Should have known

Call it what you want - I've been back and forth about Brett Favre being under center for the Vikings about as many times as he's contemplated retirement. And it's no coincidence. Every time he's bid farewell to the league - more importantly to the city of Minneapolis - I've breathed a deep sigh of relief. But boy, every time there's been talk of a return, my heart skips a beat in excitement. What do they call that? A closet Brett Favre fan? No. No way. Not after the years he spent ripping apart my Vikings secondary (okay, okay...which isn't saying much). Not after he tainted his own precious reputation by refusing to loosen his death grip on the NFL, after the world agreed it was his time to go. There's no...possible...way...I could like Brett Favre.

But I do. He's going to take us places. Quarterback was the only missing piece of the puzzle last year when the Vikings finally reached the playoffs. They had the most dynamic ground attack in the league with Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. Both are back. Both are healthy. Not to mention the solid work that backups Ian Johnson (former Boise St. star) and local Iowa boy Albert Young are putting in. Shoot, the Vikes can be dangerous no matter who is taking snaps, that's for sure.

The recieving corps got a boost with Percy Harvin. Bernard Berrian will continue to do work, and this is the year Sidney Rice needs to prove he won't have to battle rookie WR's for the no. 2 spot any longer (although no one would blame him for losing that spot to Harvin this season...that guy is special).

With Hutchinson and Co. manning the O-Line and the Williams Wall clogging holes on the D-Line (pending their punishment for violating the league's substance abuse policy - yeah, both of them), the Vikes are as good as any in the trenches.

In my opinion, Leber, Henderson, and Greenway represent the finest linebacking corps in the league, hands down. They're all back and healthy. And of course you won't see any flashes of greatness from the secondary. The d-backs were already less than impressive, and Darren Sharper left the Twin Cities for New Orleans. Unless teams figure out that their game plan should be 95% pass, 5% run against the Vikes, the mediocre secondary won't hurt us anymore than it did last season.

All that said, Favre is the missing piece we Vikings fans have longed for ever since Daunte Culpepper left town. The fact that it's, well, Brett Favre is still shocking. Tough break for Sage and T-Jack. Their QB battle is now for the backup position, and that's the part of this whole scenario that pains me the most. Is it fair? Probably not. But does that matter? Not in the slightest. The Minnesota Vikings need a Superbowl. A Superbowl win. The "0-for-4" has been staring us in the face for decades.

Green and yellow aside, indecisiveness aside, the fact that he's kept Vikes fans guessing all summer aside, I hereby place my faith and the future of the Minnesota Vikings organization (well, for the next two years anyway) into Brett Favre's capable hands.