How Brett Favre Turned Purple to Green

While the jury might be out on what Brett Favre can still do on the field, one thing there is no doubt about is that he is a one man economic stimulus package for the Twin Cities!  While Brett is going to cost the Vikings about $12 million this season for the contract he signed, he immediately generated $2-3 million yesterday for the team in the sales of new season tickets and individual game tickets – sales that will continue to increase for the next several weeks before we even know if the risky addition is even going to work out.  Since people that attend football games spend money on food and drink, that probably adds another million dollars to the value.  When sales for his football jerseys are included, that revenue range increases another $2-$5 million in sales.  High five to the apparel company that launches the half Packer / half Viking football jersey because even that will sell.  While the Vikings don’t receive an immediate financial benefit, the TV ratings for the remaining pre-season games will be record breaking – a bonanza for the local tv affiliate that is lucky enough to carry the games.  It is hard to believe but the Minnesota Vikings immediately broke even on a $10 million dollar contract on day 1 in a terrible economy!

Speaking of green, Favre used to play for a team that wore the color and I’m not talking about the New York Jets.  It just so happens that I was up in Wisconsin this past weekend and I was surprised by how Packer fans felt about Favre joining the Vikings.  In a word, indifferent.  Packer fans are conspiracy theorists and I was surprised to hear they still expected Favre to join the Vikes – probably in week 4 or so.  Silly me, I thought this whole soap opera was done because he couldn’t stop working out for a couple of weeks and then play in the NFL at the age of 40 – could he?  I think the main reason that people are indifferent in the land of cheese is that Aaron Rodgers had a very respectable first season leading the team and this season is supposed to a playoff one that could lead to a Super Bowl in a very wide open NFC.  I’m sure the reaction would be significantly different if the Packers were headed into a terrible season but the other factor is time.  This saga has dragged on for about 2 years and Packer fans are tired of it – just get on with it is their view and I agree.

So how will Brett Favre do as the qb of the Minnesota Vikings?  While it appears he still might have most of his trademark “fastball” based on videos of him practicing in Mississippi, he does have a slight tear in his rotator cuff that will cut the velocity down a bit.  Likewise that shoulder pain, among the others boo boos that will develop over the season, will serve as a reminder that he is old enough that the dead sea was only sick when he entered the NFL.  His gunslinger approach isn’t necessary on a team with the most talented running back in the league AP.

All of these factors, it is easy to make a case for Super Bowl success or flaming failure.  I think it will be a little of both in a tale of two cities story.  I think Favre will have early season success with the Vikes and they will get off to a fast start.  However, I think Favre will become a victim of something he has never succumbed to – a season ending injury which will mean the Vikings will need to fall back on the 3 seemingly nameless qb’s not good enough for the team to chase an old man living a 1,000 miles south of their team facilities.  I’ve previously written a blog that has the thought is a tree fell in the woods (meaning Tiger being out injured) and nobody was around, would it make noise.  In this case, the Favre tree is a redwood and the noise will reverberate throughout the NFL – stay tuned for the next chapter in this story.