MINNEAPOLIS — Brett Favre was on his way to throw passes to a high school team near his home in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Monday afternoon when his cellphone rang.
On the other end was Vikings coach Brad Childress, who wanted to check one final time to make sure the future Hall of Fame quarterback was sticking with his decision to remain retired.
Three weeks after telling Childress no thanks, Favre gave him a different answer this time.
“When Brad called, it was kind of like, ‘This is it. Now or never,’ ” Favre said.
That conversation ended a long, strange soap opera — jokingly dubbed “Favre-a-palooza” by one Vikings player — that ultimately ended with a surreal scene Tuesday as the 39-year-old Favre arrived to a hero’s welcome before donning a purple helmet for his first practice.
Vilified by Vikings fans for years as he built his legend in Green Bay, Favre was mobbed by several hundred fans as he pulled into the team’s facility in an SUV driven by Childress.
Favre agreed to a two-year, $25 million deal, including $12 million guaranteed this season, and then took part in a two-hour practice.
Afterward, Favre said he postponed retirement a second time because he didn’t want to live with any regrets.
“I just didn’t want to look back,” he said. “I have no idea how I’ll feel a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now. But I didn’t want to have to say ‘what if.’ ”
Favre’s health remained the biggest hurdle throughout the process.
He underwent surgery to fix the torn biceps tendon in his right arm in May, but he revealed Tuesday that he learned around the same time that he also has a tear in his rotator cuff.
Dr. James Andrews told Favre the injury was not new because there is some calcification around the tear. Favre admitted the news “scared” him because he didn’t want to go through another situation like last season when he struggled down the stretch with the Jets while dealing with arm problems. Favre received assurance from Andrews that he could play with the rotator cuff injury without needing more surgery.
Even so, the Vikings publicly had closed the door on Favre three weeks ago when he told Childress he would stay retired before the start of training camp. But it didn’t take long before Favre began having second thoughts.
“Believe me, at times I felt like, ‘I hope I didn’t make the wrong decision,’ ” he said. “But I knew I had to deal with it.”
That all changed with Childress’ phone call. Childress described his 11th-hour pursuit as a “small window” to pull off a “unique opportunity.” This time, Favre jumped at the opportunity, even asking Childress whether he can play in Friday’s preseason game against the Chiefs at the Metrodome.
“Everyone who I’ve talked to — former players, coaches, people in general — said if you were to go back, this is a perfect fit,” Favre said. “Once again, there’s no guarantees, but they have a really good football team here, a very good running game, and I hope from my standpoint, I felt like all along that I could offer some experience and leadership.
“I have to admit, through this whole process after I said ‘no’ three weeks ago, at times I was OK with it. Other times I said: ‘Boy, you know, I feel like I could help that team.’ I think that’s the competitive fire in me. As a player, regardless of sport, you have to feel like you can make a difference. And I truly feel like I can.”
Favre admitted it felt “different” putting on a purple helmet after spending 16 seasons with the rival Packers. He reiterated he isn’t concerned about whether Packers fans feel betrayed by his decision.
“The bottom line is that it’s football,” he said. “Once people start chasing you and once you step into the huddle, I don’t look at the helmets, I look at the faces.”
But what about his legacy? Favre’s waffling has become the source of jokes and frustration. His response?
“Don’t watch,” he said.
