Peering Across the Cheddar Curtain: Bears Week Day 1

     When it comes to rivalries in the National Football League(and Bears lore), there is none more prominent than that which is separated by the Cheddar Curtain. The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers have shared a deep animosity ever since the dawn of the NFL. Their first game against one another occurred in 1921. They've faced off 187 times since then. George Halas tried to get the Packers thrown out of the league back in the day. Both teams have experienced periods of dominance over the other. They hold a combined 22 NFL Championships. They've played some great games over the years, and here are some highlights:

     1921 saw the first game ever between the rivals, with the Bears prevailing for the first time by a score of 20-0. 3 years later, the first ever ejection for fighting during a game occurred in a Bears-Packers match up. In 1941, the two teams split the regular season series, but the Bears defeated the Packers in the first-ever playoff game between the two franchises. In 1962, the Packers beat the Bears 49-0, before repeating that very same score in another game 6 weeks later. 1971 saw a game with all of 2 points being scored, those coming against the Packers thanks to a safety.

     With the dawn of the 1980s, there was a dawn of the great years for the Bears. It all started on December 7, 1980, when the Packers came to Chicago and proceeded to get blown out. By the 4th Quarter, Green Bay was pretty well beaten, and had trotted out their backup QB. Much like the Honey Badger, the Monsters of the Midway didn't care. They still ran a full-strength blitz defense and went on to score two more touchdowns. When the smoke cleared, the Bears had won by a score of 61-7. Needless to say, the Packers were pissed. The Bears had been out for blood, as well as revenge. The coach of the Bears had been unceremoniously fired by The Pack years before, and had an axe to grind. After the game, Dan Hampton said that the loss "couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of pricks." The rest of the decade saw a long period of Bears dominance, with Chicago not losing a single game from 1984 to 1988.

     The streak was broken in 1989 with a controversial game that saw the Packers take advantage of a little-used NFL rule. There was so much consternation over the game that Da Coach himself ordered an asterisk placed in front of the score in team publications. But that was just a prelude, as the 1990s brought about a new era of dominance(and sexting) in Green Bay when Brett Favre took his first snaps as Quarterback. From 1994 to 1998, the Packers won every single game played.

     On November 7, 1999 the Bears squared off against the Packers for the first rivalry game of the season. Somewhat more significantly, this was the first game since the untimely passing of Walter Payton. In an emotional struggle, the Bears prevailed by a score of 14-13. 2002 saw the series go on the road to Memorial Stadium in Champaign, as Soldier Field was being renovated at the time. 2008 saw the coldest game ever to take place at Soldier Field, and a game that went right down to the wire, and then beyond. The Bears eventually won it on a Robbie Gould field goal in overtime.

     In 2011, the Bears and Packers met up for only the second time ever in the Playoffs. The teams met up at Soldier Field on the 23rd of January. The Packers jumped out to an early lead, and then Jay Cutler lamed up. Even though the backup came in and performed admirably, the Packers still wound up winning the game and a trip to the Super Bowl, which they ended up winning.  Over the 9 decades that they have played each other, both sides have proven time and again that this is the premier rivalry in the National Football League.  Those two teams face off again today.  And so, in the spirit of the rivalry, I leave you with this image: