Your Move, Minnesota Vikings

by Anthony21 on Jun 16, 2009 2:08 PM CDT in Favregeddon

The Favre interview with Joe Buck cleared up a surprising amount of loose ends in Favregeddon -- if he intends to come back, if a deal is shaping up to bring him to Minnesota, if he's committed to another season. At this point, then, I'm anxious to see the answers to these remaining unanswered questions: How much longer until it's official, how the Vikings organization will respond to the interview, what the contract will look like, and how his right shoulder will progress as his recovery continues (will there be any setbacks or just smooth sailing).

That second question, of the Vikings' response, is interesting to me -- it underscores the fact that Brett just put the ball in this team's court with his appearance on HBO Monday night. Brett did seek to downplay how advanced things were between him and the team but let's be honest: There's little reason to continue dodging the issue in public.

Ideally, then, I'd just like Childress/Wilf to echo what Brett said during the interview: It's looking like a pretty sure thing if the shoulder progresses to the point where he can be productive.

It'll be interesting to see what happens. I don't think there's really any point to continuing the secrecy that has dominated the team's public comments about Favre to this point, so hopefully we start getting some answers and some more openness. The cat's out of the bag, fellas -- let's just be honest about where things are at.

A couple other quick thoughts about the interview that come to mind:

I was damn impressed with the job Joe Buck did. He asked all the questions I wanted him to ask without being too pushy -- he played that balancing act perfectly. The comedy bits he did throughout the show were absolutely terrible, but he was at least a great interviewer.
From the video montage that introduced the interview, I was struck by the clips of an NFL Network reporter broadcasting from outside Brett Favre's house. As a semi-regular viewer of NFLN, I had no idea they had a reporter stationed there. Kinda sleazy, if you ask me.
I appreciated Favre's acknowledgments of how tired people are of his continued indecision. He said his silence on the matter was meant to stop feeding into the frenzy -- which I thought was an ironic statement, because if anything, his silence has only made things more of a free-for-all.
If part of his desire to do the interview was to improve his public image, I think he largely succeeded. I was struck by his sincerity throughout -- we've all seen many interviews with players who are simply BS-ing their way through it, but Brett was absolutely genuine throughout the 15 minute conversation.
Did we get a specific timetable for the rest of the summer from Favre? Not really. He had the surgery two and a half weeks ago, his recovery is ongoing, but he didn't give a solid indication of when he'd know if he wants to come back, when he'd be joining the team, etc.
Time and time again, people keep mentioning that Brett referred to himself and the team as "we." As I rewatched the interview, that continued to emerge as the surest sign he'll be a Viking.

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From Access Vikings:

Vikings’ season-ticket holders aren’t going to have to wait very long to get the team’s response to Brett Favre’s interview on HBO Monday night.

Owner Zygi Wilf, coach Brad Childress, vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman and linebacker Chad Greenway will take part in the first "State of the Vikings" event at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. The event is for season-ticket holders and RSVP’s were due by June 15.

Now that Favre has essentially put all of his cards on the table — I’d say referring to the Vikings as "we" was pretty telling — it will be interesting to see what the Vikings’ chief decision makers tell their fan base during the hour-and-a-half program. According to the invitation, the Vikings’ brass "will address many of your questions."

This is just the latest example of the Vikings trying to reach out to their fans. The team held a Fan Forum conference call with season-ticket holders in April that featured team president Mark Wilf and Spielman. It’s no secret the team has had issues selling tickets at times the past two seasons so the fact the franchise is being proactive shouldn’t come as a surprise.

"Our inaugural ‘State of the Vikings’ event is special as this is the first large scale effort by the team to interact with our season-ticket owners in a ‘town hall’ setting," said Steve LaCroix, the Vikings’ vice president of sales and marketing and chief marketing officer. "It is also a major piece of our efforts to build upon our year-round communication plan we have initiated with our core fan base."

Visit:
http://www.vikingvigil.com

Skol Vikings!
Woot Woot!

by Manimal on Jun 16, 2009 2:58 PM CDT reply actions

Very interesting

Looks like the fans will get to them before the media can — that’s probably for the best. Looking forward to seeing some reports out of tomorrow night’s event.

by Anthony21 on Jun 16, 2009 3:00 PM CDT up reply actions

I still… refuse… to accept it…

In AP I trust
Just say no to Favre.

by FarvaForTheVikings on Jun 16, 2009 3:11 PM CDT reply actions

At the very least...

We may be coming to the end. It should be over very soon.

Yeah right.

Visit:
http://www.vikingvigil.com

Skol Vikings!
Woot Woot!

by Manimal on Jun 16, 2009 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions

Just Pretend He's Some Else, Maybe He'll Go Away

The Vikings once survived the aged Archie Manning over two decades ago. Another old number 4 arriving from Mississippi isn’t going to kill anyone.

by Elgar on Jun 16, 2009 3:38 PM CDT up reply actions

we can still hope the surgery was unsuccessful farva! here’s hoping that tendon wraps itself around the bone and ties itself into a knot!

by iseepurplepeople on Jun 16, 2009 4:03 PM CDT up reply actions

Same

Case of the beet bandit. Missing beets from all over the farm, no footprints. Inside job. Mose in socks. Boom. Case closed. -Dwight Schrute

by mjschaefer on Jun 16, 2009 5:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Good Report Manimal

Sure would like to sit in on that show and ask a few questions.

by CitrusFLViking on Jun 16, 2009 3:46 PM CDT reply actions

Let's Face It, Favre Wants To Be A Viking

If Favre’s arm is good, he will be in purple and gold come September. I’m not sure why both parties are still trying to maintain this level of secrey. I could understand before he was released, to convince the Jets he wasn’t going to play and ruin his trade value and to get the Jets to outright release him. But it serves no purpose now. As for avoiding a “media frenzy”, I think it’s obvious it failed in that regard. Is Favre the last piece to a Vikings Super Bowl team? Time will tell. BUT…I’m willing to bet opposing defenses won’t be as quick to stack the box against the run with Favre taking the snap. His reputation, if not his arm, will intimidate defenses. I, nor any other fan, has any say wheter or not Favre plays so I’m just going to hope for the best.

by Purple And Gold Forever on Jun 16, 2009 4:19 PM CDT reply actions

It's exciting!

If nothing else… I thought Favre handled himself pretty well during the interview. You can’t deny, the dude is pretty charismatic. I find it tough to hate him when he’s not suited up in a packer uni.

by Miidwest on Jun 16, 2009 4:28 PM CDT reply actions

Got to be good looking 'cause he's so hard to see...

Compare the alleged secrecy to this. When you are writing a mystery story, you do not announce who done it in the middle of the book, even if all the readers believe they know already. It is just part of the genre. The Vikings need to sell tickets, and a summer of suspense won’t hurt that. If people are talking about you, that’s good show business.

When two bazillion reporters descend on Mankato, people will realize there is some real truth to what Favre is saying, even if it is also a good cover story for the fact he’s old and fears getting winded before the season starts.

Favre did not exaggerate when he said he could teach the West Coast offense. He not only knows the plays, he knows the strategy and how to use it so that it actually is a KAO. He knows Bevell very well. It won’t take many throws before the receivers catch on to where the ball is coming and how hard it’s coming in.

You will hear a lot more talk now about how Favre is a “big problem”. Consider that a good portion of this talk will originate with people who are actually trying to undermine the Vikings, just like Ray Lewis telling AD he’d be even better if he put on some weight.

It’s like ol’ Bubba in his hemi pickup telling you, “If you put in a load of concrete into your Maserati, it would get great traction, and you’d win a whole lot more races.” Then he eyes your girlfriend, and he says, “She’s nice lookin’; bet she’s cheating on you.” You can imagine for yourself what he plans to tell her later about how jealous a creep you are..

Don’t fall for any of this crap. Some of these people are only working on gaining an edge. When people get envious, and that’s a good sign. It’s not that Favre’s a saint or anything, but if he puts on the purple helmet with the horns, you want him to succeed (even if you hate him) because his victories are yours too.

There’s an old poem a teammate of mine used to spout. She goes like this:

     Life is like a pastry,
     And wherever yours might roll,
     Keep your eyes upon the donut
     And not upon the hole.

Remember where you are going as you run your routes. Pay no attention when the cornerback tells you your shoes are untied. You can stop and tie them in the end zone and thank him. He’ll really appreciate that.

by Elgar on Jun 16, 2009 5:57 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

+1

lol! elgar you are a quote/cliche machine! and now a poet too!

by iseepurplepeople on Jun 17, 2009 9:19 AM CDT up reply actions

I feel truly sorry for you.

Being a Dolphins fan, I saw first-hand the havoc Farve caused the team. All I can say is I’m sorry … This will be the end of Childress.

Stay Positive

by AHub1087 on Jun 17, 2009 7:59 AM CDT reply actions

Wilf and Spielmen...

Both appear to want Favre as well. So if Childress gets fired, it won’t be because of this. I hope they don’t sign Favre, but that’s neither here nor there; it’s up to them. And it appears that everything points to Favre wearing purple very soon.

Visit:
http://www.vikingvigil.com

Skol Vikings!
Woot Woot!

by Manimal on Jun 17, 2009 8:17 AM CDT up reply actions