Former Viking Lineman Ron Yary is a Brett Favre Fan

Ron Yary was quite the offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings. He played for them from 1968 until 1981, building up Hall of Fame credentials while being part of four Super Bowl teams. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

Of course, the Vikings failed to win any of those Super Bowls, but Yary says that a certain someone who may or may not be retired could have made a difference on those Viking teams.

Yary told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that his Viking teams would have had a little more success in Super Bowls with Brett Favre at quarterback.

"If the Vikings would have had Brett Favre during the time of my career, we would have been 7-0 in Super Bowls. Absolutely," Yary said.

"I'm a fan of Brett Favre, and so is my wife (Jamie)," Yary said from his home in Murrieta, Calif. "And if my wife's a fan, he's got to be a good guy. I'm a fan for different reasons."

Yes, he really said that.

Of course, you could take a couple of thoughts from this outlandish, ridiculous statement.

For starters, Fran Tarkenton, publicly critical of Favre's waffling and attempt to hold the Packers hostage last summer, wasn't worth a crap, even though he's also in the Hall of Fame.

That Packers team Favre led to the Super Bowl in 1997 must have been terrible. After all, not even Favre could keep them from losing to Denver.

Finally, the 2008 season wasn't a fluke for Green Bay. Without Favre, they're really going to stink.

In fairness to Yary, football was a bit different when he played. Since I wasn't alive for most of the 1970s, I honestly couldn't tell you how much difference a guy with Favre's arm strength and smarts could have made, or if a guy like that even existed back then.

I have, however, watched the old film of the Vikings' Super Bowl losses. A better quarterback might have helped them against Miami and Kansas City (Joe Kapp played for the Vikings in their Super Bowl IV loss to the Chiefs), but Tarkenton was constantly under siege in the Pittsburgh loss. Moreover, the Vikings' defense was pretty dreadful against Oakland, allowing over 250 yards rushing.

On the bright side, that old-timers reunion this year should be fun. I'm sure Yary and Tarkenton will have a lot to talk about.