Welcome to the debut blog on Minnesota Vikings football here at Gear Up for Sports! This has all the makings of an interesting season for the Vikes, with plenty of things to talk about all year long. So let’s start with the biggest topic on the docket right now: Brett Favre.

It’s been a few days since Brett Favre donned a Vikings jersey for the first time Friday night, and that’s given me plenty of time to soak it all in. And yet it still feels strange to me, even with the standing ovation he received from Metrodome patrons.

There’s just something inherently wrong with all of this, in my mind. It’s like asking Lakers guard Kobe Bryant to play for the Boston Celtics, or seeing long-time Yankee Derek Jeter in a Red Sox jersey. Then again, I had a problem seeing Darth Vader switch sides at the end of Return of the Jedi, too.

As for Favre’s performance, he looked predictably rusty. He went 1 for 4, with a four-yard completion to rookie Percy Harvin that was short of a first down. The surgically-repaired arm looked to be in good shape, though his timing was off and took a couple of hits from Chiefs blitzers early on.

There’s no doubt Favre will get everything in order by the first few weeks of the season. Head coach Brad Childress declared earlier today that he’ll get all of the snaps in the first half of next Monday’s game against the Houston Texans. But the million dollar question is which Favre will we see come December: the three-time MVP that tortured the Vikings for 16 seasons, or the ailing primadonna for the Jets that alienated both fans and teammates (see: Thomas Jones)?

I’m not thoroughly convinced we won’t see the latter by the final five weeks, much like last year.   And considering this offense is based on the running game, led by Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, do the Vikings really need a broken down Favre? Childress gave up a fourth-round pick to get Sage Rosenfels, a player he tried to trade for the year before. Now that seems to be moot with Favre in town. Both Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson provide the Vikings with the type of quarterbacks that can manage the game, a strategy that helped the Baltimore Ravens win a Super Bowl in 2000 with Trent Dilfer, and the Buccaneers did the same two years later with Brad Johnson. Run the ball, play good defense, and don’t turn the ball over was the basic mantra then, and one that would fit this team as well. But the allure of having a sure-fire Hall of Famer (as much as I hate to admit it) lead their team was something Childress and the Wilfs couldn’t pass up, even letting him miss all of training camp to get him to wear the purple and gold. How that translates in the locker room with his teammates, not just wins and losses, will be another thing to watch carefully this season.

I want to believe that this team is a Super Bowl contender, like some of the pundits are saying. But this move to up the ante in the NFC may end up providing more disappointment than excitement in the long run. I’m just reminded of what the Phoenix Suns did a couple of years ago when they added an aging Shaquille O’ Neal in a blockbuster trade and the disappointment that came after that. I hope I’m proven wrong.

By the way, ESPN has a funny commercial making the rounds right now on whether or not Favre was going to sign. Here’s the link: espnmediazone.com