2009 NFL Season: Week 8 Preview

I am dubbing Week 8 of the 2009 NFL Season, “Homecoming Week”.  Every fall at high schools and colleges around the country, homecoming is a special time in autumn for old friends/family to bond while sharing good memories, enjoying some great football action and of course eating. 

Make no bones about it… people love gathering around to watch the NFL.  In fact, according to the latest Nielsen ratings, last week’s FOX doubleheader game (mostly Falcons-Cowboys) was the most-watched sporting event since Super Bowl XLIII with 28.4 million viewers, beating the Angels-Yankees series-clinching ALCS Game 6 by 12.9 million viewers.

Halloween this weekend will bring its usual bags of candy, ghosts and goblins.  But everyone around the NFL is talking about some “Back to the Future” games where old stars are returning to places of past glories, past playoff match-ups will be replayed and rivalries will be renewed around the league. 

If you can believe it, Green Bay, Wisc., will be the epicenter of the NFL universe this week.  Without a need to say, the league’s biggest homecoming will occur Sunday at Lambeau Field as former Packers great QB Brett Favre will return for the first time ever in another team’s uniform. 

"This is Brett’s homecoming, let’s be real about it,” says Green Bay safety Atari Bigby.  “It’s going to be special.  Everybody wants to see this.  Everybody’s going to tune in to this game.” 

How big is Favre’s return??  Both Fox Sports and the NFL Network have been promoting one-on-one sit-downs with No. 4 on Sunday morning. 

Plus Fox, who is broadcasting the game, will have a camera dedicated to shooting every move Favre makes during his return to Lambeau Field on Sunday.  The camera will be set up at the 50-yard line and its video will stream live on NFL.com and FoxSports.com.

Amidst a nasty battle between Favre and Packers GM Ted Thompson, the 19-year veteran quarterback left Green Bay in a huff after 16 magical years to play for the NY Jets and the starting job was handed to Aaron Rodgers (currently ranks second in the NFL with a 110.8 passer rating), right before the start of the 2008 season. 

As everyone probably knows (most likely from ESPN’s Monday Night Football Favre-fest) back in Week 4, Favre already re-acquainted himself and his new team to his old team as the Vikings defeated the Packers 30-23 in Minnesota. No. 4 had 271 yards and three touchdown passes in the win.

However this Sunday will be something real special as Favre, holder of numerous Packers records including most games (255), wins (160), attempts (8,754), completions (5,377), yards (61,655), touchdowns (442) and passer rating (85.8), will return to the frozen tundra as the starting quarterback of the hated Vikings. 

Favre fans' loyalties will be stretched farther than Vikings and Packers No. 4 jerseys on some plus-sized cheesehead’s back. 

It will be interesting to see if cheeseheads will cheer, boo, hold-up signs of encouragement or discouragement for their departed folk hero, who put Green Bay back on the football map in the 1990’s then broke their hearts in the summer of 2009 by signing with the Vikings. 

Earlier this season, Favre said this of the 2009 Minnesota Vikings, “Physically, and from a talent level, this is the best team I’ve ever been on.”

Well, Brett, a few members of your Super Bowl-winning Packers squad from 1996 have begged to differ. 

Former Packers TE Mark Chmura, a member of the ‘96 team, said “It all starts with Brett—Brett’s not as good as he was.”  Chmura added, “I mean, you’re talking about the No. 1 defense in the league at that time, maybe one of the best defenses ever to play the game. 

"Don’t get me wrong. Favre is still a good quarterback, but he was unbelievable in the day. When we played back then, teams feared us. I don’t know if teams fear the Minnesota Vikings today. We knew no one could beat us at home, absolutely nobody.”

In planning for Favre’s return, several restaurants are only serving “Waffle” fries in honor of the NFL’s biggest waffler and Green Bay’s mayor decreed that Friday in the town would be called “Flip-Flop Friday,” (year after year, the legend said that he was going to retire then inexplicably came back near training camp).

Favre said of his return to Wisconsin, “My career with Green Bay speaks for itself, that won’t change.  For three hours, I’ll be on the other side.  Do I