WGBA -Favre Leads Vikings to Victory Over Former Team

Favre Leads Vikings to Victory Over Former Team

By Gary D'Amato of the Journal Sentinel

Green Bay - In the days leading up to his mega-hyped return to 1265 Lombardi Ave., Brett Favre said he received countless pats on the back, text messages and words of encouragement from his Minnesota Vikings teammates.

"They said, 'Hey, you're going to play great. We know you're nervous,' " Favre said. "I'm like, 'That's easy for you to say.'"

He steeled himself for the boos and catcalls he knew he'd hear from fans who once worshipped him as the iconic leader of the Green Bay Packers. 

He was the enemy now. He understood that.

He was booed when he trotted onto the field for the pregame warm-up Sunday, booed when the Vikings came back out before the opening kickoff, booed every time he stepped into the huddle.

"Deep down inside," Favre said, "I know how they feel."

In the end, however, it was all just so much carbon dioxide, dissipated harmlessly into the night air.

As he had done so many times in the glorious past, Favre was in complete control at Lambeau. Over the vociferous objections of 71,213 fans, many of whom still have problems coping with the reality of the quarterback in a Vikings uniform, he played a measured, efficient game.

He completed 17 of 28 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns. He slipped and skipped away from the Packers' pass rush, a 40-year-old in a younger man's body. He was not sacked. He did not throw an interception.

And he left Green Bay with an immensely satisfying, 38-26 victory and a regular-season sweep over the Packers, the team with which he parted on such bitter terms.

"It ranks high," Favre said, when asked where the victory ranked among his biggest as a player. "Where on that list, I don't know. I was part of some pretty good games here as a Packer."

Favre's return arguably was the biggest thing ever to happen in Green Bay. It was covered from every possible angle by the media and dissected by national pundits. Bud Lea, a longtime sportswriter who was born and raised in Green Bay and started covering the team in 1954, said he'd never seen anything like it.

"It's surreal," Lea said.

Hours before kickoff, in the parking lot and on the streets around Lambeau, a surprising number of fans dressed in Vikings gear - many wearing Favre's No. 4 jersey - mingled with Packers fans. Some of the latter wore the quarterback's old Green Bay jersey but doctored it with duct tape or paint.

Kevin Byrnes of Chandler, Ariz., taped an "X" over Favre's number and had the word "Traitor" covering the quarterback's name.

"I was a Brett Favre fan for the 16 years he was in Green Bay," Byrnes said. "I guess the way I look at it, he's destroying his legacy over a two-year relationship with (general manager) Ted Thompson. It doesn't make sense.

"When he went to the (New York) Jets last year, I understood that. A lot of great players have played for other teams late in their careers. Franco Harris played for the Seattle Seahawks. Tony Dorsett was a Denver Bronco.

"But this one just didn't make sense."

Even some Vikings fans admitted they had a hard time warming up to Favre, so vivid were their memories of him in a Packers uniform.

"He was the main face of our rival for 16 years and it's hard to embrace that," said Steve Cox of Hutchinson, Minn. "I lived in Mankato and I grew up just a few blocks from the (Vikings) training center and I've been bleeding purple since I was 5. Whatever's good for my team is good for my team.

"But my friends will never hear me say, 'Go Brett, go.' I'm not going to say that. I'll say, 'Go quarterback, go.'"

Vikings coach Brad Childress took a calculated gamble by bringing Favre to Minnesota and immediately installing him as the starter. In a not-so-subtle jab at the way the Packers handled the Favre fiasco last year, Childress said, "I didn't bring him in to compete. That's what he was going to do in Green Bay."

The Vikings improved to 7-1 while the Packers fell to 4-3. In the two victories over Green Bay, Favre completed a combined 41 of 59 passes for 515 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He was not sacked once, while the Vikings sacked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers 14 times in the two games.

The rematch, after Minnesota's 30-23 victory on Oct. 5, turned out to be a thriller. Early on, however, Favre-apalooza was a snooza.

The Vikings built a 24-3 lead before the Packers rallied in the second half. After Green Bay pulled to within 31-26, Favre led the Vikings on a clinching four-play, 59-yard drive, closing the coffin lid with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian.

"They're a good team," Favre said of the Packers. "I think people are starting to realize we are, too."

Favre said he wasn't as nervous for this game as he was the first time he faced the Packers.

"He wasn't in a fetal position at his locker crying or anything like that," Childress said.

The magnitude of what he was about to do - step into the bowl at Lambeau as the enemy for the first time in his 19-year career - didn't hit Favre until the Vikings' team bus neared the stadium and he saw the green-and-gold-clad fans.

"I saw a mixture of everything," he said. "Heard some cheers. Saw some (middle) fingers. That part seemed a little weird."

After the game, Favre was surrounded by a security detail and some two dozen photographers. Several Packers broke through the knot to congratulate him, including Rodgers, wide receiver Donald Driver, running back Brandon Jackson and defensive end Cullen Jenkins. Favre hugged Jerry Parins, the Packers' senior security adviser.

He also had a brief exchange with Packers coach Mike McCarthy.

"I just said, 'Way to battle. Good to see you. Good luck to you,'" Favre said.

In time, after he finally does retire, Favre probably will return to Lambeau to a hero's welcome. Lynn Dickey, who played quarterback for the Packers from 1976 to 1985, likened the rift to a divorce in which the couple is still in the bitter, feuding stage.

"In the big picture, in four or five years he'll be back here retiring his jersey and people will love him," Dickey said. "But right now, he chose to go the other way, to the dark side. Everything will be forgotten in a few years."

Favre isn't immune to the criticism he's received but said, "I'm not going to sit here and throw daggers."

Unless, of course, he's throwing them to Vikings receivers.