ANDY KING / Associated Press
Vikings fans wear Brett Favre jerseys. The jerseys are selling in Green Bay, too, and so is anti-Favre merchandise.
Favre is still hot in Green Bay
Green Bay Packers fans still want to wear Brett Favre's No. 4 jersey, whether it's Minnesota Vikings purple, Packers green and gold, or includes Judas Iscariot or Benedict Arnold nameplates.
Mike Walters, manager of the Jersey Store, two blocks from the Packers' Lambeau Field on the corner of Holmgren Way and Favre Pass, said he had sold more than 200 Vikings No. 4 jerseys this season.
That's almost as many jerseys as he has sold of the Packers' current quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.
"We've heard the gamut of emotions, probably more negative," said the 36-year-old Walters, who also sells Favre T-shirts and hats. "But Brett touched a lot of people in this community, and those people are going to follow him regardless."
Favre, who led the Packers to 11 playoff appearances and a Super Bowl victory, returns to town today to play his former team for the first time since he left the Packers after the 2007 season.
Not all Green Bay fans support Favre now that he plays for longtime rival Minnesota.
"The first time I saw him in a Vikings jersey, I had a little puke in my mouth and had to swallow it back down," said Joel Fleischman, 35, owner of the CampbellSport Berlin Kiel Building Supply store, who started the Web site JudasFavre.com. "It's on.
It's the traitor coming home."
Fleischman made shirts with Favre's No. 4 and the name of Judas, who the Bible says betrayed Jesus. Fleischman said his Web site had had 500 visitors each day and that he had sold 2,100 shirts to customers in places as far away as Denmark and Iraq.
Bars and restaurants in the Green Bay area have hired extra bouncers and security staff. Even Green Bay Mayor James Schmitt has taken steps to eliminate all things Minnesota. The street sign at Minnesota Avenue was changed yesterday morning to Aaron Rodgers Drive. The plan is to have it switched back tomorrow morning.
Amanda Watson, 27, bar manager at Stadium View Bar & Grill near Lambeau Field, said she expected business to increase 25 percent, to about 8,000 patrons. She is increasing wait staff, the number of disc jockeys before and after the game, and bouncers and security staff.
The return of the Packers' former hero has spawned another Web site called the Angry T, which is advertising "15 Best I Hate Brett Favre Shirts For Vikings-Packers Week." Among them: "Once a Hero, Now a Zero," "Benedict Brett," and "A Traitor 4-Ever."
