BAGHDAD - It seems that the Brett Favre-Green Bay Packers saga is such a worldwide phenomenon that it's being used by detainees in American military camps.
According to a military official, detainees at a Wisconsin National Guard camp in Iraq are using Brett Favre as a manner of getting at the guard troops there.
"They know Favre by name," said First Lieutenant Tim Boehnen, who is from New Richmond, Wis.
"One of the big words they know now is shenanigan. They'll constantly talk about 'Favre shenanigans,' 'He's so good for the Vikings,' and 'The Packers have got to really feel bad about that one.' "
According to Boehnen, it started when troops there started decorating their camp in Packers colors.
"We try to allow our troops to have as much fun in the compound as they can while still maintaining our professional manner," explained Boehnen.
"We spend a lot of time painting and making our compound our own and representing us. Obviously, wherever Wisconsinites go, we bring the Packers with us."
Once the decoration job happened, detainees became curious.
"They obviously then started up the conversations, and started talking about Brett Favre. They soon learned about Favre going to the Vikings, and things just started going downhill from there."
Boehnen said soccer is the main sport that detainees pay attention to there, so there's not exactly a Vikings fan club chapter in Iraq.
"They'll hear guards talking about it, and then they pick up a lot of stuff from that, too," said Boehnen. "They're very crafty. They learn different stuff from different ways."
The group is part of the 32nd Brigade, with more than 3,200 troops performing a number of missions in Iraq.
For Boehnen, it's especially hard because he has his own familial rivalry issues involving things green and purple.
"My family lives on the other side of the border, so when we get together, we always talk about the Viking-Packer disputes, as if it's not intense enough without the Favre situation."
Source:
https://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/70451747.htmlSo as we say in Wisconsin. Viking Fans = Terrorists.
