The hatred between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears seeps deep into the pores of both institutions. It’s a beautiful thing. Since Game No. 1 — in 1921 — the animosity has only deepened. And deepened. Generation to generation. I could sense it in Mike Ditka’s raspy voice. Inside the clubhouse of his golf course, the Bears icon struggles to move around. He’s in his eighties. He delivered and absorbed more pain than he could possibly remember.
Yet, his memory was shockingly sharp. In reliving his unforgettable rise for “The Blood and Guts: How Tight Ends Save Football” there was nothing — absolutely nothing — that lit up Ditka quite like his memories of facing Vince Lombardi’s Packers. Specifically, his personal feud with the savage heartbeat of that defense: linebacker Ray Nitschke. The two were apex predators fighting for dominion of the sport. Football truly came alive in 60s with Ditka vs. Nitschke central to it all.
Nitschke knocked him unconscious in an exhibition game.
Ditka got revenge in the regular season. His crackback block sent the linebacker to the locker room.
Nitschke never forgot.
“He tried to knock the shit out of me,” Ditka said, “but I’d get him back.”
Once, the rivals nearly brawled outside of a Milwaukee restaurant. Nitschke promised to “get” Ditka. To which, Ditka sniped back: “If you’re going to get me, you better get me good.” More games followed. More wincing collisions.
“Nitschke tried to kill me. He didn’t take any prisoners,” Ditka said. “When you played the Packers, it was survival of the fittest. … That was the epitome of what a rivalry was in the National Football League. I mean, we kicked the hell out of each other.”
Sixty years later, the game was changed. No longer can a linebacker clothesline a tight end across the middle before lurching over the body as if its a corpse. No more can that tight end get blocked into the dirt, pounce to his feet and then two-hand blast an opponent in the back after the whistle.
Yet, the rivalry itself has not changed at all.
There are now two new central figures: Jordan Love and Justin Fields. Instead of trying to physically destroy each other during the game, these headliners must dazzle with their arms, their legs and win a totally different type of game. A prospect that gave Bears fans such a rush of hope these last 6 ½ months. At one point, Fields was getting twice as many MVP bets as any player not named Jalen Hurts. More than Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Justin Herbert combined.
On Sunday, the crowd of 62,456 at Soldier Field was muted and treated to a sobering reality.
Aaron Rodgers is out. Love is in. Another decade-plus of torture may await.
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