Into Enemy Territory

Up until this last weekend, I have been stuck in a see-saw battle of thoughts and emotions as it relates to this #4 character.  I understand the possible upside, see the downside, and feel stuck wanting to wait to make judgment until I see if this union is actually gonna happen.  That is, those were my thoughts, until this weekend.

See, my parents have a nice little cabin on a nice little lake in a nice little town in North West Wisconsin.  Trees, water, beer, cheese, and…. packer fans.  And of course, it is Wisconsin, so it is inevitable that every time I visit, I will end up hanging out at the local bars, at least for a while.   And for those who have never been to a Wisconsin bar, it is basically a nest of packer fans.  It is basically a packer fan nest. They have these little nests scattered all across the state, all littered with green and yellow patrons.  Every single one.  Now, I usually stay away from starting any banter about the supremacy of the Vikings or my disdain for the packers when I am visiting their nests, I know I am outnumbered and, well, the locals just don't think it is as funny as I do.  In fact usually I don't even bring up my Minnesota roots.  But this, well this last weekend was different.  And it led to an epiphany, a sudden deep 'got it' moment, a vision of the truth,  a profound understanding on what my stance should be, as it relates to Mr. Favre...

It was cold and crappy out all day Saturday, so no lake, no pontoon, no laying on the dock, its 2:00 in the afternoon…So, well…what should we do?  If I was a native, I wouldn't even have to ask that question, but of course the answer is: hit the bars.  Bar one and its packed.  2:00 in the afternoon, completely packed.  Here, a group of Wisconsinites are finishing up a golf tournament and starting a drinkfest, some of the usuals have their spots perched in front of the bar slot machines, while some others are just casually having a couple of shots before the big 'toilet shoot'.  Yes, this is Wisconsin, they have 150 different weapons, a years worth of scrounged up toilet bowls, and they are gonna have some drinks and go blow the crap out of them.  Don't get me wrong, this sounds sweet to me too, but only in Wisconsin.  Then on to Bar two. Then bar three. Then bar four.  Fast forward to bar five, 10:30 pm I've been drinking all day and I am tanked.  I am tanked, smack dab in the middle of enemy territory and a friend of my parents who I have met on occasion walks up to me and I decide to greet him and immediately break my peace-keeping silence.

"Packers are gonna get their ass kicked this year…by…Brett and the Vikes!  HA!  What do you guys think about that?'   He immediately drops his head.  An automatic reaction.  He looks almost…well, defeated I guess, he takes a deep breath, slightly raises his chin and I can see the anger pulsing through his eyes.  "We are pissed.  Absolutely pissed."  For some reasons his words invigorate me, I am filled with an energy, a spirit, "Yeah," I mumble in a friendly manner, "I think it's pretty funny."…  He continues, "Let me tell you what, he is a traitor.  That son of a bitch.  We are so pissed, we all planned on going to his big Hall of Fame Induction when it happens down the road, well, not now.  Nope.  Not now.  We don't even like to utter his name…Ya know there's a lot of people that want him to get seriously injured, some even want him dead. " 

Wow, I think, that’s probably going a bit far, and probably not entirely true, but, wow, they really hate this.  They are miserable.  The face of their team, their leader, their god, is crossing the mighty divide that keeps packer backers and Minnesota maniacs apart.  Favre is coming to the good side…And they cannot stand it.  Just then, his son walks up, right in the middle of this conversation and, of course, he is wearing a packers shirt.  A brand new, bright green, Green Bay Packers shirt.  On the front of the green shirt was this faded picture of Brett Favre's face, and under it, with big yellow letters it reads, " We Will Never Forget You, BRENT."  BOOM!  This is when it finally hit me, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.  The enemy of the Packers, is not an enemy of mine.  Forget the past feelings I had for him, he is coming to the good side.  I finally understood, I must embrace number four.  I must.  And this is going to be so entertaining, plus it will probably help our team in the short run, and, ultimately, this will add fuel to this great rivalry.  One of the best rivalries in all of sports.  And it is going to absolutely sting my bitter enemies across the border.  And that alone could outweigh all the possible negatives of this impending union.  And in the end all I can say is:  Welcome, Favre, Good to have ya, let's go kick some green and gold ass!

Skol Vikings.