Troubled? Awkward??

Upon returning from a short business trip to Massachusetts, this tidbit happened to be the first thing I read on the St. Paul Pioneer Press web site:

"The quarterback who led the Minnesota Vikings to six NFC Central Division titles and three Super Bowl appearances says it was awkward to see Brett Favre in purple Sunday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

Fran Tarkenton says Favre is playing as well as he ever has and is helping young Vikings receivers Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin become better players.

The former Vikings quarterback says he had a hard time watching the game against the Green Bay Packers in light of the emotional toll it took on some fans and on Favre, who he says looked troubled."

If Favre (17 for 28 passing, 244 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) was troubled, I hope he is troubled the rest of the year. Speaking of troubled, Mr. Tarkenton has been very outspoken from the beginning on Favre joining the Vikings. He is firmly against it, and has been speaking out in the news quite often on this subject. By the way, do you know what is awkward and troubling to me? This:

Brad Johnson
Brooks Bollinger
Kelly Holcomb
Tarvaris Jackson
Gus Frerotte

Those are the Vikings starting QB's since 2004. Lots of losses. Very awkward. The Vikings have their first quarterback perhaps since Warren Moon (outside of Daunte Culpepper for a couple of years) that gives them a chance to score every time they have the ball. They are 7-1 going into the bye week. Favre has Pro Bowl numbers. (By the way, I'm not going to say anything more than that or make any bold predictions because, if you're a Viking fan, you are waiting for the proverbial Other Shoe to drop any time now).

Here is what ex-Vikings running back Chuck Foreman had to say in response to Tarkenton's criticism of Farve:

"Loyalty in this game is not what it used to be. If you’re not playing well, they drop you like a hot iron....but as far as being selfish goes, I think some people need to look in the mirror. In this game, there’s some selfishness in all of us. So to say that Brett is selfish or that the Packers gave him . . . he gave the Packers just as much as they gave him."

There is no question that Fran Tarkenton was the best quarterback to ever play for the Vikings. But, along with Chuck Foreman, other past Viking great have weighed in the issue of Tarkenton being "selfish" and not necessarily a "team player" when he was with the Vikings. Hall of Fame tackle Ron Yary had this to say on the issue:

"If the Vikings would have had Brett Favre during the time of my career, we would have been 7-0 in Super Bowls. Absolutely," Yary said.

That is a bit of a rip on Tarkenton if you ask me. Why, really, is Sir Francis so bothered by Favre playing for the Vikings? Does he suddenly have concerns for the "emotional toll" on Packer fans? Is he troubled that Favre could be troubled? Or is it something else? Could it be that he is concerned that his legacy could be eclipsed if Favre should win a Super Bowl with the Vikings (although we all know that is cosmically impossible)? I think this goes beyond the "awkward" sight of Brett Favre in purple.

Jeff