It’s hard not to write about Brett Favre. He’s hard to escape. I’ve been stopped by non-sport fans and asked what I thought about the Favre signing. So whether I want to or not I am a fan or not, here is a piece about Favre.

I’ve never worshiped at the Favre shrine and never cared much for him personally. That could have been influenced by his being a Green Bay Packer. The media could have contributed to this as they continually tout the Packers as the Viking’s archrivals. However, when you look at it realistically, Green Bay is little hard to hate. A town about the size of Rochester that has a wonderful football history dating to running back Johnny Blood, on through to Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr, then Brett Favre. Still, the Vikings are our team.

The reaction of Viking fans to the Favre signing has not been as favorable as I anticipated. The Albert Lea Tribune ran an online poll asking “Are you glad Bret Favre is a Viking?” The response was 54 percent “yes” and 45 percent “no.” It surprised me that the vote was that close.

There may have been a number of factors that influenced the negative vote. Perhaps due to his indecisiveness. Would he play this year? No, he was definitely retired, then maybe and finally yes. Childress said he closed the door on Brett Favre. A lot of fans may be thinking: “How dumb do you guys think we are? That the deal was set months ago and Favre probably has his $25 million invested, while his relatives were up here scouting out a place for Favre to live in Minneapolis.” Then there are those from Favre’s Green Bay days that didn’t like him then and don’t like him now. Then there is the group, (probably the most accurate), that feel Favre is long past his prime and won’t help the Vikings that much. So Favre is coming into a divided group of fans and it won’t take very many games for the boo birds to infest the Dome if he does not do well.

You do have to say that Zygi Wilf has been generous with his time and money since he bought the team from profit-minded Red McCombs, (you remember Red, the Texan that bled Viking purple.) As we all know, sports teams as well as many other endeavors, are all about money.

Looking back, the McCombs reign was short and sweet for the used car salesman. He was able to own the Vikings for just a few short years and double his money. You would think that would be tough to beat. However, as time goes on, I think Zygi is topping Red. Wilf is going for the long term and looking down the road. Now I think Wilf is sincere when he says he wants to better the team. I think he does, but it also fits into his overall design.

Favre is a short-term investment that may also contribute to his long-term plan. Wilf has made the Vikings the talk of the national media and the financial rain that will pour down will easily outweigh the money given to Favre. As of a few days ago, there have been 3,000 season tickets sold and 5,000 Favre jerseys. How does the Favre signing aid his long-term plan? If the team should win the Super Bowl, what a windfall that would be for Wilf and the Vikings. Tickets, endorsements, etc. all true, but what in terms of the Viking’s future.

What would the approval of a new stadium mean in terms of team worth? Half a billion?

I think a lot of people agree with the thought, that the Favre signing is a win-win situation. Favre takes us to the Super Bowl and wins. Wonderful! If he falls flat on his face, Coach Brad Childress is fired for his lack of insight. Yep, It’s definitely win-win.