Chicago Tribune writer Rick Morrissey

I read this article and thought that it was worthy of a post. Yes, it's the Packers vs the Cowboys this week. But, ultimately, it's always good to keep an eye on the Bears. Below is an article by Rick Morrissey from the Chicago Tribune. Until the last line, this is an epic article! Carry on...

Live well,

Talkin' S-Mac.

Backing Packers: Root of all evil?
November 24, 2007

Is it morally wrong to want to adopt the Green Bay Packers until Chicago gets its very own NFL franchise?

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "What's next, Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump shacking up?" But as anathema as the thought might be, aren't the Packers what every Bears fan would want in a franchise?

Right now, many of you would adopt just about any team with a 10-1 record, even if the next Joseph Stalin coached it. (Talk about your excellent forced-labor training camp!) But back the Packers? Never, you say.

This Green Bay team is very, very likable. An iconic quarterback. A more-than-solid defense. A well-coached, disciplined young group. Besides the green-and-yellow color scheme, what's there not to like? OK, I get the archenemy thing. I get that many of you would prefer rooting for an elective root canal to rooting for the Packers. I get that given the choice between death and the Packers, many of you would ask for more time to decide.

But the Bears are a 4-6 franchise that looks absolutely lost from top to bottom. How much fun is it to be hitched to that wagon?

I'm suggesting the unthinkable: For the rest of this season, you men hand in your official Dick Butkus foaming-at-the-mouth spit cups. You women too.

I'm not suggesting you show up in a Brett Favre jersey Sunday, when the Bears play the Broncos at Soldier Field. I'm suggesting the Packers are what the Bears were supposed to be. So why not take it to the logical next step and appreciate what Favre and the Packers are doing this season?

The truth is that, despite the Bayou drawl and the unfortunate location of his place of employment, Favre is what many Chicagoans appreciate in a football player. He's talented, unbreakable, impulsive, personable and looks like something out of Tough Guys Illustrated.

For the Bears, the remote possibility of making the playoffs is barely visible in the distance. Coach Lovie Smith said his players need to win the rest of their games to play in the postseason, and it's one of the only things he has been right about this year.

The Packers took care of business on Thanksgiving, beating Detroit 37-26. You might have pushed your plate away in disgust Thursday when Favre completed 20 straight passes against the Lions. It made the Great Rex Grossman-Brian Griese Debate of 2007 seem silly, like discussing the merits of riding sidesaddle in front of John Wayne.

There always has been a huge amount of respect for the 38-year-old Favre in Chicago, mostly because he has owned the Bears, if you consider a 22-9 record sufficient proof of ownership.

But it's not just Favre this year. The Packers' defense is sixth in scoring average. The Bears, who were talking last year about wanting to be the best defense in league history, are 17th. Green Bay's offensive line has allowed only 14 sacks in 11 games. And Favre's joy pervades the team. It's a wondrous, childlike joy that reminds us that football is fun when you're winning. It's not much more than misery the way the Bears are approaching it.

It wasn't so long ago that we were discussing how strong the Bears were in an iron-deficient NFC. Now we're trying to sift through the rubble that used to be the Bears. It's 2007, and it's the Stone Age here.

You have every right to expect more from a team that was in the Super Bowl last season. That Super Bowl seems like eons ago. In fact, it almost feels like it never happened, such is the chaos and disarray of this season.

It has been such a disappointment that you wonder how things might have been different if the Bears had not gotten to the championship game. Would Smith be on the hot seat right now? General manager Jerry Angelo?

But that's playing a silly what-if game. The Bears did get to the Super Bowl. But now they have a wobbly offensive line, no running game and a below-average defense. The quarterback position remains consistently unsettled.

The free fall has knocked the wind out of many a Bears fan.

Look, Chicagoans own half the property in Wisconsin anyway. Why not a good football team too? Your Chicago Packers play in Dallas on Thursday in a matchup of 10-1 teams. Will you be there in spirit? I didn't think so.

You're Chicago Cowboys fans this week.