Listen, at the end of the day, this doesn’t actually matter a whole bunch, but people are talking about it, and quite frankly, you’re reading this, so you do care at least a little bit. First thought: there’s a time and place for everything. Having a hated rival in sports is a good thing; it’s obviously better when you’re actually competitive, and for the first time in a long time, Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are giving Chicago Bears fans something to be proud of.
Last season’s back-to-back wins at Soldier Field over the Green Bay Packers were euphoric for Bears fans, and again, for the first time in a while, chanting “Green Bay Sucks” actually meant something coming from Chicago. Johnson and the Bears punched the bully in the mouth, and as the underdog, it was great to see your head coach not back down from the Packers, giving the rivalry a newfound edge.
I’ve seen the argument that Bears fans are simply following Johnson’s lead. We loved his “Fuck the Packers’ roar after the Bears beat them 31-27 in the Wild Card Round of last season’s playoffs. This season, the Bears’ head coach fired up the locker room heading into their first matchup against Green Bay, simply asking, “You guys know what next week is? Alright, enough said.”
Unfortunately, the Bears were humbled, getting blown out 31-7 at Lambeau Field.
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That doesn’t mean Bears fans should be completely stripped of their ability to shit-talk the Packers, their fans, and so on, but you know what Ben Johnson doesn’t do? He’s not trash-talking the Packers or taking jabs at Green Bay when their next matchup isn’t for another two months.
This is little brother shit to a T. The Bears just won a primetime home game; Caleb Williams was great, Cairo Santos made the longest field goal of his career and the third-longest in Soldier Field history, but what did everyone who stuck around for the postgame show hear?
There’s a time and place for this, and this shit ain’t it. The Packers have nothing to do with a Bears win over the Patriots. It won’t stop anytime soon, but it’s still embarrassing to watch Bears fans pander to the lowest common denominator.
But that’s just me; obviously, fans are eating it up, or it would have died down by now. At least the Bears are winning now, and that’s something we can all get behind in Chicago.
