Why Blowing Out the Packers May Finally Cure What Ails Bears Fans

Chicago Bears fans were in a funk by the fall of 2004. Their team had lived with a proverbial chain around its neck for year. That chain was the constant torture administered by the Green Bay Packers. They'd lost seven-straight at that point to their rivals and 18 of their last 20. New head coach Lovie Smith declared his top priority was to beat Green Bay. Not many people believed him. Why should they with over a decade of history saying otherwise? Things started off routine up at Lambeau Field. Brett Favre staked the Packers out to a quick 3-0 lead. Then something happened. Almost like a switch was flipped. In the second quarter the Bears offense scored a touchdown to make it 7-3. Then the defense made the play of the game, halting a Packers drive five yards from the end zone by forcing a fumble and returning it for a touchdown. People didn't know it then, but that play wasn't just game-changing. It was franchise-changing. Chicago ended up cruising to a 21-10 win. It was their first by double digits since 1993. The Bears would go on to win six of the next nine against Green Bay, make the playoffs twice and reach the Super Bowl.

Chicago Bears fans feeling a sense of deja vu all over again

It's amazing how the NFL can run in cycles sometimes. Here Bears fans are. It's almost an exact same scenario. In the past 15 meetings with Green Bay since 2011 they've lost 13 of them. Despite still showing support for the team, it feels like the entire fan base has been stuck in a perpetual state of melancholy. They want to give all of their love and support to the team, but they can't trust them. That might be because the Bears have looked so inferior at times. Four of the last six defeats at the hands of the Packers were by 16 points or more. Getting constantly blown out by your bitter rival can shake the confidence of even the fanatical fans. By that same token, it may take a blowout the other way for them to snap out of it. Chicago has not seen the Bears truly crush the Packers in a game for a literal decade. Each of their last four victories were by seven points or fewer. The last true beat down they handed Green Bay was in 2007. It was a windy, frigid day at Soldier Field that saw a frustrated Bears team hammer a disinterested Packers team 35-7. [video width="480" height="360" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Cant-Miss-Play-Brian-Urlacher-pick-six-Brian-Urlacher-picks-off-Brett-Favre-and.mp4"][/video] Suddenly here the team is. The stars are aligned. Aaron Rodgers is out. Green Bay is reeling from a three-game losing streak. The Bears are rested coming out of the bye. If ever there was a time that called for a legitimate thrashing of the Packers, this is it. Can Chicago actually deliver? Well history shows that if they do, it could ignite a sleeping giant that is the Bears fan base.