Circus comes to town: Brett Favre’s arrival in Minnesota brings much fanfare, helicopter chase

The Brett Favre circus descends on Minnesota

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Ringling Brothers have nothing on Brett Favre when it comes to making an entrance.

The three-time MVP’s surprise, and long-awaited, arrival in Minnesota on Tuesday was tracked by a news helicopter from his touchdown at a St. Paul airport to his dropoff at Vikings headquarters.

Outside the Winter Park facility, more than 100 fans — several wearing purple Favre jerseys and one wearing a parrot suit — gathered to catch a glimpse of the man who is supposed to get their beloved Vikings a Super Bowl ring, and they mobbed coach Brad Childress’ Cadillac Escalade when he tried to pull in and park.

Linebacker Ben Leber watched it all unfold from the relative serenity of the team’s lunch room.

“It’s always fun when the circus comes to town,” Leber said with a chuckle. “I wish he would have brought all the trapeze artists and elephants and stuff.”

Even having Dumbo in tow or the Flying Tabares performing death-defying stunts without a net couldn’t distract Vikings fans — or more than 50 reporters and camera crews — from the star of the show.

After spurning the Vikings at the start of training camp, Favre finally was convinced by Childress to come out of retirement again and join the defending NFC North champions for a run at the big one. Rumors of his acquisition percolated all summer long, with breathless reports coming by the day and rampant speculation on the health of his 39-year-old throwing arm, his state of mind and what he would do for a Vikings offense that was believed to be a quarterback away from contention.

Fans were so sure that he was coming in July that many purchased No. 4 Vikings jerseys with “FAVRE” on the back. So when he said no at the end of July, there was always the hope that he would change his notoriously indecisive mind.

“Right when I heard that Brett Favre was going to possibly come to the Vikings (earlier this summer), I got really excited,” said Phil Setala, a 23-year-old from Minneapolis who rushed down to Winter Park in his purple Favre jersey to see the quarterback pull in. “And I’ve just been waiting for this day ever since.”

He wasn’t the only one.

When the news first broke that Favre was on Vikings owner Zygi Wilf’s private jet from Hattiesburg, Miss., to the Twin Cities, reporters descended upon Holman Field in St. Paul and fans started clogging the entrance to Winter Park.

A news chopper followed the SUV the whole way, periodically breaking into regularly programming to offer updates on Favre’s whereabouts.

“I haven’t been followed by a helicopter for a while,” Favre deadpanned.

That was only the beginning.

The normally sleepy Viking Drive that winds in front of the team’s headquarters may have had its first traffic jam. Hundreds of cars slowly drove by the entrance, hoping to see Favre and snapping pictures with their cell phone cameras of the throng waiting across the street.

“It was ridiculous. We were just sitting there looking at all you guys right over there across the road,” receiver Sidney Rice said. “It was ridiculous. And when the car pulled in, the helicopter actually showed the car pulling in and just seeing like 100 fans running down the side of the thing. I guess everybody is real excited.”

Childress had to dodge several fans at the entrance while they walked out into the road and cheered and hollered as Favre waved to them, a rock star if there ever was one in the NFL. They rushed up a hill and nearly stormed the complex before security and police shepherded them back across the street.

Now he is finally here. And the show must go on.

“I wasn’t going to believe it until I actually saw him walking in the building,” Leber said. “I don’t know if I really believed it when they were following him in the helicopter. We were all kind of joking around like this is a decoy. It’s nice we’re getting this over with now and it’s not going to be a distraction when the season starts.”