MINNEAPOLIS -- As much as they could hate anything in the land of Garrison Keillor, cheesy brats and county fairs, they used to hate Brett Favre. His name was bastardized into "Farce" and "Fart." They lived to decibel-blast him into making mistakes, often succeeding during his 6-10 career with Green Bay in the Metrodome. The ear-torturing horn, the wild-haired Norsemen on motorcycles, the Led Zeppelin riffs -- "We come from the land of the ice and snow" -- all of it was aimed at the symbolic mortal enemy in the Vikings-Packers rivalry. But now, in a surreal twist perhaps unprecedented in American sports, Favre is a Viking whose No. 4 jersey is bathed in purple. And now, with predictable fickleness, the same fans absolutely adore the man they loathed for 16 years. Can you think of another athletic legend who literally crossed lines and joined blood rivals? An itchy Michael Jordan signed with the non-descript Washington Wizards. Joe Montana finished up with the Kansas City Chiefs, who evoke no emotion in San Francisco. Wayne Gretzky skated out his career for U.S. teams that meant little to the parochial puckheads in Canada. In complete contrast, Favre has joined the heated division rival in the next state over from Wisconsin, making his Friday night preseason debut with the Vikings a study in human psychology. Shouldn't we have allowed a chance for some awkward emotions?
No comments:
Post a Comment