I want to thank Jason Perone for writing this week’s guest blog. He’s a huge Green Bay Packers fan and offered up this diddy about his experiences as a Packers fan originally growing up in Illinois. For winning my Twitter contest, I’m also donating $10 to the American Cancer Society in his honor…so enjoy…
The “Beginning”
Monday, September 22, 1986. Admittedly, I had to look it up and took pause that I never had until just now. If you’re a die-hard Bear or Packers fan, you might recognize it. For me, it was the beginning of the most intense journey that I have seen to this day and one that will never be equaled. It was the Bears’ first trip to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers after winning Super Bowl XX earlier that year. As an Aurora, Illinois native transplanted in rural Wisconsin (is any part of Wisconsin NOT rural?), I was excited to watch “my” Bears take on the local favorite Packers on Monday Night Football. It wasn’t until shortly before that previous January’s Super Bowl that I took an interest in football. Baseball and baseball players hung the moon and everything else was fodder in between. As the Bowl matchup was set, there was daily discussion at school (I was in 4th grade) about who would win and who was rooting for who. My interest grew with each passing day. Obviously Pack fans densely populated the area and their beloved Packers were long eliminated from playoff contention. As the oldest rivalry in the NFL would have it, many of them were physically not able to support the Bears. Doing so would result in a loss of all Cheesehead privileges therein! Hence, there was a heavy contingency of Pats supporters. In my household, sports were merely a hobby and only on for background noise. We might take in Game 7 of the World Series and major championships but we were far from what one would define as “fanatics”. But on this day, it was understood that we would all be cheering on “our” Bears in their quest to win their first Super Bowl championship. After sweating out the initial 3-0 deficit, the Bears pulled it out and saved the day. “My team” won a championship and I just started following them. . wow! Fast forward to the Monday Night matchup later that Fall. I don’t remember a single play but I found myself wanting the guys in Green & Gold to prevail against these Monsters of the Midway. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the same thing (besides the script) that made the Russians cheer Rocky in Rocky IV. I just remember being so frustrated when the Bears pulled away in the 4th quarter with 15 unanswered points. Thus was born my fanhood of the Pack that would intensify as they reclaimed glory in the mid 90′s and as I learned the game during my brief year on the high school varsity team (side note: I was fortunate to have played with beloved former Bears’ safety Mike Brown as a member of the 1993 Scottsdale Saguaro Sabercats under head coach and now offensive coordinator for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Tim Beck). To me and as a Pack fan, there is no rivalry more prevalent in all of sports than that with our neighbors to the South. This made my first experience at Lambeau Field all the more special when I attended the Packers/Bears game on December 1st, 2002. The Bears hold the edge in the rivalry all time with 92 wins to 86 losses and 6 ties. It seems that through the shifts in power between the two teams and although the Pack have enjoyed a heavy dose of success in the rivalry over the past 20 years (ironically and thankfully much of my tenure), they are always just a step behind in the W/L column. Sure, the argument can be made that Green Bay has 13 league championships to Chicago’s 9 in their storied histories, but which team has been more successful depends on who you ask. Is it based solely on total wins? Meaningful wins such as the thriller this past January when the Pack edged the Bears 21-14 for the right to face the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV? The debate could go on forever.
“Beat the Pack”
When Lovie Smith was announced as Chicago’s head coach in 2004, he stated that one of his goals was to “beat the Packers”. Having grown up a Dallas Cowboys fan, the Bears had the right guy if one of their top qualifications in a head guy was an undeniable dislike for the Pack. He had enjoyed some success against them as an assistant with both the Tampa Bay Bucs and the St. Louis Rams. Ironically he would earn his first win as a head coach against the Pack at historic Lambeau Field in 2004. He started out 6-2 against his top foe. To add to the accomplishment, Brett Favre started each of those first 8 games for the Pack and previous to that frequently had his way versus the Bears throughout his career. Enter the Aaron Rodgers era and Lovie is 2-6 in his last 8 games against the Pack if you include the NFC Championship game this past January. With a .500 mark against his top target, it’s tough to say that he has “beat the Pack” thus far. With his W/L record and a loss in only the second playoff game between the two teams, it’s arguable that the Pack have a slight edge over the Lov(ie)able head man.
“The Ultimate Warrior”
Regardless of the quality of each team in any given year, this matchup is never easy to predict. It can be said that it usually breaks the mold of whatever norm each team has established during that season. The Bears have had to spread the ball out to keep Green Bay’s opportunistic secondary from keying on the one or two key guys who usually lead the charge. The high-octane Pack and Aaron Rodgers are often stymied by the Bears’ stingy defense, led by Brian Urlacher, and are left to figure out more creative ways to get ahead on the scoreboard. And I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the amazing season (yet another) that Urlacher is having. After the unfortunate death of his mother earlier this year, he has played inspired and continues to perform at the highest level. He remains a bright spot on a team that has battled many misfortunes itself this year. In his 12th year in the league, he shows no signs of slowing down or diminished skill at a position that demands so much physically and mentally. No one has been more consistent and dominant at this position than he has. Ray Lewis could creep into the argument, but Urlacher has proven more durable and missed much less time than Lewis has. All while playing out of his mind week in and week out, he remains one of the true class acts of the league. An intense competitor, he hates to lose but is always first to give credit where credit is due. Last year when the Bears found themselves under much scrutiny over the maintenance of the turf at Soldier Field, Urlacher was asked to compare it with the field at Lambeau. He gave high praise to the Lambeau grounds crew and referred to the turf as “phenomenal” for its condition in the early January game. Earlier this year when asked about the Bears’ chances of catching the Pack and winning the North for a second straight year, he simply said (I’m paraphrasing) ”They’re gooooooooooood! We’ll probably need some help. . “Although this man seems to get his obligatory INT on Rodgers every time the teams play, I can’t help but love the player he is. He is a true asset to the game and the NFC North. A true warrior to say the least and a big part of this rivalry.
Christmas Day
This week’s game marks the 185th time these teams will have faced each other. It also marks a rare 4th time that 2 teams will face each other in a calendar year. I read somewhere that only twice before has a team won all 4 times. The Pack have won the last 3 matchups with the latest a 27-17 victory back in September. Chicago comes in with a depleted fleet against an also-banged-up Packer team coming off of its first loss of the season. On paper, the Pack appear to have the edge and are playing at home on (cue Chris Berman voice) the frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. They still have to win one more game to secure the #1 seed and home-field throughout the postseason. This has never been and will likely not be an easy task this week. Finish up dinner and open up all of your holiday gifts early. You won’t want to miss the next installment in the oldest rivalry in NFL history!
Prediction: Packers 24 Bears 13
My thanks to @ChicagoBearJew for letting me guest blog this week and return to my roots as a former and very brief Bears fan. Happy holidays to all! – Jason Perone (@JasonPerone on Twitter).
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