Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings captured the season series sweep over their former employer/divisional rival Green Bay Packers today with a 38-26 win in Green Bay.
Favre was outstanding, throwing for four touchdown passes and none of his sometimes-characteristic picks (though he has only three this season). He continued what has been, by any measure, a fantastic season, which is all the more impressive because Favre turned 40 last month.
Of course, it helps to have Adrian Peterson on your team—Green Bay’s leading rusher was Favre’s replacement, Aaron Rodgers, who had an awesome game statistically and is having an impressive overall year himself. Rodgers has already turned out much better than I ever thought he’d be.
Nothing about this game was a surprise to me, though, especially after the Vikings’ win over the Packers last month. And the Vikings are widely regarded as a superior team. But honestly, the Vikings were gonna win today because they have Brett (freakin’) Favre. He is, of course, no longer the greatest player in the league. But he once was, and he’s as worthy of the term “legend” as any football player could be. He was going to play well in this game because it’s the most meaningful one he’s played in years and because he had to be ready. Do you think he would have signed with the Vikings if he wasn’t confident he could play two huge games against the Packers? Come on. He’s a proud man, as most great athletes are, and he desperately wanted these wins. And he got them. The team that knows him best could do nothing to stop him.
It was surreal watching Favre get booed in Lambeau, though, and I still don’t understand it. Can you picture Elway getting booed at Mile High? No, and not just because Real Mile High is long gone. What has Favre done to earn the wrath of Green Bay’s fans? Yes, he has squabbled publicly with management, but who sides with those guys, even on a publicly-owned team? Yes, he waffled on retirement for far too long. Perhaps he was a selfish jerk on many occasions. Still, though. If Favre had had a career like that for my team (three MVPs and, oh yeah, A RING), I’d never boo him.
The closest examples I can think of in Denver are Dikembe Mutombo and Terrell Davis. Mt. Mutombo, the shot-blocking centerpiece of our upset over the Sonics, was booed lustily when he returned to Denver with the Hawks, but he at least left over money, which isn’t comparable to Green Bay telling Favre to hit the road. And Davis, while never booed at Mile High, had to respond to allegations that he wasn’t tough enough as he suffered through injuries his last few seasons. The absurdity of that really pissed me off. Still, though. Favre always struck me as the most Elway-like player around after 7 retired—the strong arm, the mobility, the one-team-ness, and yes, the will—and even though he left, I can’t believe how quickly the Pack fans turned on him.
Then again, his glory days are a little less recent than John’s. But still, he almost took the Packers to the Super Bowl two years ago. During the ensuing offseason, Green Bay decided he wasn’t worth keeping. And yet somehow he’s the one who gets booed. Can someone explain that to me?
Comments
Glad to see the Vikings got some coverage at HPS. Obviously both games were all that up in this neck of the woods. I, too, was shocked that he got booed. John makes a good point that if Elway showed up in a Raiders uniform he probably would, too. But that said, Favre left under less than desirable circumstances - and he obviously wanted to keep playing - and obviously still can. Minnesota and Wisconsin are definite rivals - at least from the Minnesota side.