Yes, football is a business, but it is a business that has a calendar and established practices for teams and players. Favre is the one that has decided to operate outside the established practices (retiring and unretiring, missing camp, etc.). Saying that the Packers turned their backs on him is ridiculous – they gave him every reasonable opportunity to return. The Packers didn’t go in a different direction, they went in the only direction they could with the knowledge that Favre wouldn’t return (that is what he told them and the world a number of times). The Packers realized that this type of disruption was not worth his level of talent (I was a HUGE Favre fan – but he is NOT what he once was). The Jets learned this the hard way (New York was talking that well of Brett at the end of last year), and the Vikings will learn this year… and that is good for the Packers.

GO PACK… and Brett, well.. break a leg.

 This transition started 4 years ago with “he needed time to get away from football”. Each year that time got longer and longer until he couldn’t give the Packers a true answer until training camp. That isn’t 100% committed to the team. Favre decided he couldn’t be a Packer long before the Packers organization told him “we’ve had enough”. But when they did that, he took it as you can’t play anymore! Now he will do anything to show the Packers he CAN still play. His feelings are hurt and he isn’t getting the royal treatment anymore. Now he is with the team he wanted last year, which was probably his and Chilly’s plan all along. Favre wasn’t happy going to the Jets and the players there found that out the hard way. Now the Vikings are going down that road of destruction with him. So I want to Thank the Vikings for doing the only thing that could have stopped them year, hiring Brett Favre. Thank You!!
 And Brett, please stop the pretense that this isn’t about revenge. Everyone knows it is and listen to your body. It’s time you hang up your shoes on a historical career!

Another thing I don’t understand is why so many people feel Sage CURRENTLY is equal to or better than Favre. Some point to how Favre ended last season…..but was’nt he injured? I’m more impressed with what he did to start 2008, with little practice time and a pissywhiney Coles. Sage’s last 4 games were nothing impressive(http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5557)

Brett has some cupcake Def.s to start 2009. He’ll be tuneed in by the time we play Minn.

Get past the Wrangler Jeans and the cut off tee shirt and the old hat and what you have is a spoiled, money hungry, spotlight grabbing, special treatment seeking turd. Kudos to TT and the Packers organization for not allowing the inmates to run the asylum. I hope Kampman gets a ten yard start and sticks his helmet right into his sternum

Green Bay could have signed Favre two years ago instead of letting him leave. So why is everyone now complaining that he is playing elsewhere? The man has every right to retire or unretire a thousand times if he chooses — deal with it. He doesn’t answer to any of us as to whether he waffles or doesn’t waffle. Furthermore, Favre’s comments about the real Green Bay fans understanding is right on — it is only because Green Bay fans know he is still good enough to beat them that they are reacting as they are. Otherwise, they would be glad Minnesota was getting a washed up quarterback.

He is gone and Vikes will get to playoffs and Brett will toss up a key pick somewhere and ruin it just like he always has done since the brief superbowl runs. Or 6 picks, or 4 (a couple times), but surely in the last 2 minutes or the OT’s. Starr had composure. Swap those two QB’s and the Pack would have had a pretty good run without the giveaways. Maybe more Lombardi trophies.

The boy’s an egomaniac who is a distraction to the business at hand where ever he is. In that sense, having him on your team is no different than having T.O. on your team. And just like T.O., if a team is so hard up for what little talent the player has left in him to put up with all the crap, well then they’ll get what they deserve. Me, I hope the Pack abandons the retirement of his number until he’s truly retired. And on one comment in the article that said Minnesota was the worst place for him to go (for the Pack), no – Chicago would have been the worst place.

As a Packer fan since ‘65, I’ve seen the years of frustration (Red Sox fan too) and became accustomed to failing with less than 2 minutes on the clock. Farve when young, was almost uncatchable, ask anyone with sprained or broken fingers. He could run-n-gun with the best of them. When Farve tied with George Blanda for the most interceptions in a career, one should remember that Blanda’s figure was posted over a 26 year career. Farve posted the same numbers in only 16 years. Sloppy play? Lack of coordination with receivers? Injuries?
Lack of concentration? Who knows, who cares. The difference is Blanda posted some of his best seasons in Oakland, at the end of his career. He was the go-to guy, the clutch player.
Farve? Hasn’t had ‘the edge’ in years. While at one time I respected him for his talent,
and ability to make Green Bay competitive, I can no longer say I respect Farve for the same reasons that I don’t respect Manny Ramirez – he’s a negative influence in the clubhouse, feuding with management, and putting the letter I into the word team.
Manny wasn’t the BoSox, Farve wasn’t the Packers. In his glory years, how crucial was it to have a KGB, Donald Driver, or Bubba Franks making things happen? Favre was The Franchise – at least in his mind.
My prediction for 2009? Daldog summed it up in the post above. Farve galvanizes the Vikes, and implodes as usual in the playoffs.

I think Favre playing for the Vikings is wonderful for the game. I am a Mi. native who never followed the Lions. I grew up with Lombardi and attended the Ice Bowl.
Living in Pittsburgh the last three decades has me following the Steelers as well as the Packers. If Roethlisberger were traded to the Browns…I’d simply be amused. I am a football fan period. Having Favre in Minneapolis St. Paul is just an opportunity to see him PLAY.
The Packers bid him a fond farewell sobeit. As a football fan I will appreciate watching
him in action even against the Steelers in October. I always look forward to Packers-Bears games too because that rivalry is fun to watch. Some locals here are still blown away because Johnny Unitas was a Steeler but was cut in his first training camp and never played in his hometown. I say relax and just enjoy the pro game for the entertainment it is. After all a real football fan could appreciate the Lions winning a game or two this year.

I think everyone is making to big a deal about it. Your looking at a sport that leaves many of its players in terrible shape for their later years. Maybe Brett has taken so many hits, that you cannot blame him for any of his actions. Favre made many creative decisions on the field. He also made some really crazy decisions on the field. That might be it.///
….. I think most NFL players are a little or maybe very crazy to play the game that entertains so many.

Last year with the Jets, until he got hurt, he was brougt in many MVP discussions. Chad Pennington was better than an injured Farve.

I think he was forced out by T.T. T.t. never cared for Brett from day one.You don’t get that emotional when retiring unless you still want to play. T.T brought all this on himself. He is the bad guy here. Just listen to his comments when asked about Brett going to the Vikes. NO COMMENT. he knows he screwed up. True Packer fan know this and that’s what Brett was alluding to in his intro to the Vikes. Go Brett Go, but not against the Pack.

And from a business and personal standpoint, that makes a certain amount of sense. But the reality is, that he has shown himself to be what many of us outside of the Packer Nation always suspected. Immature, full of himself, and self-centered. I do feel bad for the Packer faithful — it’s always hard when a hero that you have put up on a pedestal reveals that they are not really exactly heroic…. but this is a lesson to all sports fans, that a good player is not necessarily a good man. We need to look for people of character to admire and look up to — I suggest looking at the people around you, rather than the people in the spotlight, which tends to highlight the good and throw the rest into shadow.

Like I said, until Farve got hurt. If Farve sat down from the half way point of last year, he would have blown Chad’s stats away up until that time. . Why do you compare the whole season when I already put up a marker……… Farve was stupid for not getting his surgery earlier. Then he would not have to play this game.

All I want to say is that I grew tied of Brett Favre the “Drama Queen” long time ago. I am even more tired of it now. That is all you hear on ESPN…Brett Favre; and I hear 8 issues of it a day at Dick’s Sporting Goods (where I work)!
I am grateful for his play in GB, I wish him well wherever he goes and I am looking forward to watching the two meetings this season.
Now…ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL, already!!

Funny The First Time I Retired Was Because Of My Wife And They Lost That Video! Don’t you remember my wife sitting by my side saying thank god hes done & I really wanted this! Now we can go on with our lives! She was so happy – That’s why I retired the first time and finally got balls and told her I want to play again that next season. Get your facts straight .. Go find the video that magically disappeared of that press conference with my wife and play it.

Damn man he’s grown and this is a business….green bay let him go it’s time 2 move on fuck it. No matter who he plays with he was good when he was good and bad when he was bad…..LET IT GO

The Packers lost to the Immortal Sage Rosenfels last year. Does the Viking QB matter that much? The Packers should worry about how they’re going to deal with the Williams Bros. & AP.

It was the Unforgettable Gus Frerotte that beat them.

I was born a Packer fan and never thought it would be any different. Lynn Dickey used to be our great white hope. Then came the majik man. Then came the real majic. What happened to Favre 4ever? Packer fans disgust me. Bring um the pain Brett. Make them remember what 2 decades of losing feels like. When he’s done it will be the No Favre League.

Favre didn’t read that one, he was busy being great! 6-10 and the two against Detroit don’t count. Is anybody getting this. a 13-3 team changes one player and they go 6-10. I know, they had injuries, right. Ask Bubba what’s up.

I read all this wishful thinking by Packers fans that Favre will fail. It is clear that Packers fans believe the Vikings have an incredibly good team because all the posts center around how Favre is a douche or will get hurt or how the Vikings don’t have 12 championships (as if anyone other than Packers fans care about the ones won like 50 years ago when the league was only semi professional).

Bla bla bla. People over analyze the hell out of this and craft their arguments as if football is some life or death battle.

Football is a game. Just because many people in Wisconsin treat football as the most important thing in life outside their own families does not make Vikings fans losers. We just don’t care quite as much as you guys do (which makes these internet battles much more enjoyable for us).

Football is a game. Players come and go. There are hard feelings etc. Team chemistry and commitment and all this “Favre will tear the team apart” nonsense is a result of the media sensationalizing sports. Put yourself in the position of the players. You get played millions to play a game that you’ve always played. The game consists of a hundred or whatever individual plays. On each individual play, you try to do a certain thing. Each guy does there certain thing and if your guys are good and the things you try to do are soundly decided, and you have some luck, then you win.

Whenever you see analysts talking about how a certain player tore the team about because that team did poorly then just know that most likely you are watching an idiot preach to idiots about idiotic things. You can take any bad team and come up with reasons why they did bad. Any good team and come up with reasons they did good.

When Moss was in Minny, he was credited in part for the good teams they had end of 90s and early 2000s. Then when they had bad teams, he was credited with being a distraction and blamed for some of their problems. Then the Love Boat happened and he wasn’t even on the damn thing. Then he goes to the Pats and they absolutely own with him and he’s given a lot of credit again.

See a pattern? It is like this every year. Morons making up reasons based on results. Teams winning is a combination of talented players, coaching and schemes to get the most out of players, and a little luck (staying healthy, not having Freeman fall with the ball on his damn head, etc.) It has nothing to do with a guy like Favre “tearing the team apart” because he came late. Jared Allen isn’t going to shave his mullet and stop murdering pigs and QB’s just because Favre didn’t want to live in a Mankato dorm. Hutch won’t quit blocking. Everyone will play as hard as they can and Brett will throw the ball at them.

Christ, Brett isn’t even a very big part of this team. The Vikings are built on Defense and running and if they have any success it will come from that. The only reason they have Brett, other than the fact that it is just hilarious and gets them uber media attention, is so the Vikings have a QB that can occasionally make a half decent pass. They haven’t had that in the past couple years.