Brett Favre Breaking News: He's Coming Back, The Circus Is Over

NFL.com reports that

Brett Favre's Indecision 2010 campaign trail has ended midway through the August heat of training camp, as a purple-and-gold plane touched down in Minnesota at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, MN on Tuesday afternoon.

The 40-year-old gunslinger had texted teammates telling them he would call it quits early on in August, but the Vikings convinced him to reconsider.

Think that had anything to do with the fact that their chances at the Super Bowl rest almost entirely on his arm?

All along, Favre said it wasn't about the money. It was about whether his ankle would be ready to play.

Yet somehow, Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson, and Ryan Longwell were ultimately the ones who convinced Favre to stay. Are any of them doctors?

Perhaps they've earned their doctorates in Love of the Game over the course of their long careers, and were able to remind Favre of just how much he'd miss playing every Sunday; maybe the allure of another Super Bowl ring pushed Favre over the edge.

Whatever the real reason for Favre's return may be, it is now all but inevitable...or so we think.

Remember, this is Brett Favre we're talking about here, and as of yet, he still hasn't made an announcement. Until I hear it from his mouth, it's all speculation.

We were all but certain that he would retire for less than 24 hours earlier this month, and it's turning into a childhood story "The Quarterback Who Cried Retirement."

This story hasn't reached a "happily ever after" or a moral lesson just yet; there's still three weeks remaining before the season opener in which Favre could flip-flop at least once more.

If he returns, the question then becomes, what will his impact be for the Vikings? Can Favre play up to the same standard of excellence he showed last year, when he posted a career high in completion percentage (68.4 percent) and a career low in interceptions (7)?

Or will we see the same Favre we saw in '08, throwing two touchdowns and nine interceptions in the last five games of the season when his arm got tired?

Only time will tell.

The total impact of Favre's return will never be known, because we'll never know how well or how poorly any of his backups would have performed in comparison to how Favre performs. We can assume neither Tarvaris Jackson nor Sage Rosenfels would be nearly up to the level of Favre.

But we no longer have to, because the future Hall-of-Famer looks ready to return for a 20th season, so the assumptions mean nothing because the truth is on its way.

We can, however safely assume that he and the Vikings are now counting the days, nay, the minutes until their uber-hyped rematch with the Saints on opening day Thursday, September 9.