Chansi Stuckey and one to Dave Ball.

2:04: J-Co runs a pretty post and Favre is on the money. Again nobody’s covering here, but it’s still fun to watch the Mississippi gunner.

(After practice, Favre says, “I was probably overexcited at the start of practice and I’ll pay for it tomorrow.”)

2:07–2:19: There are “other guys” on the field. Rookie OLB Vernon Gholston makes a nice stuff on a Musa Smith run and a spectator belts, “Save it for the Patriots.”

2:19: If you didn’t know this was Brett Favre day, you receive the hint when he airs out a long incompletion and the place erupts. David Clowney, covered by rookie Dwight Lowery, makes a nice effort but the ball is a tad out of reach.

2:22: The first Favre “team” pass is batted away by S Eric Smith. Dustin Keller is the intended receiver.

But Favre is not deterred and completes a pass to Baker for 8, looks deep and then comes back to Leon Washington for a couple, then shows the legendary quick release with another hookup with Baker.

2:27: Veteran 'backer Matt Chatham is taking notes, too. He drops back into coverage with Baker and puts his hands up for a Favre rope, deflecting it and coming down with a pick. He would have had a clear path to the end zone but Allen Iverson would probably remind old No. 4 that this is practice.

2:30: Back to the “other guys.” Mike DeVito is one strong dude and a good football player, getting off a block and stopping Leon for a 1-yard gain.

2:39: Clowney, who’s probably the fastest Jet, continues his great camp and gets rolling down the right sideline after a reverse. He ends up in the end zone for a would-be 55 yard touchdown, but he might not have made it that far if tackling had been allowed.

2:55: Play-of-the-day time. It’s Favre to J-Co for 35 in a team drill. Not a laser, just a great touch pass that a smooth Cotchery got to with his left hand and eventually hauled in.

(“He was just going through the progressions and he’s got a lot more touch than people would think,” J-Co tells me. “It was just a nice little touch pass to me and I had to hold up my end of the bargain and go get it for him.”)

3:23: We’ll have time in the future to watch Favre in the two-minute drill. He sits out today but Ratliff, who continues to perform well, ends practice with an offensive high. With the offense down, 28-20, he goes to Brad Smith for 65 as B. Smith runs away from the DBs into the end zone. Then Ratty gets the tie, finding Leon in the right corner for the two.

3:58: Through with the press, Favre’s on-field day is done. If you’re thinking he’s got to be tired after this amazing three-day run, you’re right. Jets PR head Bruce Speight asks Favre how he's doing as he walks through the parking lot. Favre says, “I’m great. I feel like I’m going to pass out, but I’m great.”