The recent (and intensifying) speculation that Brett Favre has the “itch” to come out of retirement — while Green Bay doesn’t share his sentiment — has led to a question from Rocket: if by some chance Favre wound up in Minnesota, would you buy his Vikings jersey? Three quick notes: 1) Vikings fans seem somewhat torn over the very remote possibility that Favre could be in Purple. We had a swear-filled e-mail exchange with Big Daddy Drew about this yesterday, and he might have swayed us over to the “[redacted] no!” camp. 2) Other Vikings players to have worn No. 4: placekickers Doug Brien, Dale Dawson and Donald Igwebuike; punters Eddie Johnson and Mike Saxon; and QB Archie Manning. So, um, the number still has plenty of good years left in it. 3) Apparently because of NFL licensing rules, you can’t put certain names on certain jerseys, even if it’s in the pretend interweb land. Hence the spelling of “Favray” on the fake jersey above, which has circumvented the rules and will surely result in a lawsuit from the comically litigious No Fun League.

And now: Rocket has the floor.

What if the greatest “[Redacted] you, Green Bay” scenario in the history of the world actually happens? What if Brett Favre, deciding that he can no longer stand living and playing in Green Bay without painkillers forces the Packers’ hand and the team releases him? And what if the Vikings pick him up? That, of course, is not only a long shot scenario, but it raises a host of potential ethical questions for your average fan. Thus, I propose we open up one particularly intriguing can of worms for the RandBallaholics. Would you buy a Brett Favre Vikings jersey?

Pros: It would be absolutely [redacted] hilarious. Can you imagine the amazing fight in the stands at the Vikings-Packers games between the really fat guy wearing a brand new Vikings #4 and the really drunk, really sad, really fat guy wearing the faded, threadbare green #4? It would be perhaps the greatest middle finger the state of Minnesota could possibly waggle eastward (since we don’t have any Super Bowl trophies to shake at them). Plus, he is a top ten all-time great quarterback. And it is nice to celebrate the greats that are attached to your favorite franchise, no matter how fleeting.

Cons: Would it be absolutely hilarious to own a Vikings Brett Favre jersey, or would that just make you the biggest hipster [redacted] in the world? Would you actually want to own the thing or would you be shelling out a bucketful of cash for what amounted to a seriously overpriced joke? Wearing / owning / displaying something purely (or perhaps even just mostly)
for its ironic effect it the calling card of the hipster [redacted]. Besides, jerseys of great players long past their primes from teams with whom they are not immediately associated are littering the backs of closets all over the sports landscapes (I’m looking right at you, all of you chumps who own a Michael Jordan Wizards jersey).

And just for the heck of it, let’s make this a two part question. The first part is would you buy a Brett Favre jersey immediately after he signs with the Vikings after the third week of training camp? The second part is would you buy a Brett Favre jersey right after he accepts the Super Bowl MVP trophy for his glorious effort in leading the Vikings over the Chargers in the big game and then announces his retirement (for real) right on the field?

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