Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress received a surprise visit Friday from his son, Andrew, a U.S. Marine who joined his father at an airbase in Afghanistan during Day 3 of the NFL-USO Coaches Tour.
Still, more than 8,000 miles away from Winter Park, Childress could not escape the specter of Brett Favre. His will-he-or-won't-he-play status dominated the questions soldiers asked Childress everywhere he went at Bagram Air Base just north of Kabul, the Afghan capital, after news broke this week that Favre was throwing passes to high school players in his hometown of Hattiesburg, Miss.
"It's the No. 1 question here," Childress said during a telephone interview.
Childress had nothing new to add to the saga or reaction to Favre throwing again after having ankle surgery in May.
"I saw a lot of guys throw footballs here. I haven't stopped to contemplate it one bit," Childress said. "We're on a bit of a different mission here. Test me on that later."
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Childress spent much of the day visiting pilots and grounds crews stationed at Bagram, noting he met a pair of F-16 pilots from Duluth wearing Vikings flags as capes.
His biggest thrill occurred in the greeting line shortly after landing at Bagram. Toward the end, he shook hands with a young soldier in full battle fatigues, unaware it was Andrew, a lance corporal who has been stationed in Afghanistan's southern provides for the past two months.
"He was much thinner. He looked at me with no mustache, no hair, but then I heard his voice and knew it was him," Childress said. "It was very emotional. Big hug. Hard to describe. It's been a great, great trip."
