Brett Favre Signs With Minnesota Vikings; Storybook Season Begins

All over the NFL on Tuesday, fans, players and critics alike rejoiced over the signing of Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings...except for Green Bay Packer fans...then Tuesday was a day of mourning.

To be fair, the Favre signing has brought out three different responses, each unique and passionate in some degree. To those in Green Bay and Packers fans abroad, the signing is seen as a cardinal sin and now has Packer fans ripping the cheese from their brains in disgust.

Another is the response of Minnesota Vikings fans that praise the fact that the quarterback leading them is not a no-namer, but most likely the most famous quarterback to ever play the game.

Then there's everone else, that are caught to the point of being overjoyed that that madness has ended (or that it now will be a feature every week of the regular season).

The Vikings now enter the 2009 season with a little more confidence in what they now have with their offense. Favre will only be a larger asset to Adrian Peterson and Berrian and will only now have an even stronger arm to stretch the field with. The defense is...well the Vikings defense, a top-five defense and No. 1 against the run.

The biggest thing this season will be the fact that the Vikings needed one piece to their puzzle and Favre will be that piece.

With a storybook like setup, the Vikings are set to claim the prize that has eluded them for almost fifty years. With the Pro-Bowl running back hailed as purple Jesus to the most dangerous defensive line in football, the Vikings suddenly have a staggering team.

Favre has also been (although not open about it) wanting a fitting ending to a legacy that he rightfully claims as his own.

With that said, the NFL no longer has a standing quarterback issue in the making. Michael Vick is an Eagle and now Favre, a Viking. The offseason/preseason is now back in the hands of the NFL, and all is at peace.

What lies ahead can only be described as risky, but who would blame Minnesota? They've been living in four empty years since Culpepper was quarterback for the purple.

The Vikings team has an essence if you will, of storybook or comicbook like roster. It's well known that a lot of the veterans such as Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield and Visanthe Shiancoe were spit out by their former team and have made a name for themselves in Minnesota and made the Vikings a 'team of the misfit players.'

On top of that, many of the key players on the team carry a name/persona/alias about them. On the defense, Pat and Kevin Williams resemble the wall, Antoine Winfield is the short guy with big hit (which we all saw in his first ever Pro-Bowl season last year) and Jared Allen is the beast (no explaination needed).

On the offense, Steve Hutchinson has taken over the role leader after the departure of Pro-Bowl center Matt Birk. Rookie Percy Harvin was dangerous in college, however it is not known how well his skills will translate yet. 

At the No. 1 receiver position, Bernard Berrian is the ever-dangerous deep threat. Peterson is rightfully becoming one of the most productive running backs in the league and is quickly making a name for himself as "the chosen one." Brett Favre could very well be the role of the redeemer.

Favre's very goal is to go out with a bang and who could blame him? Doesn't everyone want to leave on a good note?

With that said, the Vikings schedule is not only an easy one in 2009, but carries significance each step of the way. In week one, the Vikings face Favre's former coach, Eric Mangini and the helpless Cleveland Browns.

Of course, the Vikings face Brett's former team the Green Bay Packers twice, on Oct. 5 in Minneapolis on Monday Night Football and again Nov. 1 in Lambeau. Both games carry emotion for Favre, especailly his homecoming game in Novemer.

The Vikings then face the New York Giants in Week 17 (again), the team that defeated Favre in the NFC title game in 2007, Favre's last game as a Packer.

It is Favre's legacy on the line, it is the Vikings Super Bowl hopes and dreams (not to mention Childress' job), but is it written that Favre will lead this team to the promised land?

Time will tell...