Brett Favre Retires: A Minnesota Vikings Thank You Letter

First of all, I know this will at the outset seem to be an unpopular sentiment, but hear me out. 

Every Vikings fan ought to be thanking Brett Favre.

To most Vikings die-hards, #4 was the epitome of the word “villain” in each and every season he wore the green and gold of the Green Bay Packers.

While Favre led the Packers to relevancy on an annual basis, including a Super Bowl victory, the Vikings went through a variety of quarterbacks, including Daunte Culpepper, Warren Moon, and Brad Johnson.

Since Favre began his reign in Green Bay in 1992, the Vikings were also forced to start players like Gus Frerotte, Kelly Holcomb, Brooks Bollinger, Spergon Wynn, and Todd Bouman.  In total, the Vikings started 15 different quarterbacks.

Then Favre started a circus in Green Bay, eventually exiting stage left for the New York Jets.  Vikings fans looked on with mixed emotions.  Part of the fan base was happy that they wouldn’t have to face Favre on a regular basis, part was even happier that the Packers were going through what seemed to be a drawn out, tumultuous saga.

Some, perhaps the more objective fans, weren’t quite as thrilled, however.  One of the most consistent, highest performing players in league history was leaving the division.

Favre played his way through a so-so season in New York, and once again retired.

But of course, every media outlet had one thought in mind at that point:  Vikings.

Throughout the entire summer of 2009, rumors swirled.  Fans in Minnesota didn’t know what to think.  Could they really get behind this guy?  A guy who had burned them frequently over the years, rooting for him would have been akin to hypocrisy on an enormous level, right?  Other fans were thinking, “thank god, a QB who can get it done.”  Still others said, “psh, why are you saps diluting yourselves into thinking you can trust this guy?”

The Vikings entered their 2009 training camp with a new quarterback…Sage Rosenfels.  At that point, after Favre had strongly indicated that he would not be signing, the competition between Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson was the spotlight of training camp in Mankato, MN.  After preseason games in which both quarterbacks didn’t make an overwhelmingly strong impression, Brett Favre got a phone call.

Then came August 18^th, 2009.  It’s fairly rare to see helicopters flying around the Twin Cities and media vans jockeying for position on I-494 (the highway from MSP International Airport to the Vikings Winter Park facility), and even rarer to have such a buzz around the arrival of any figure, be it a sporting legend, politician, movie star, or rock star.

But there it was, the story first appearing on WCCO TV that, lo and behold, Brett Favre was in head coach Brad Childress’ SUV riding to sign his contract at Winter Park.  Cell phones around the Twin Cities began ringing, e-mails flew, text messages raced from phone to phone.  The Vikings finally had converted the biggest villain of them all.  Fans converged on Winter Park, bailing on work to see if what was being reported was really...well, real.

Again, feelings were mixed.  Most everyone agreed that he would be an upgrade at quarterback, but there were plenty of reservations.  Would he mesh well with his new teammates?  There had been rumors in New York of Favre’s unwillingness to really get to know teammates.  Were the Vikings just bringing a mercenary, somebody who only wanted another payday and an ego boost?  The answer to both at that point was, “potentially, yes.”

Most importantly, though, was, “Are the Vikings good enough to get to the Super Bowl?”

So the 2009 season began, with a player local radio station KFAN dubbed, “The Silver Fox.”  And many of the above questions were answered.  Instead of simply being a prima dona (although he was still that to an extent), Favre became a mentor to several of the Vikings’ young wide receivers. 

It can be argued that Sidney Rice’s Pro Bowl-caliber season was made possible by the presence of a quarterback who could hit him.  Previously viewed as somewhat of a bust, Rice was suddenly a threat that every opposing defense had to contend with.  Rookie Percy Harvin bonded quite closely with the veteran quarterback, as well.  Favre’s legendary ability to read defenses certainly came in handy early in the season as he worked to establish a rapport with his linemen, helping teach the team how to adapt on the fly.  More on this later.

The season went on and Favre and the Vikings had many highlights, including a last-gasp touchdown pass to Greg Lewis to beat the San Francisco 49ers at the Metrodome.  Favre’s performance in the season and during the playoffs has been discussed at length, so I won’t go into it too much here.  But consider that he was only intercepted seven times, establishing a new low mark in that category in all of his starting seasons.

After the Vikings’ exit in the NFC Championship game against an eventual Super Bowl-winning New Orleans Saints team, Favre said, point blank, that he didn’t know if he would return.  Vikings fans thought for a moment and, almost collectively, said, “Right.  Sure you’ll retire.  After your best season yet.  With that bad taste in your mouth over that interception.  See you after training camp.”

Fast forward to August 3, 2010, and we now know the extent of the beating Favre took last season.  Although we will certainly never know the entire story behind why Favre is choosing to retire now, we can see that his health is playing a significant part in the proceedings.  Favre has always said that if he was good to go and felt he could contribute, he would do that.  If his retirement holds, then Favre has searched and found himself wanting.  For a quarterback known for his ego, that should speak volumes.

Now we come to the legacy of Favre’s days as a Viking.  Taking a step back from the obvious disappointment of losing one of the best quarterbacks in league and franchise history, there will be several different reactions to the retirement.

First, many fans will be disappointed and angry at Favre’s “abandoning” the Vikings.  This argument is not without merit, as his retirement will leave the Vikings in the same position that they were uncomfortable with going into last season.  This group of fans will probably always bear a slight grudge against Favre and will claim that they never were entirely comfortable with the mercenary quarterback…despite how hard they cheered when the team won.

Other fans will take a more middle-of-the-road approach.  Certainly this is the take that several of ESPN’s commentators shared on-air in the immediate aftermath of the breaking news.  They opined that, regardless of who is at the helm, the Minnesota Vikings will still be taking the field to open the season against the New Orleans Saints...basically, the sky has not fallen.  There will still be a quarterback who is better than 99.99% of all others in the country, and the team will be returning all starters save one.  For a team who will have lost a future Hall of Famer, this certainly isn’t a bad spot to be left in.

Finally, the more analytical fans will look at Favre’s tenure as a Viking as a complete success.  I should note here that I’m in this camp.  Favre brought just a little bit of consistency and continuity to a team that had rarely had a player they could afford to hang the tag “starting quarterback” on for long.  This was a guy who would go out and play, plain and simple.  If he was healthy, he was starting.  If he wasn’t 100%...he’d still start if he thought he could play well enough.

Even better, he brought success to a team that just missing one piece.  He almost brought this team to the Super Bowl in his first (and apparently now only) season in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  He gave Vikings fans something to really get behind for the first time since Culpepper’s good days with Minnesota.

Best yet, he brought out the best in a talented group of players who will remain at the Vikings’ disposal.  Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, the entire offensive line…they all learned and improved under Favre.  That won’t change in the 2010 season, no matter who is starting at quarterback. 

The O-line developed the ability to adapt on the fly to an entirely new quarterback.  Transitioning back to Tavaris Jackson should be an even easier proposition now.  Jackson should certainly have learned something from watching Favre, and his ability to scramble and hit his stride in the flat should bring an interesting wrinkle back to the team. 

One of Jackson’s biggest issues in his sporadic periods starting for the team was that he appeared to want to do too much.  He seemed not to trust in the ability of his receivers.  Now, he has seen what his teammates can do and should have much more confidence both in himself and in them.

But most importantly, Favre gave Vikings fans a great season, taking punishing hits and rarely complaining.  His service made the Vikings relevant on the national scene and has brought great attention to the franchise.  Some high-profile members of the media have even speculated that Favre’s success with the team may help the Vikings finally get a new stadium.

Whatever happens, I just want to say, “Thank You, Brett Favre.”  You gave us all one heck of a season, and nobody will forget that.  We’ll move on from here and know what this team is capable of with the right guidance, and in a league where predictions and scouting reports constantly come anew, having shown us what our the Purple can do was a real nice gift to an old rival.