The thought of Brett Favre playing for the Minnesota Vikings is agony for many Green Bay Packers fans.

Not me. As a Packer fan -- as opposed to a fan of any particular Packer player, past or present -- I relish the thought of Favre as a Viking this fall. Any reckless personnel move that destroys a division rival is OK by me, and something tells me the Vikings are about to mail themselves a letter bomb.

There are many reasons to suspect it won’t work, including:

*Previous employer. The New York Jets, with a quarterback depth chart arguably worse than the Vikings, gave Favre his unconditional release shortly after the 2008 season. The Jets could have kept him under contract and tried to pry a draft pick from another team, but they obviously didn’t want to risk Favre showing up at their training camp this fall. Shouldn’t the complete rejection by his former team tell us something?

*Interceptions. Favre led the league with 22 interceptions last year. His December meltdown -- seven interceptions in the final three games -- was partially due to an injured throwing arm, but it’s not like the words “Favre” and “interception” weren’t linked prior to last season. Turnovers are the auto wrecks of football, and it’s impossible to conceive of a Super Bowl contender with a quarterback who leads the league in picks.

*Age. Favre turns 40 in December. Even during his very productive 2007 season (his last in Green Bay), he already showed signs of getting old. He played two bad games that season, and both were played in brutally cold weather. The difference in the sub-zero NFC championship game was that the Giants had a young quarterback who could grip a football in the fourth quarter, and the Packers didn’t. It’s easy to imagine a 2009 scenario in which Favre has a great September, a good October, a shaky November and a disastrous December. One other thing to consider: injury potential. Favre can’t elude rushers like he used to, and the whole Favre experiment could end with a violent first quarter sack in Week 3.

*Agenda. It’s clear that Favre is out for vengeance against his old team, but what about the 52 other Vikings’ players. Would they sense Favre has a motive that isn’t totally consistent with helping the Vikings through a 16-game season. What if they see a quarterback who’s highly motivated against Green Bay in Week 4 but can’t gin up the same enthusiasm against St. Louis in Week 5? There’s nothing that will tear a team apart quicker than the perception of players with conflicting agendas. Don’t forget that Favre departed the Jets on bad terms with his teammates.

Are there counterpoints? Yes. Minnesota does have a bad quarterback situation, and Favre still has a powerful right arm. Perhaps the coaching staff can convince Favre to be a custodial quarterback -- 20 passes a game, mostly short throws -- and let running back Adrian Peterson carry the team. Maybe that can work. But if the Vikings want a custodial signal caller, Favre doesn’t seem like the guy. Bringing Favre into Minnesota smells more like a scheme to sell tickets and boost television ratings than a sound football decision.

Which is fine with me. Please, Minnesota, go ahead. Do it. Sign Brett Favre.

Steve Rundio is the sports editor of Tomah Newspapers.