After a monologue by Buck and some small-talk between the two of them, Buck gets started right of the bat:

Buck: Do you plan on playing in the NFL next year?

“Um, maybe. (audience laughs and claps.) I am considering it.”

Well that’s everything we already knew.  For the last five-to-eight years, Favre’s whole career has been one big “maybe.”  Are you returning next year?  “Maybe.”  Are you retired?  “Maybe.”  It’s a word we’re all used to hearing coming out of his mouth.  But for those of you who would lost interest right away, Favre does not do a good job of keeping that maybe fresh in your mind.

Buck: You’ll have in Minnesota something you haven’t had in your career, a running back that’s a superstar? Great defense, a line, a lot to like with the Vikings.

“…But in that situation, knowing what is expected of you, knowing your team, knowing as long as we can run the ball, and complete passes when needed, we should be pretty good.”

The maybe is now nullified.  He’s coming back people.  The kicker is that he uses the pronoun “we.”  He’s not even part of the team yet and he’s already talking as if he’s on the team.  If there’s some Packers fans who have their heads so far up where the sun don’t shine, they need to take them out and look and believe: Favre will be a Viking.  It’s not what Packers fans want, but it’s what’s happening, and the Packers defense will have to gameplan accordingly.  Right here, the interview could be over as what we expected him to avoid, is right out there in the open now.

But he still had some more things to talk about during the 10-minute interview.  He talked his arm, the golden chariot of his career.  The main thing that has to be 100% for him to come back is that arm.  If the surgery works and he feels good, he’ll suit up in purple and gold next year.  If it doesn’t, he won’t.  Or at least that’s what he says.  I’d say that even if he doesn’t feel 100%, he still gives it a go.  That’s been his attitude his whole career and I don’t see him changing it now for one or two more years.  Additionally, Favre said that Vikings coach Brad Childress did not impose a deadline on Favre to attend OTAs.  Gotta love ESPN right there.  Favre said that Childress wanted him up there to be with the team and check out the team at OTAs and not participate, but Favre declined, citing a media circus as the main reason he didn’t attend.  Hmm.  I thought he loved those.

Next, Buck brought up Fran Tarkenton‘s recent comments on Favre before dropping the question a lot of people had bouncing around in their heads:

Buck: Do you worry about tarnishing your legacy in the league by retiring twice and coming back twice?

“I think the 16 years I spent in Green Bay speaks for itself.”

“I’m trying my best not to fuel the fire, even though I am. This is the first time I’ve spoken…”

“I’ve had so many people tell me, one in particular, Coach [John] Madden, that, it’s simple yet true: When you’re gone and you’re away from this game, you can’t go back. Maybe as a coach you can, but you just can’t go back.”

That’s the response we were pretty much expecting.  To me, his legacy is tarnished as I will never think about him in the same way again.  Instead of Super Bowl XXXI coming to mind, seeing him on NFL Network arriving in Green Bay and New York will stand out.  And obviously him in purple will standout as well.  I’m sure time will change some of that, but for now, it’s safe to say his legacy is tarnished in the fact it will be hard for people to think the same way about him again.  But as a player, it’s still there.  He’s got the touchdown passes.  He’s got the yards.  He’s got those interceptions too.  The last quote confuses me a bit, but I feel like he’s saying he never really walked away from the game, even though he “walked away” twice, one time tearfully, one time not so tearfully.  So if he never actually left, is he still coming back?

Now he goes for somewhat of a jugular on Packers fans:

Buck: Your legacy in Green Bay? Run on to field in Lambeau with a purple 4 on your chest. That’s a knee to the gut of the people of Green Bay.

“I don’t know what to tell them. Vince Lombardi went to the Washington Redskins when he left. And his name’s on the trophy. We give that trophy out every year. I don’t hear too many people say, ‘That damn traitor. He went to Washington.’”

JSOnline writer Greg Bedard fired back for all Packers fans via Twitter (@Greg_A_Bedard):

Favre invoked Lombardi going to the Redskins to explain how he’s not tarnishing his legacy in GB. Uh, that ain’t the Vikings.
about 13 hours ago from TweetDeck

And there it is.  Big difference in going to Washington instead of Minnesota.  The Redskins at that time were not on the cusp of a Super Bowl.  It was more of a rebuilding project than anything for Lombardi.  It wasn’t, “I’m going to go win a Super Bowl and stick it to Green Bay.”  It was more, “I’ve accomplished everything I need to here, time to move on.”  Totally different from Favre, in my view.

And their final exchange:

Buck said there was time for one more question. Something about the fishbowl of Green Bay compared to living in New York  … ?

“As I got older I cared a lot less about what was going on outside of football. I went to meetings. I went to practice, I came home, me and my youngest daughter, we’d go over to the stadium in Green Bay, we’d ride scooters around the concourse and no one was there. It was great. I would go huntin’ come back, go to the stadium. I mean, I’d do it all over again.”

“And I’m at a place where I’m at peace.”

I want to ride a scooter around Lambeau Field.  But that’s besides the point.  Favre sounds serious about what he’s going to do and what he wants to do, and he’s going to do it.  It’s time to start looking at him like Brett Favre, opponent, not Brett Favre, back-stabbing ex-quarterback.  And when November 1 rolls around, we’ll be ready to boo.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert has his five questions he would ask Favre at the interview.  The highlight (or the “bomb” question as we like to call it):

A conspiracy theorist could conclude you’re at the end of a remarkable manipulation to get from Green Bay to Minnesota against the Packers’ wishes and despite a “poison pill” inserted into trade language last summer. The plan would include announcing your retirement in February and then quietly asking for your release after the New York Jets drafted your replacement. Try talking us out of that one.

Seifert opened up the comments for the readers to give some of their questions.  And there are some good ones.

From melliot74:

Would you please just go away?

JamesIII012:

6. Why do i read about you?
7. What are the chances of you having a good second half of the season?
8. Are [you] certified to fit me for a pair of Wranglers?
9. Do you care that you have permanently tarnished you legacy?
10. Not a question but you will get pwned this year and i gurantee it

cranksandbeans:

1) Will you be chartering a sex boat to win over your new team mates?

2) How many more playoff intecep… uh, I mean runs do you think you have left in you?

pjacobsen699:

3. Is the high you are feeling from the constant manipulation of your idolators on par with 3 Budweisers and 1 Vicodin, or more like 3 Vics and a 12-pack?

I think it’s safe to say that the masses are through with this story and just want it to end.  Unfortunately, it’ll just keep going.  Now, the five questions I would ask Favre:

1. What is going through your head with all of this?

2. Do you feel a team is stronger if they have a great back like Adrian Peterson and (less than) decent wide receivers like Bernard Berrian and Sidney Rice?  Or do you feel that a team is stronger with great wide receivers like Donald Driver and Greg Jennings and a decent running back like Ryan Grant was during the 2007 season?

3. What is the exact source of your ill-will towards Ted Thompson?  The drafting of Aaron Rodgers to be your successor?  Not acquiring Randy Moss?  Or what?

4. What are your thoughts on Aaron Rodgers, NFL quarterback, not Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre’s successor?

5. If you run out onto Lambeau Field on Sunday, November 1, 2009 as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, what thoughts will be running through your mind?  What will your feelings towards the fans of Green Bay be?

Bonus question: What if this doesn’t work out?  At all?

There we have my questions.  Feel free to chime in with your own.

Again on JSOnline, Michael Hunt has a great piece highlighting the last year and how Favre’s actions this year have made him look like one of the most egotistical athletes of all time.

Remember how he flew into Green Bay last summer in one of the most egocentric stunts ever pulled by a professional athlete. Remember how it was his intention all along to play for the Vikings after his first retirement. And remember how he began to distance himself from his teammates by dressing in a private chamber, away from the locker room.

If Favre wants to play for the Vikings because they have a scary good defense and a freak-of-nature running back, and if he truly believes he can somehow stay within himself to become that final piece to get them to the Super Bowl, then more power to him.

But if his driving motivation is to stick it to Ted Thompson, such an impulse would be misplaced and pathetic beyond reason, sort of like the way Warren Spahn ended his Hall of Fame career in New York and San Francisco.

Either way, should Favre decide to further risk his dignity and legacy by dragging himself back on the field with Minnesota, he would do so without the heroic illusions that accompanied his 16 seasons in Green Bay. And there would be the good in crossing over, because if anyone didn’t know it by now, these are just guys, most of whom don’t play for altruistic reasons.

It’s a great piece.  Head on over to read the whole thing.

Because of instantaneous new media, such as Twitter, we’re able to get a constant view on things that are going on.  Take NFL Networks Scott Hanson‘s (@hansonscott) latest tweets from today:

Back in good ol Hattiesburg. Might have a Brett Favre update later. To quote [Brad] Childress, “stay tuned”…
about 8 hours ago from mobile web

Waiting at the airport for Favre to take a private jet to NY for his Joe Buck interview. If we catch his departure, you’ll c on NFLN.
about 6 hours ago from web

They are fueling up the jet we think Favre will be on. First video of Brett post-op soon… we hope.
about 4 hours ago from web

Jet has been fired up on for over an hour… no Favre. (maybe changed mind?) ha – that would re-define irony.
about 2 hours ago from mobile web

And we have a Favre sighting. Got in the jet and just took off 10 sec ago. How’d he look?
27 minutes ago from mobile web

how’d he look? watch NFL Network and find out. (and check out his right hand/arm.)
24 minutes ago from mobile web

In my humble opinion, this is just insane.  Of course, we all want to know what is going on with Favre as soon as we can, but putting the “Favre-arazzi” out there to Tweet is every move is a little over the top.  I feel NFL Network is so much stronger than ESPN, but this is an ESPN-like move right here, to film the flight’s departure from Hattiesburg.  And it’s not even like he’s going to Minnesota to meet with Childress and Zygi Wilf.  He’s meeting with Joe Buck.

The Joe Buck angle is another interesting aspect of this scenario.  How will Buck interview him?  According to sources, the interview is supposed to “revolve around the celebrity status of pro athletes.”  I doubt that will last.  I have never seen Buck give a one-on-one interview such as this, so I have no idea how he will deal with Favre.  If definitely will not be like Favre and Greta Van Susteren last year, and I doubt it will approach the Alex Rodriguez and Peter Gammons lovefest that came after the New York Yankees star’s steroid admittance.  If it was an ESPN interview, we would definitely expect that, as all the ESPN personalities have reputations for being on their knees for Favre making any interview on ESPN for Favre impossible to take seriously.  But for Buck, this is different.  If he conducts a smooth interview and does not cater to Favre’s ego and asks Favre the tough questions, I will have a whole new respect for him.  If he peters out as the interview continues, he will fall down the list of my respected broadcasters.  Buck’s reputation could be as much as stake as Favre’s.  After all, he will have to broadcast a Packers-Vikings game this year for Fox.

So there we have.  Five hours and twenty minutes until interview time.  Let’s see what happens.

Favre would be right at home under the big top right now.  By himself with all the attention, of course.