There are many I’m sure who view the news of Brett Favre having arthroscopic surgery on his throwing arm as a sign that he will inevitably come to play for the Minnesota Vikings, but these Favreophiles need to cool their jets, at least for a little while longer. As Chris Mortensen points out in his report on ESPN.com, Favre has been testing his shoulder since having the surgery last month, and still doesn’t think it’s well enough for him to take the plunge. Favre was clearly burned by the way his season ended in 2008, and his pride is such that I’m certain he will not mount a comeback until he satisfies himself that he can sling the ball around in true #4 fashion. And, frankly, I wouldn’t want anything less than that.
And then of course we must consider things from the Vikings’ point-of-view. Though they’ve already completed minicamp plus another week of OTAs with many veterans in attendance, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind tossing out much of what they’ve gotten done and starting over with Favre…assuming Favre is physically and mentally ready to get down to business once training camp starts. If Favre is, in fact, not ready to go, and even tries some shenanigans to get out of having to participate in camp, what then for the Vikings? Should they welcome Favre into the fold simply on the basis of his legend? Should they throw all common sense and reason out the window just to accomodate the revenge fantasies of a guy who isn’t necessarily entirely committed to the team?
I would hope that, unlike many Viking fans, Brad Childress, Rick Spielman and the brain-trust are not so consumed with their daydreams of Favre-fueled glory that they would allow themselves to be blinded to the possibly unpleasant realities of the situation. But, I’m sure that if Favre has had the surgery, and ends up determining that his arm is good to go, he would be more than willing to show up on day one of training camp and do all that’s necessary after that. So we really don’t have to worry about some other nightmare scenario where Childress and company, visions of Super Bowls dancing in their heads, succumb to their own Favre delusions, and fail to do what’s right for the team by telling the unprepared, manipulative and selfish Favre to shove it.