Rivalry

Rivalries form in many different areas.  Perhaps one of the most famous rivalries was that of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.  We all know how that ended.  Hamilton has enjoyed a revival of sorts due to the Broadway production "Hamilton".  Best known are sports rivalries.  For example, NY Yankee-Boston Red Sox have been playing each other since 1901.  In football, the THE Ohio State University--University of Michigan rivalry extends back to 1897.  The NFL will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, having been formed in Canton, Ohio in August 1920.  Rivalries extend to families, there is the famous sibling rivalry that seems to occur in many families, and of course families can be split apart by other rivalries, particularly sports. I think the only time my Mom, who hailed from Chicago, paid attention to professional football was when the Packers played the Bears. The Packers and Bears will meet to kick off the 100th NFL season. 

Papa Bear George Halas

The Packers were formed in 1919, and the Bears in 1920.  The Bears, actually formed originally as the Decauter Staleys,  were a founding member of the NFL, they and the Arizona Cardinals are the only two founding teams who played in 1920 in existence.   The Bears and Packers first played each other in 1921, the year the Packers joined the NFL, but there was one year, the strike shortened season of 1982 that they did not play.  They have played 198 games and the Packers hold a slight edge of 97-95-6 over this almost 100 year rivalry.  Of course, over the course of the past 20 or so years the Packers have seemingly dominated with both Aaron Rogers and Brett Favre having significant winning records against Da Bears. Although Bill Swerski Superfans seem to disregard the facts of the Packer NFL titles. 

Curly Lambeau, one founder of the Packers

The 199th meeting of the two teams will kick off the NFL season this Thursday evening at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Soldier Field, which was built in 1924 and originally known as Grant Park Municipal Stadium,.  It was once stately stadium but now looks like an over-sized alien space ship lost its bearings and plummeted to the southwest shore of Lake Michigan.  For a city known for its architecture, one would think they could have done better in the rehabilitation of the stadium. My Dad played football for Marquette University at Soldier Field.  I chalk the stadium design up to a bad case of starchitecture.  The Packers play at historic, and iconic Lambeau Field, originally known as New City Stadium (to distinguish from the original City Stadium that the Packers had played in from 1925 to the opening of the new stadium in 1957).The frozen Tundra.  If not for Lombardi the Packers may not be known as the Green Bay Packers. 

Soldier Field, present day

Being the smallest city in the NFL, the Packers are part and parcel of community identity.  I would go so far as to say they are part of the identity of the state of Wisconsin.  I recall camping last year at a campground in the northeast part of the state on the Sunday night the Packers opened the season against the Bears in Lambeau Field--opening the Packer 100th season against their rival.  It was cold, the low would go below 40 and my wife and I are huddled in our tent in the low occupancy campground.  People on one loop had trailers with generators to power their TV, one on another loop, in a tent, had a radio playing.  I could not understand what was being said, but I knew by the groans and cheers.  The first half was filled mainly with groans, and the second half with cheers as the Packers came back to win the game.  You would have thought a tavern was nearby by the loud noise in the campground.

Soldier Field 1930

Yet beyond the rivalry there was a strong connection between the two teams.  First, there is the frozen tundra, which has a heating system in the field.  Papa Bear George Halas recommended GE, of which his son was employed and sold the system to the Packers.  The system famously failed in the 1967 Ice Bowl, although part of the blame may be on Lombardi for playing with the controls. A new system was installed in 1997.  Second, the Packers may not be the Packers but for Papa Bear.  Following the pathetic performance of  Scooter McLean in 1958 (1-10-1) as coach for one year, and the fact that they had not produced a winning season since 1947 (when they went 6-5-1) the only community owned franchise in the league was on its last legs and the powers that be in the NFL was desirous of kicking the Packers out.  Given their ownership structure (an American Legion post) they could not simply relocate, although the NFL wanted them in Milwaukee. George Halas pleaded to keep the Packers in Green Bay and in the NFL, and he won out.  It was the Bears organization who first suggested the hiring of Lombardi from his position as offensive coordinator with the NY Giants. 

Lambeau Field Present day

A new season will be starting for the Packers and the Bears, and for once it will Green Bay with a new head coach on the sideline.  The Bears have gone through three head coaches since 2013, a combined tenure out done by Mike McCarthy who coached the Packers from 2006 to 2018.  Also, it will be unique since the Bears are the reigning NFC North Champions (the last time they were NFC north champions was in 2010).  The Packers are hoping to get back on track in the NFL North after having owned the NFC North for 5 of the last 8 seasons.  Both teams are quickly becoming an anomaly of sorts in the NFL, the Packers having an ownership structure no longer allowed, but grandfathered in, and the Bears one of the original two teams of the NFL remaining--started by hard work and determination.  Today, owners need to have a great deal of money and hey use ownership of a team as a hobby, or a way to prove their worth.  Lambeau and Halas were both well invested in their teams, they are part of the team identity.

All should know this man

As these two teams meet Thursday night, my Mom who is up in heaven will be cheering on Da Bears, but my Dad is also their cheering on the Packers. I am not sure who will win the bet they will have, but the Da Bears are favored by three.  That in itself speaks volumes of the fortunes of the two teams as the NFL enters its 100th year.  Having won the division, the Bears will have a much tougher schedule than the Packers who finished third, just a half game above Detroit.  Will the game end for the Bears as their season ended last year on the infamous double doink? Tomorrow night we will find out.

Images from Google.