Brett Favre is Set to Get His Revenge with the Vikings

It's the first day of November. The tundra of Lameau Field is starting to freeze. The season is more than half over. The scoreboard is tied in the fourth quarter. The seconds are ticking down.

Perfect conditions for Brett Favre.

The future hall of fame quarterback looks left, glances right and drops back with the ball after the snap. He senses the backside pressure. His internal pocket clock - christened over years of experience - is about to hit zero. Favre spots his hot route receiver, running a go pattern, who has a half step on the cornerback.

Complete. Touchdown. Game over.

At that moment, Brett Favre's revenge cycle will be complete.

But realize, at that moment, Packers general manager Ted Thompson will have only himself to blame. Ninety percent of Favre's comeback is grudge-based, an attempt payback Thompson after his Et Tu Brute act.

It was Thompson who slapped the future hall of fame quarterback in the face last summer. Favre led Green Bay to the NFC Championship Game in 2008, throwing for 3,472 passing yards and 22 touchdowns during the regular season. Who cares if he said he retired? The guy had every right to want to continue his playing career with the Packers. And, after 16 years of dedication and success, he had every reason to expect his starting spot back.

Thompson had other ideas.

Instead of going with a proven, future hall of famer who led his team within one step of the Super Bowl, Thompson went with a 25-year-old who had completed 35 passes and one touchdown the previous three years. (How are you going to tell Brett Favre he's beginning training camp as second string one year after throwing a hair under 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns? It's like replacing Mel Gibson with Keanu Reeves for the final seen of Braveheart.) Thompson's decision set in motion the chain of events that have led to Favre signing with his team's bitter divisional rivals a year later.

Football fans are angry with Brett. They're mad he's waited until August the last two years to commit to a team. They're sick of his John Kerry, flip-flop act. They're frustrated he won't just stay retired.

Don't be upset with Brett Favre. He's simply an opportunist seizing the situation he's been allowed to live in. That situation landed him a starting quarterback spot on a Super Bowl contender and $10-12 million for one year. How does it go again? He who hasn't sinned throws the first stone? Who among us wouldn't jump out of our skin for a deal like that?

Instead of pointing the finger at Favre, blame the media for its ridiculous over-coverage. Favre has been one of the three most covered people in America this summer, right behind President Barack Obama and Michael Jackson. There's no reason for that. If the sports media didn't cover every nanosecond of Favre's summer day, football fans wouldn't be chomping at the bit to tear his head off.

Understand also that we've seen this before from an athlete. Anyone remember Roger Clemens' delayed retirement? The Rocket "retired" from baseball after his 2003 season with the Yankees. Only problem was, after an All-Star year in which he finished 17-9 with a 3.91 ERA, 190 strikeouts and more than 200 innings pitched, Clemens felt like he still had plenty in the tank. What to do? Remember the future hall of fame righty signed with the Houston Astros and had an even more sensational year - 18-4, 2.98 ERA, 218 strikeouts, 214.1 innings pitched - on his way to a seventh Cy Young award. The next year he finished third in the Cy Young. He only played "half seasons" the next two years with no more than 20 starts in 2006 or 2007. He finally retired for good at the age of 44, four years after his first retirement.

Brett Favre didn't invent the word "unretired." He isn't even the poster boy for it. So stop the hating.

Right now, only two things matter. Can Brett Favre still play the game at a high level? And is there a football team ready to pay for his services? Both answers are yes.

And as long as Favre and the Vikings are good to go, nothing else matters.

The relationship between a team and its quarterback is the ultimate marriage in sports. Thompson and the Packers cheated on Favre when they decided to promote Rodgers to the starting spot. You should only expect Favre to want to hook up with one of the Packers biggest enemies, even if it's just a one-night stand. Don't blame Favre for being human. Any one of us would want the same revenge.

It's NFL meet Desperate Housewives meet real life. The only thing left to see is whether there will be a Hollywood ending for No. 4.