Ignore the Brett Favre factor for a second. Which means ignoring ESPN. And newspapers and magazines. And the Internet. And the radio. And your neighbor. And your neighbor’s dog in the custom-knit Favre jersey.
Favre-free yet? Good. Because here’s the thing, Packers fans.
There’s a football game to be won.
I know it’s easy to forget that simple fact in the midst of this 30-ring circus. But how could anything be more important?
Win this game and the Packers forge a tie atop the NFC Central standings at the quarter mark of the season. Win this game and the Packers can legitimately crow that they’re contenders to be reckoned with. Win this game and that 6-10 debacle from 2008 can fade further into the past.
And what’s on the other side of that coin? More angst than a Lewis Black routine.
Lose this game and the Packers, two games out of the divisional race, are already checking the Wild Card standings. Lose this game and the only thing legitimate about the Packers will be question marks. Lose this game and the Packers live through the longest bye week in team history.
No, Green Bay’s season won’t be over with a loss against the Vikings. It’ll just feel like it.
So in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if Brett Favre or Fran Tarkenton or Fran Drescher is quarterbacking the Minnesota Vikings. What matters is the result.
This is not Brett Favre vs. Ted Thompson. It’s barely Favre vs. Charles Woodson. This game will be won in the trenches. It’s Adrian Peterson vs. Green Bay’s suspect run defense. It’s the Pack’s beleaguered offensive line vs. the Williams Wall. It’s Brad Childress vs. Mike McCarthy. Or failing that, Brad Childress vs. a razor.
The circus will ignore those storylines. It will focus on Favre’s legacy and Favre’s vengeance, Favre haters and Favre lovers, Favre jersey-burnings and Favre hero-yearnings.
But in the end, all of that is little more than window dressing, a propaganda battle that the Packers have no hope of winning.
Which is fine, of course. Just so long as they win the game.
5-7-5
What do you do when you can’t get enough Favre coverage? Well first, you seek professional help. Then you check out FavreHaiku.com. Somewhere, an ancient Japanese poet smiles.
No ballgame to watch? No problem. Check out our new TV Guru column to get the lowdown on your remote control options.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter, where I tweet as howiemag. And tune in every Tuesday morning at 6:25 when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie. You can also find the segments in their Audio Vault.
