Brett Favre

Brett Favre is a Viking! I grew up despising, and hating this man. It was part hatred, part envy, and part jealousy. He was a packer. He was the enemy. Now he's ours. We get to cheer for him at Lambeau Field. #4 running out of the tunnel is our #4. Minnesota is a Vikings state. Brett Favre gives us our latest and greatest chance to finish the puzzle so many Vikings fans have miserably failed to finish. It's been tough in my generation, I can't imagine what it's like for those like my dad who have been there since the beginning. Four Super Bowls, four losses. For fans in my generation it's 1998, Denny Green taking a knee before halftime, and Gary Anderson missing for the first time. It's the 41-0 drubbing in the Meadowlands that sent us into a 8 year tailspin. We also had the loveboat.
All of that can be forgotten. I don't care that Favre broke the touchdown record in the dome. I don't care that he made Chris Hovan look like an absolute buffoon. I don't care that he lead the Packers to the Super Bowl twice, and won one. I don't care about any of that. That's in the past. We need to build new memories.
What will they be like? I am an admitted Viking optimist. I have predicted 14-2 season's since I can remember. That's changing now. I looked at the schedule, and to be honest with you, I can't find 2 losses. Now I'm not an idiot, the Vikings won't go undefeated. They're gonna have to rest players after they wrap up home field throughout. The Vikings have a great team. It's balanced, with big play potential. If Adrian Peterson rushes for 1500 yards, I'll assume he'll be hurt for 2 games. I think Percy Harvin is going to burst on the scene like another troubled receiver we took a chance on. I think that you might know who I'm talking about. He's currently wearing number 81 for the Patriots. Harvin won't put up Moss like numbers, but you better keep track of him. Our defensive line is second to none, and the linebacker's have a chance to be really good.
But let's get back to Brett Favre. I hope that Madden comes back for the Monday night game. I want to hear him say BrettFavre over and over, and know he's talking about our #4. I wish I could be there when Brett Favre comes running out of the tunnel in green bay wearing purple. See the thing is that we might not have the championships or history that green bay has. But at least our unquestioned hero doesn't hate us. I want to meet all of those kids born in Wisconsin ranging in ages 3-16 named Brett, and tell them that they're named after a Viking quarterback.
This is as big a story as we get here in Minnesota. We crave attention. We had a helicopter following Brett Favre from the airport to Winter Park. We had 10,000 people watching Tiger practice golfing. We set attendance records at every marginal sporting event we get. We haven't had a home team to get really excited about for a while, until now. The Twins are done, and Timberwolves are in the middle of a 20 year rebuilding phase, and are drafting guys that won't even play in the NBA. And the self proclaimed state of hockey, has a team that is starting over after 8 mediocre years. So if you're a true sports fan like myself, now is the time to get excited. I'm not talking about you fake fans, that are only interested in sports so that the other guys you work with will talk to you. Want to know if you're a true fan, you need to be able to name 3 out of the following 5. Offensive or defensive coordinator, special team captain, 2009 second round draft pick, or the player who wore #4 before Brett Favre came to town. If you failed that test than pick a different bandwagon. Brett Favre is a gift to the real fans.
This is a lot to put on the shoulders of a soon to be 40 year old QB coming off of arm surgery. But we've been told forever that he's a gunslinger, he loves the game, and will win at any cost. So let's see him do it in purple.