A Fan's Account Of Favre Bowl II at Lambeau Field

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As a one-time devoted Green Bay Packers fan, as well as an openly hopeless Brett Favre enthusiast, this writer got the best of both worlds this Sunday.

Tailgating with Packers and Vikings fans in a stranger's backyard, taking trips to a self-made bathroom, I discovered what it is to be both a true Packers/Vikings fan, some humility and that defending your favorite player for the past four years has its perks in the end.

I also learned several other things on November 1st. I learned to not use “the bucket,” the “number two” disposal device, that makes women of all sizes cringe, and makes men second guess the number of brats they'll be embedding into their fat walls.

I also learned about ketchup, and how it “never belongs on a brat.” I was told to go back to “Detroit,” or whatever that means.

But despite the unlikely culture shock a Florida resident receives from going back to his stomping grounds, the even bigger surprise was seeing the outcome of the game, and somehow even more enlightening-the unfriendly “welcome back” NFL&id=1744" title="Brett Favre" target="_blank">Brett Favre received.

You could hear the boos from inside the bathroom, even with 120 other men avoiding eye contact and trying to get “their business” done. Even with Vikings fans laughing at other Packers fans, amidst a 24-3 third quarter lead.

Even when the game seemed to be out of reach, ever single time the former Packers legend took the field, he was treated as if he had never played for the green and gold before in his life.

He was, whether we like to admit it or not, truly an outsider.

In talking to many fans and listening in on conversations, it became quite apparent that people weren't just peeved with Favre. They didn't just dislike him.

They hated him.

And quite honestly, they hated you if you wanted anything to do with him, too.

From the first Vikings turnover, where Favre attempted an audible and the center flicked the ball past him (leading to their first fumble), to chants of “Favre sucks” randomly emitting from section 126, it had finally dawned on me that sometimes, at least for Favre, you really can never go home.

But the true Packers fans stuck around, even after the bitter loss, and congratulated Favre on his likely final appearance at Lambeau Field as a player.

Even if their form of congratulations was in a “boo,” you could still tell the haters from the folks that were merely saddened and disappointed they had lost their veteran quarterback for good.

After three hours of tailgating, defending Favre, and watching the legend himself pick apart the Packers' shaky defense, I came two two conclusions:

Green Bay is beyond just moving on from Brett Favre. The fans and the community have erased him from their collective memories, and are in the process of burning any physical evidence of his existence away for good.

But after seeing the jubilant Favre walk off the field truly happy as a winner, I also realized that it just didn't matter.

If you were at that game, Packers fan or Vikings fan alike, you knew you were witnessing greatness yet again, and regardless of which team you were cheering for, you'd have to try pretty damn hard to keep from smiling when Favre exited the field, arms raised over his head.

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