GREEN BAY — Had the sky actually been falling during this past week, Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field still would have claimed the top story of every news broadcast in the Midwest.
With every prediction of the game’s outcome came a prediction for the fans’ reactions to Favre returning. Will they cheer? Boo? Or both?
In case you are still recovering from a Halloween party and have missed all news coverage, Brett Favre returned to Lambeau Field Sunday night for the first time in almost two years and was able to deliver that revengeful bite to Green Bay for the second time this season, vexing the Packers and all of Wisconsin in a 38-26 victory. Favre won the game in impeccable fashion but was unable to win over most of the fans that supported him for 16 years.
Packer fans proved to be unsympathetic toward Favre, turning hostile the moment he stepped on the field.
He was booed when he sauntered onto the field for pregame warm-ups, for team introductions, for the coin toss, during each play for the first several drives and every time he and his offense thought about getting near the end zone.
Scott Lamers, 35, of Kaukauna, Wis., admitted without hesitation that despite being a Favre fan for years, he did not want to see him succeed as a Viking.
“No, not as a Viking. I’m a Packer fan and a Favre fan,” Lamers said. “I like watching him — he’s exciting — but today I want to see him lose.”
For fans, Sunday at Lambeau was all about distinguishing where your loyalties laid between Favre and the Packers. Favre jerseys were inescapable and came in a variety of editions: as a Packer, Viking or a New York Jet. Even a plain black jersey of Favre was in abundance. This jersey came with no logo or stripe pattern, just plain black with a white No. 4 and Favre’s name on the back.
For some fans, drawing a line in their moral sand was easier said than done. Some adopted a two-face persona by dressing in half-Packer, half-Viking Favre jerseys.
A witness to the legendary Ice Bowl and resident of Green Bay, Bruce Nohr, 57, arrived at Sunday’s game with his wife, wearing a Viking’s Brett Favre jersey.
“I’ve been a Vikings fan ever since Favre joined the Vikings,” Nohr said.
Despite being Public Enemy No. 1 for 16 years, most Vikings fans are elated that Favre has crossed over and brought his infectious success with him.
Little factions of Vikings fans littered the seats at Lambeau Sunday, and many of them were seen with Favre jerseys. Ricky Frith, 30, and Dave Frith, 27, brothers from Minneapolis, welcomed the long-time enemy with open arms.
“We love it,” Ricky Frith said. “I was always a Favre fan, not a Packer fan.”
“I always respected Favre while he played here (in Green Bay),” Dave Frith said. “It doesn’t bother us at all.”
As far as moral victories go, Favre’s successor — Aaron Rodgers — has the full support of Packer fans behind him. His pregame introduction over the stadium’s loudspeaker triggered one of the loudest cheers ever heard at Lambeau field. Although he regularly posts statistically spotless performances, it is apparent already that Rodgers must become more adept at winning football games.
Jeff Dubord, 40, of Appleton, Wis., and vendor of the hybrid jerseys — sporting a half-Packer, half-Falcon jersey himself — knew exactly where his loyalties belonged.
“One hundred percent with the Green Bay Packers,” Dubord said. “I feel Rodgers in the long-run has an excellent chance of taking us deep in the playoffs with just a little more help.”
