As many of you know, I’m a huge Chicago Bears fan. I have been one since I was a little boy. I still remember the Bears winning the NFL Championship in 1963 under founder/coach George “Papa Bear” George Halas. I was enthralled by legendary announcer Jack Brickhouse, with his color man, Irv Kupcinet, calling the action on WGN radio. There was no television coverage because it was a home game that was blacked out. Imagine if they did that with the Super Bowl. The Monsters of the Midway beat the living daylights out of Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle, and safety Richie Pettibone sealed the win with a late interception in the end zone. How’s that for a memory? Now, has anyone seen where I put my car keys? They were with my wallet. Has anybody seen my wallet?
I was a fan before that, but that game sealed the deal. I have lived and died with my beloved Bears since. From the drafting of Dick Butkus and Gayle Sayers, two of the all-time great players ever to play the game, then the 1-13 Jim Dooley season, The Abe Gribron years, the drafting of Walter Payton, the greatest running back ever, and on through the best team ever, the ‘85 Bears. It has been a roller coaster of ups and downs since then, mostly downs, but I have stuck with my team.
Recently, I went to Northern Wisconsin to visit my son, who has lived there for work for the past 15 years. He, too, is a Bears fan and has carried the torch for the team even though he is behind enemy lines. As I call it, “Behind the cheddar curtain.”
He lives just a short drive from Lambeau Field, and while we were visiting, he had to drop off something to a friend who lives near the black hole known as Lambeau. His friend invited us for lunch at the “1919” grill inside the stadium. I was game, had my trusty Bears hat on, and said, “Why not?”
Our lunch went well. Only a couple of people spat and threw their food at me. I chose to pass on any food. These guys could poison me. We walked around the stadium, which I must confess is magnificent, and saw what selling worthless stock certificates to gullible fans could buy. Wasn’t Bernie Madoff sent to prison for the same scam?
They say the rivalry between the Bears and Packers is a “friendly” one and that Halas and legendary Packers coach Curly Lambeau respected each other, but when it comes to Bears-Packers week, all niceties go out the window. The stress level between the teams has ramped up since former Pack QB Aaron Rodgers claimed he owned the Bears. That arrogant blankety-blank may be right since we can’t seem to beat the evil empire of the frozen north. It reminds me of Game of Thrones and that zombie army led by their ice king. It doesn’t mean we have to like it. Rogers took the friendly out of our rivalry. That can work both ways.
While driving around the thriving metropolis of Green Bay (it took about ten minutes), I noticed a Barnes & Noble. I didn’t know these folks could read. Maybe it’s filled with coloring books, and they only have two crayons, green and yellow. Of course, there was a Cabella’s hunting and fishing superstore. We decided to walk through and found it filled with a multitude of dead stuffed animals. It’s interesting and spooky at the same time. Hunting is the only thing that rivals the Packers in this frozen wasteland. Be careful, though, if you want to take a walk through the forest up here. The place is filled with Packer fans carrying high-powered rifles, fueled by cheese curds and alcohol, “hunting.” It’s a deadly combination. They tend to bag as many hunters or innocent bystanders as they do deer. I think I saw the heads of several Bear, Lions, and Viking fans on those Cabella walls.
Remember, this rivalry is all in good fun and goes back to 1921 when George Halas let the Packers join the NFL, then suspended them the next year—just good, clean, fun. The Pack was reinstated the following year. Now that Green Bay is on what appears to be their third great quarterback in a row, and the Bears are a dark, bottomless pit where QBs go to die (Tom Brady would have been a no name has been, backup if the Bears had drafted him), the rivalry is as bitter as ever. The one thing for Bears fans is it has gotten to the point where we don’t care if we reach the playoffs (I can hear Jim Mora’s playoff rant every time I say that. Check it out on YouTube; it’s excellent); as long as we beat the Pack, and neither has happened in years.
On my why home I was walking through the Milwaukee airport with my Bears’ hat on and I could feel the glares from all those Wisconsinites surrounding me. As they say, If looks could kill. As I walked down the concourse on the way to my escape from hostile territory, a lone airport worker, leaning against a wall, leaned out as I walked by and said the Bears fan password, “Bear down.” My goodness, there is civilization in this barbaric land.
I can now make a prediction about the Bears that will come true. The Chicago Bears will dominate the off-season. Unfortunately, that will not win the team a nice shiny trophy, but it means talking about the Bears on all sports programming. The Bears own the first and ninth choice in the 2024 NFL Draft. All I will hear is what my beloved team will do with those draft picks. Will they pick the presumed next generational player at #1 or trade back for a haul of lower draft picks? No matter what they do, my team will be the center of attention for the next three months. Packer fans will have to hear about “Da Bears” until the season starts next year. Who owns who now, Green Bay?
Now, let’s talk about that Super Bowl Trophy they named after a Packer Coach. It should be named after the guy who helped invent the NFL, George S. Halas, who guided it to what it is today. If George hadn’t attended that meeting at a Hupmobile dealership in Canton, Ohio, Lombardi would, at best, have been languishing in college football for the rest of his career. Now that’s how to Bear down.
©2024 BBRiley.net
bbriley.net 