Favre Is Coming Home

   On Sunday afternoon in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on the sacred icy ground that is Lambeau Field, Brett Favre will make his much anticipated return to his former stomping ground. Although he has already played in another uniform other than the Green and Yellow of the Pack, it's a whole different ballgame when he comes donning the much maligned Purple and Horns.

   The Packers arch rival Minnesota Vikings were the next stop after Favre's uneventful escapade to the New York Jets, and he has managed to take them to an entirely different level. This time there will be 63,000 screaming fans calling for Favre's former cheese head on a cheese platter, the animosity reaching levels that he has never seen before. Although there may be some stubborn Favre supporters laying low throughout the crowd, the majority will be taking part in burning effigies in the parking lot and trying to tear their voodoo doll's ACLs.

   Favre has the Vikings a game away from perfect at 6-1, almost 1,700 yards through the air and a dozen touchdowns to only 3 INTs. While Aaron Rodgers has done more a serviceable job as his heir apparent, there were always some in Wisconsin who knew that Favre had more to give. He gave them a Super Bowl back in the day, but it was "what have you done for me lately?" at the end.

   While my friend Al Harris was one of Favre's closest allies during his time with the pack, he will be on the hunt for a pick so he can tell his kids and grand kids that he intercepted the greatest quarterback ever back in 2009. While the front line will have their hands full with Adrian Peterson, Harris and the rest of the secondary will have to be ready for the old man's air attack. Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice can do damage down the field and Favre's favorite target Visanthe Shiancoe will wreak havoc over the middle.

   The Packers are right in fight at 4-2, but Ryan Grant and the running game have taken a few steps backward since last year. Greg Jennings and Donald Driver seem to enjoy the deep ball favored by Rodgers and this game may say a lot about the division's final standings. Everybody knows that the Vikings front five can hold off almost anybody, but it's the other side of the line that the Packers need to be wary of. DE Jared Allen has 7.5 sacks in 7 games and forced a trio of fumbles, one leading to a score. He is an animal out of the gate and should send Rodgers to the turf at least once on Sunday.

   It will be an exciting afternoon showdown to say the least. Full of emotion and elation. Anger and angst. Action and reaction. Fear and suspense. As far as football terms go it will have touchdowns and touch backs. Long bombs and short slants. Hard hits and soft calls. But most importantly, Brett Favre is coming home. He will be almost assuredly wearing a Packers helmet when he is finally inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. But who knows when that will happen, as retirement clearly isn't his forte. Don't miss a minute of one of the most anticipated regular season games in quite some time.