Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert
HERE AND THERE IN THE GREAT STATE OF WISCONSIN -- A bright, blue sky hung high Monday over the town of Menomonie, on the western side of Wisconsin. The sky had very definitely not fallen, we can report to you with first-hand knowledge. (Trust us, we saw it.)
Down the road in Mauston, a lunchtime crowd of Wisconsinites -- and a few itinerants -- chowed down at the local Culver's. They smiled while ingesting butter burgers (a Wisconsin treat!), custard and the new mango-flavored smoothie. There was no audible bawling.
A few minutes away, the regionally-famous Wisconsin Dells remained open for business. Children rode water slides that were mysteriously similar to the ones back home, but somehow more fun.
We zigzagged the Badger state, looking for tangible evidence that Favregate '08 had engulfed the region. From the best we could tell on our (very) quick tour, life is moving quite normally here.
It's never fair to paint a populace with a broad brush, and so it's more than fair to say that most of the citizens of Wisconsin are minimally affected by the standoff between the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Brett Favre. What seems clear, though, is that the team's segment of zealot fans have mobilized in an unprecedented way to force a resolution.
About 200 people showed up Sunday for a Lambeau Field rally, and we have ended our trek this afternoon in Milwaukee to check out another rally. Erick Rolfson, one of two brothers organizing the events, has not given up hope that Favre will return as the team's starter. Rolfson believes the team -- which is owned by individual shareholders -- has an obligation to listen.
"The fans and shareholders of this team have a right to be heard," Rolfson said Monday morning. He and his brother, Adam, started a web site Saturday (bringbackbrettfavre.com) that received more than 100,000 hits in its first 48 hours. Another site, savebrett.net has created an online petition to force the Packers into taking Favre back.
Of course, the Favre-is-God-sect has also drawn the We've-Had-Enough-Already contingent out from hiding. In previous years, it has been rare that a cross word was mentioned in the same sentence with "Brett" or "Favre." But we heard caller after caller hammer Favre during the afternoon radio show of Homer, who bills himself as the host of the "world's greatest sports talk show," on ESPN 540. One caller rather impolitely suggested Favre undergo counseling for his inability to make a decision.
We're hoping to see and hear both sides of the story at the Milwaukee rally, and we'll be back with you soon to give you a feel for what transpires.