GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When Brett Favre was mulling whether to join the Minnesota Vikings during the 2009 offseason, he and kicker Ryan Longwell spoke frequently. And when Favre wondered -- or worried -- about how he'd be received by Green Bay Packers fans upon his return to Titletown last summer, the iconic quarterback again reached out to his longtime teammate.
After all, no one else on the planet could have understood Favre's emotions better than Longwell, who made the same Green Bay-Twin Cities-Green Bay, full-circle journey before Favre did.
And just as Favre, who is set to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month, was overwhelmed last summer by the largely let-bygones-be-bygones welcome he received coming back to Green Bay, Longwell says he believes it took playing for a hated rival and then returning years later for both of them to fully appreciate their Packers careers.