We have to hand it to Brett Favre. At the start of the season, we were skeptical.

Even though the publisher of this newspaper is a fan of the Green Bay Packers and seemingly an even bigger fan of Favre, the longtime Vikings fans who work at the Albert Lea Tribune were worried Favre would be a gunslinger throwing interceptions and not showing the toughness of his younger days. He was just a ticket-seller.

Indeed, he sold tickets, but it turns out for the right reasons. Because he remains an accurate and tough quarterback.

He has convinced the skeptics, including the ones at the Albert Lea Tribune, that he was the right guy for the job.

We give credit where credit is due.

The Minnesota Vikings had a team that was like a great race car, but the car didn’t have a driver at the start of the season. Favre took the wheel and has led the team to the NFC Championship, one victory away from a berth in the Super Bowl.

We also want to give props to receiver Sidney Rice, defensive end Jared Allen, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, linebacker Ben Leber, rookie receiver Percy Harvin, running back Adrian Peterson, running back Chester Taylor, the Williams Wall, cornerback Cedric Griffin, linebacker Chad Greenway, kicker Ryan Longwell (watching the Chargers-Jets game reminds fans how important reliable kickers are), punter Chris Klewe (people were giving high fives after that excellent punt to the corner) and all the linemen, special teams and, well, all the Vikings players. Job well done.

Now, it will be interesting to see if the Vikings will take its Metrodome background to a victory in the Louisiana Superdome on Sunday.