Even optimistic Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf says he couldn’t have predicted so much success so far with Brett Favre at quarterback.

The Vikings are 9-1 and Favre has 21 touchdown passes, just three interceptions, and has proven himself quite the teammate.

“To have that leadership in the locker room and on the field is something we didn’t anticipate him having that great of an impact, but he certainly has. We’re very happy to have him,” Wilf said Tuesday at a goodwill tour appearance in Austin two hours south of the Twin Cities.

For another season, too, should Favre decide to play again in 2010. He signed a two-year, $25 million contract.

“Sure, I would love to have him here, both for what he does for the club and the other players,” Wilf said. “But again, it’s up to him. We’re taking it one week at a time.”

Wilf was joined by wide receiver Sidney Rice and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe at a chamber of commerce luncheon at the local YMCA, where they encouraged kids to be active. More than 200 people welcomed the men, who took questions from eager fans. Some were about a new stadium, of course.

Wilf maintained the team’s hope to get the full attention of the Legislature and the governor this session to strategize about a funding bill, in spite of the battered economy and bulging state deficit.

“We need to get everybody involved in discussing the solutions to this issue,” Wilf said, adding: “It’s unfortunate that many people don’t want to get engaged in it because it doesn’t serve their political purposes. … To run away from it is not an acceptable answer to us. We’ve been patient.”

The Vikings have not spelled out a suggestion for how to pay for their proposed facility on the site of the current Metrodome, but they are aggressively touting the millions of dollars in tax revenue they produce for the state and the economic development engine a new stadium has the potential to be.

“The jobs it will create is really something we need right now,” Wilf said.

He didn’t directly answer a reporter’s question about whether a lack of progress would prompt the Vikings to move.

“As I stated before, our intentions are not to leave,” Wilf said.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Tuesday that his staff has had phone discussions with Vikings officials in recent months, and he heaped praise on the franchise, its ownership and the team’s recent on-field success. But Pawlenty reiterated that advancing stadium legislation in 2010 will be difficult in light of Minnesota’s ongoing budget problems — even if the Vikings go all the way.

“How they do in the playoffs or the Super Bowl isn’t the reason why you do or don’t build them a stadium,” he said. “Clearly in terms of the emotion or the atmosphere, it’s going to add excitement to the debate.”

Wilf’s original desire was for an outdoor stadium to capitalize on the cold-weather disadvantage for visiting teams. But the team has turned its focus to a retractable-roof facility because it has the capability to host all kinds of events.

The message Wilf and the Vikings are pushing hard, particularly with this fast start and Favre-fueled popularity, is how deep the roots of the team run in the communities around the region.

“I’m not just the owner, but the guardian of this team. The team belongs to the fans and the people of Minnesota,” Wilf said. He added: “When I see how important the Minnesota Vikings are to the psyche and the spirit of everyone in the state I realize it’s an important enough issue.”