For Favre, Mixed Feelings in Green Bay
GREEN BAY, Wis. — It took hours of watching Brett Favre on tape, and one game face to face, for Green Bay Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman to accept the jarring sight of his former teammate in the Minnesota Vikings’ purple and white.
“Actually, the more film I watch, I guess I get comfortable with the fact that he’s the quarterback over there,” Kampman said.
But how comfortable will Favre feel in that uniform Sunday, in his first game at Lambeau Field playing for a team other than the Packers. The great guessing game in the Packers locker room Wednesday centered around the reception awaiting Favre, who spent 16 seasons as a Packer before his acrimonious departure more than a year ago.
After a disappointing season with the Jets, Favre retired and then unretired and joined the Vikings after training camp ended in August.
On Sunday, the Vikings (6-1) could take a commanding division lead by beating the Packers (4-2).
“It’s definitely going to be a weird feeling, seeing him in a different uniform, a Vikings uniform at that, in Lambeau,” Packers middle linebacker Nick Barnett said. “I’m really interested to see the fans’ response when he steps out there. You’ll have people who support him, and people who are mad he’s playing for the Vikings.”
But what about his former teammates? “We can’t make it a big personal issue,” wideout Donald Driver said. “It’s the Green Bay Packers against the Minnesota Vikings. The best team’s going to win the game, and that’s going to be us.”
The Packers didn’t win the last time the teams met, when the Vikings sacked Aaron Rodgers eight times during a 30-23 victory Oct. 5 at the Metrodome. Favre said he felt as nervous before that game as any other he had played. Favre had a big night, throwing for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns.
On Wednesday, at the Vikings’ training facility in Eden Prairie, Minn., Favre said he thought he might feel less nervous Sunday.
“If you’re a true Packer fan, you want the Packers to win,” Favre said. “If you’re a Brett Favre fan this week, you obviously don’t want me to win. For the most part, you hope the guy does well, but hope that the Packers go all the way.
“Now the people that have jumped ship completely, what can I do? I’m not going to concern myself with it.”
Green Bay fans can be forgiving to ex-Packers as long as they don’t show up in purple.
In 1999, the former Packers coach Mike Holmgren received warm applause during introductions when he returned for a Monday night game with the Seattle Seahawks. Of course, the Seahawks aren’t the arch-rival Vikings.
In 2006, the former kicker Ryan Longwell, the franchise’s career scoring leader, was booed repeatedly in his first game back in a Minnesota uniform.
And Favre isn’t far removed from the turmoil he caused in the summer of 2008, when his unretirement divided passionate Packers loyalists. Some wanted him back, while others supported making Rodgers the starter. Favre later told Sports Illustrated he returned in the hope of “sticking it” to Thompson, though he backed off that statement last month.
“It seems like he’s happy over there in Minnesota,” Packers Coach Mike McCarthy said. “If he’s happy, that’s great. Going back to that time, for everybody, really has nothing to do with this game.”
While Favre had an up-and-down season for the Jets, Rodgers threw for more than 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. And Wednesday, Rodgers was named N.F.C. Offensive Player of the Month for October. (McCarthy, noting Rodgers still hasn’t received a game ball this year, said, “I’ve got to take a closer look at how we’re judging him.”) Rodgers declined to speculate how Favre might be received.
“I’ve always said, you’ve got Brett Favre fans, and you’ve got Packer fans,” Driver said. “Brett Favre fans are probably going to cheer him regardless of the situation. Packer fans are going to boo him. I can see that happening. It’s part of life. Deal with it. Move on.
“I know him, but I don’t know how he’ll handle that, boy. He never got booed before. It’ll be hard, it’ll be hard to see. I don’t know. It’ll be funny. I can’t wait to see the expression on his face.”
Said Favre: “I’ve heard boos in that stadium before, honestly. Numerous times. That was obviously different. As a player there you don’t expect to hear that in your home stadium, but I didn’t play every game in that stadium very well. There were way more cheers, and I suppose there will be a little bit of both this week.”
GREEN BAY, Wis. — It took hours of watching Brett Favre on tape, and one game face to face, for Green Bay Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman to accept the jarring sight of his former teammate in the Minnesota Vikings’ purple and white.
“Actually, the more film I watch, I guess I get comfortable with the fact that he’s the quarterback over there,” Kampman said.
But how comfortable will Favre feel in that uniform Sunday, in his first game at Lambeau Field playing for a team other than the Packers. The great guessing game in the Packers locker room Wednesday centered around the reception awaiting Favre, who spent 16 seasons as a Packer before his acrimonious departure more than a year ago.
After a disappointing season with the Jets, Favre retired and then unretired and joined the Vikings after training camp ended in August.
On Sunday, the Vikings (6-1) could take a commanding division lead by beating the Packers (4-2).
“It’s definitely going to be a weird feeling, seeing him in a different uniform, a Vikings uniform at that, in Lambeau,” Packers middle linebacker Nick Barnett said. “I’m really interested to see the fans’ response when he steps out there. You’ll have people who support him, and people who are mad he’s playing for the Vikings.”
But what about his former teammates? “We can’t make it a big personal issue,” wideout Donald Driver said. “It’s the Green Bay Packers against the Minnesota Vikings. The best team’s going to win the game, and that’s going to be us.”
The Packers didn’t win the last time the teams met, when the Vikings sacked Aaron Rodgers eight times during a 30-23 victory Oct. 5 at the Metrodome. Favre said he felt as nervous before that game as any other he had played. Favre had a big night, throwing for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns.
On Wednesday, at the Vikings’ training facility in Eden Prairie, Minn., Favre said he thought he might feel less nervous Sunday.
“If you’re a true Packer fan, you want the Packers to win,” Favre said. “If you’re a Brett Favre fan this week, you obviously don’t want me to win. For the most part, you hope the guy does well, but hope that the Packers go all the way.
“Now the people that have jumped ship completely, what can I do? I’m not going to concern myself with it.”
Green Bay fans can be forgiving to ex-Packers as long as they don’t show up in purple.
In 1999, the former Packers coach Mike Holmgren received warm applause during introductions when he returned for a Monday night game with the Seattle Seahawks. Of course, the Seahawks aren’t the arch-rival Vikings.
In 2006, the former kicker Ryan Longwell, the franchise’s career scoring leader, was booed repeatedly in his first game back in a Minnesota uniform.
And Favre isn’t far removed from the turmoil he caused in the summer of 2008, when his unretirement divided passionate Packers loyalists. Some wanted him back, while others supported making Rodgers the starter. Favre later told Sports Illustrated he returned in the hope of “sticking it” to Thompson, though he backed off that statement last month.
“It seems like he’s happy over there in Minnesota,” Packers Coach Mike McCarthy said. “If he’s happy, that’s great. Going back to that time, for everybody, really has nothing to do with this game.”
While Favre had an up-and-down season for the Jets, Rodgers threw for more than 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. And Wednesday, Rodgers was named N.F.C. Offensive Player of the Month for October. (McCarthy, noting Rodgers still hasn’t received a game ball this year, said, “I’ve got to take a closer look at how we’re judging him.”) Rodgers declined to speculate how Favre might be received.
“I’ve always said, you’ve got Brett Favre fans, and you’ve got Packer fans,” Driver said. “Brett Favre fans are probably going to cheer him regardless of the situation. Packer fans are going to boo him. I can see that happening. It’s part of life. Deal with it. Move on.
“I know him, but I don’t know how he’ll handle that, boy. He never got booed before. It’ll be hard, it’ll be hard to see. I don’t know. It’ll be funny. I can’t wait to see the expression on his face.”
Said Favre: “I’ve heard boos in that stadium before, honestly. Numerous times. That was obviously different. As a player there you don’t expect to hear that in your home stadium, but I didn’t play every game in that stadium very well. There were way more cheers, and I suppose there will be a little bit of both this week.”
Source: New York Times
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