Mortfini
14 years ago

CHICAGO -- On Dec. 14, 1941, just one week after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers met for a tiebreaking Western Division championship game. Both teams had finished 10-1 in the division, so a first-ever divisional playoff game was created.

Before the game, excited fans lined up downtown to buy standing-room only tickets for this unique event for $1.65 (equivalent to almost $25 today) and they sold out quickly, according to a Chicago Daily Tribune story.

Bleacher seats for Bears games typically cost $1. (As an example of how much playoff tickets were going for at the time, for the NFL championship game against the Giants, box seats went for $4.40 and general admission was $3.30, according to the Tribune.) The Bears won 33-14 in front of an announced crowd of 43,424 at Wrigley Field, and the 47th meeting between the Bears and the Packers was the last time the two rivals have met in the playoffs.

Now, fast forward 70 years, where we're two wins away from seeing the teams fight for a chance to make the Super Bowl.

Twenty-five bucks, today's equivalent for the cost of one SRO ticket in 1941, gets you three beers at Soldier Field. This game could set records for a non-Super Bowl NFL game.

The open market for potential tickets to a Bears-Packers NFC championship is already through the roof. The Bears have to beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Soldier Field to advance, while Green Bay has a tougher task, beating the Falcons at the Georgia Dome.

Football Outsiders gives the Bears a 92.1 percent chance to make the NFC championship game, and the Packers 43.1. The Falcons have a 56.9 percent chance to host the game.

According to SeatGeek, a company that forecasts, aggregates, and lists tickets on the secondary market for major events on its website, tickets for a Bears-Packers title game are averaging $406. And that doesn't tell the entire story. Because the cheapest tickets being dangled are a handful for $388, with some as high as $8,800. And that's just early speculation. Imagine what they'll be going for Monday.

"We've been hearing both Packers and Bears fans getting excited about the potential of a championship game," Ben Kessler, SeatGeek's Director of Communications, wrote in an e-mail. "Bears fans are ready to spend on the postseason, with the Seahawks at Bears game this weekend commanding the highest average ticket prices of all four divisional games so far."

The average ticket for the Seahawks-Bears game is $321, Kessler wrote.

When the Packers came to Soldier Field on Sept. 27, tickets averaged $280. In the season-ending game at Lambeau Field, tickets averaged $208.

The Bears have one of the most expensive average tickets in the NFL at $93.55, according to Team Marketing Report's Fan Cost Index survey. Their premium ticket average is $372, also one of the highest in the league.

When a limited amount of playoff tickets went on sale through Ticketmaster, they ranged from $107 to $559, not including the convenience charge.

The Bears are typically tight-lipped about business matters, and they have no reason to change. They sell out every game.

"Thanks to the most passionate and dedicated fans in the NFL, we've been sold out for 26 years," Bears senior director of sales and marketing Chris Hibbs wrote in an e-mail.

Hibbs added that playoff games typically mean more excited fans, and thus, more spending on food and beverages. Obviously the hype of the Bears and Packers will only make fans more excited. Considering that the cheapest beer at Soldier Field is $8 and soft drinks are $4.50, those numbers bode well.

"No doubt the 'buzz meter' would be off the charts in that scenario and that will help our business in lots of ways," Hibbs wrote. "Both short-term and long-term."

One thing is for sure, the Super Bowl will have better attendance than the 1941 NFL Championship, and the players will make more money off it. The game, a 39-7 Bears win over the New York Giants, came just a week after the win over the Packers and under duress of the war, drew just 13,341 fans.

Thanks to the low gate, the Tribune reported the Bears were particularly glum to have made just $430.94 per person for the win, down from $870 the previous year, when they beat the Redskins 73-0 at Griffith Stadium.

Jon Greenberg is a columnist for ESPNChicago.com.

"Jon Greenberg" wrote:


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longtimefan
14 years ago
you need new sig
Mortfini
14 years ago
It's very old school now can u desgin me 1?
UserPostedImage
longtimefan
14 years ago
I wish!!
Cheesey
14 years ago
I wouldn't expect to go to the game anyway, so the price doesn't matter to me.
Kind of like Super Bowls.....i know i'll never see one in person.
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Mucky Tundra (2h) : @jalenreagors They’re discussing if Sheduer can go back to college on NFL Network LMFAOOOOO
beast (4h) : Great point Martha
beast (4h) : Buddy Ryan used to say if a candy bar goes missing, there are two to blame, Rex and Rob 🤪 jk 😁
Martha Careful (6h) : Bum Phillips used to say there are two ways to get better. Get better players or get players to play better. We have a new DL coach
Zero2Cool (7h) : Yes. Look at the losses last year. They can win.
beast (7h) : Can Packers win with their current DL?
bboystyle (8h) : waiting for a pass rusher.
dfosterf (11h) : 5 minutes between picks in the 3rd
dfosterf (11h) : 3rd. Hate this phone
dfosterf (11h) : 4rd
dfosterf (11h) : 5 minutes in the 4
dfosterf (11h) : 7 minutes between picks in the 2nd round
Martha Careful (11h) : Sorry to bitch, but the headline writers in that section absolutely mislead, or don't know how to read. It is maddening
Martha Careful (11h) : No thanks. Not a dependable guy to be in the right place and run the right route. Dumb as a box of rocks.
Zero2Cool (12h) : Losing 2nd round pick for a one year rental, not ideal. Especially a headcase.
TheKanataThrilla (12h) : Pickens for Jaire may be interesting. Definitely not sure we want Pickens long term.
dfosterf (13h) : No.Absolutely not
Zero2Cool (13h) : NO NO NO NO NO NO!!1 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
dhazer (13h) : scenario: Our main prospects are off the board when our pick comes around, do we just throw a 2nd round pick at Pittsburgh for Pickens
TheKanataThrilla (13h) : Hopefully she had some comfort that her son will be live his dream when she passed away. Sad news.
Mucky Tundra (14h) : Damn that sucks
Zero2Cool (14h) : News about Derrick Harmon mom, saddening.
Zero2Cool (15h) : Mark Murphy: "I predict we will trade up once and down twice."
beast (17h) : Rip the Packers and getting the fans yelling and booing him
beast (17h) : Super competitive Bears fan and WWE "superstar" wrestler, Seth Rollins is supposed to announce a Bears pick and absolutely rip Packers
packerfanoutwest (25-Apr) : Golden
beast (25-Apr) : I want DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon
Mucky Tundra (25-Apr) : And I can't be looking at my phone
Mucky Tundra (25-Apr) : Hey I'm at work lol
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : btw, new site chat won't delete auto like
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : because everyone left like wimps
TheKanataThrilla (24-Apr) : I am wondering if there is some type of autoclear when there isn't activity after a certain amount of time.
Mucky Tundra (24-Apr) : What happened in the chat? Me and Zero posted a few things earlier and they're all gone
dfosterf (24-Apr) : 10-15 min bs plus flyover
dfosterf (24-Apr) : Yes
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : 7pm is when this kicks off????
buckeyepackfan (24-Apr) : I told him. IT'S VONTE MACK , no matter what!
buckeyepackfan (24-Apr) : He asked me who I thought The Browns were taking.
buckeyepackfan (24-Apr) : 2. Would of had to wear Browns gear all week. NOPE I'll watch from my living room.
buckeyepackfan (24-Apr) : He wanted to know if I would go. 2 things, would have had to fly from Detroit to Green Bay. Nope
buckeyepackfan (24-Apr) : All expense paid trip to the draft. He will be in the Browns section. I told him to say hi to J-10VE for me 😃😃i
buckeyepackfan (24-Apr) : For a call from my nephew, he won an sllexp
TheKanataThrilla (24-Apr) : Hope to see everyone in the Chat tonight!!! Go Pack Go!!!
TheKanataThrilla (24-Apr) : Jeanty would be a great pick-up for the Bears. I see Warren mocked to them as well who I think would be a great selection.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : GameDay Chat is open. Posting bits an tids in there.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : Excellent Source: The Bears have a deal in place to move up to 5 if Jeanty is there.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : Probably not until 10pm will be making pick
dfosterf (24-Apr) : But it is still not tonight. Lol
wpr (24-Apr) : Today is finally here.
dfosterf (24-Apr) : I should have put it in quotes
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