Win gives Favre saga vindication

Brett Favre was right.

The former Southern Miss quarterback knew it all along, and proved it to the rest of us Sunday.

By beating the Packers in Minnesota, then going on the road to arguably the most hostile environment in sports history and throwing for four touchdowns in another win, Favre has proved that he still has "it."

The same "it" he had for 16 years as the starting quarterback in Green Bay.

"Am I pleased with the way these two games have turned out? Absolutely," Favre said as he sat in the unfamiliar visiting media room at Lambeau Field Sunday. "It had nothing to do with trying to prove myself to anyone. I still have a passion for it. It's a little bit tougher to get up and bounce back, but my arm feels great. My mind is in a good place, the team has welcomed me in and really all the other stuff doesn't matter. I know it makes for a good story. But I'm glad it's over, I'm glad we won both but I'm not going to sit here and throw any daggers."

That's because he doesn't have to.

Let's take the accusations one at a time.
    1. He's too old.
        Freshly, Favre is currently ranked in the top three in the NFC in quarterback rating, passing yardage and touchdown-to-intercpetion ratio.

    2. Aaron Rodgers is better.
        Younger? Sure. More athletic? Probably. More efficient? Maybe. Better? No way.

    3. He can't get a team back to the playoffs.
        At 6-1, the Vikings look like the hottest team in the NFC other than New Orleans, and are easily the favorite to run away the North Division crown.

    4. There's nothing left in the arm.
         Yeah, right.

For two years, Favre haters have complained about all the whining, the indecision that gave birth to the back-and-forth and the middle school-like bickering. Turns out it was all worth it for No. 4.

Sure, it would have been a fitting end to see the Packers be able to prove their point about Aaron Rodgers. He's a good player, and they couldn't just have him sit on the bench, everyone understands that now.

And everyone knows that Favre has the better team around him, as Percy Harvin showed with his 51-yard receiving touchdown or Adrian Peterson with his 97 yards rushing.

But Favre is still the real winner.

In case you've been living on Mars, Favre was shunned in Green Bay by a front office ready to see what Rodgers could do and by a coach caught in the middle. He spent a year in exile before coming back with the Vikings and beating Green Bay twice.

But the way the Vikings won both games is the most telling. In the two games, the Mississippi native was 41 of 59 for 518 yards and seven touchdowns without an single interception.

They dominated the line of scrimmage, and allowed Favre to create opportunities.

To be fair, Rodgers was 52 of 78 passing for 671 yards five touchdowns and an interception in those same games.

The Vikings may not be good enough to reach the Super Bowl, but Brett Favre and Co. proved they are better than Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

Period.

The only question remaining is whether Favre will come back next season and try to hand the Packers two more losses.

With the way the 6-1 Vikings are playing, I wouldn't bet against it.