Brett Favre has arrived back at Winter Park, driven this time by his friend Ryan Longwell. Longwell also plays a pretty important role as the Vikings kicker.

Last year when Favre arrived, almost one year to the day, you might recall that coach Brad Childress picked him up from Holman Field and drove him to Winter Park. Childress took a lot of heat for that and thus that scene wasn't repeated.

In fact, this time Favre flew on a private jet into Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie. There were about 50 fans there who began to arrive as the plane sat on the tarmac and Favre, Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson and Longwell got off. Favre then got into the passenger seat of Longwell's car, with Hutchinson and Allen in their cars right behind.

There is little doubt that the recruiting pitch put on by those three played a major role in getting Favre to return. As Longwell pulled out of the airport, Favre got out of the car, hugged an unidentified man who had been let into the restricted zone and gave a wave to the fans as they drove through the gate.

Favre and Longwell then returned to the Vikings facility. It's unclear if there will be a news conference this evening or if that will be held on Wednesday. The Vikings are scheduled to practice at 11:40 Wednesday morning but that time could always be changed.