Comeback kids?

Two figures we followed while we were in Minnesota - long-time Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre and former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura - are back in the limelight, as both flirt with coming out of retirement. When Vincent was younger and a little bit of a sports fan, he was Packer/Favre fan. And in the east metro area of Minneapolis-St. Paul where we lived in 2003-2004, Minnesota Viking fans were the norm but there were plenty of transplanted Wisconsin folks and Packer fans (including our upstairs neighbors). The Packers-Vikings game was always a big deal in the Twin Cities, no matter which side you rooted for. And it was tought not to like Favre for his daring, going back to his college days when he led Southern Mississippi to a startling defeat of then dominant Florida State University.

Favre - after one of his best seasons - tearfully retired early this spring. But Friday night at Dutch's I began to see at Dutch's the news that he might be coming out of retirement - and perhaps not at Green Bay, where he'd spent his entire pro career. It seems that Green Bay (which we never managed to visit while we were in MN) grew tired of hoping for a Favre comeback, and they get set to go with Aaron Rodgers, a third-year pro and their first-round draft pick from a couple of years ago. Favre doesn't want to play backup and may force a trade (which Green Bay may hesitate about because some of the teams he could go to - including Tampa Bay - are among Green Bay's NFC rivals) - or he may not retire. It's sort of like Mom un-retiring after a one-month retirement. It's hard to imagine Favre not a Packer, plus it's hard to imagine Green Bay parting with Favre when, even though he's 38, he had a great season last year. Still, you've got to feel for Rodgers. And a number of quarterbacks moved to new teams with great hoopla late in their careers - for example, Joe Montana from the 49ers to Kansas City - without great success. We'll see what happens.

I've read/heard less about Ventura - a former pro wrestler and radio commentator who shocked the political world by winning a three-way race for governor, beating St. Paul's popular Democrat turned Republican mayor and Vice President Hubert Humphrey's grandson. Ventura's big campaign gimmick was giving away Jesse "The Body" Ventura bobble head dolls. Ventura actually governed somewhat effectively from the center - appointing well qualified people from all parties, establishing an Independence Party in MN, and supporting light rail and "smart growth": It's dumb for people to have to drive for miles to get a quart of milk, he said. But he was very defensive - of him and his family - with the media. Our friends Christoph and Andrea- whom I visited in Minneapolis three times before I moved there - were embarrassed by his victory. But I actually met Ventura a couple of times- the second time at a fund-raiser for the Independence Party candidate who tried to follow him (after he didn't seek reelection after one term as governor). And for Vincent he signed a copy of his book about politics and government.

The former St. Paul mayor, now a U.S. senator, already faces an unusual challenge from comedian (" . . . and - darnit - people like me" ) turned radio commentator turned Democratic candidate Stuart Smalley. But apparently while Favre flirted with coming out of sports retirement this weekend, Ventura too flirted with coming out of political retirement. It now looks more likely that Favre will return to sports than Ventura to politics, but he knows. Maybe we'll get a double blast from our Minnesota-Wisconsin past this next year, on the football field and in the Senate.

-- Perry