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--> --> 80 years later, Packers-Bears still special CHICAGO (AP) - Since founders and coaches Curly Lambeau and George Halas started the series and made sure they never shook hands after a game, Packers-Bears has always been much more than a competition. It's an experience. Through 161 meetings, the NFL's longest and most spirited rivalry, which kicked off in 1921 when the Bears were known as the Staleys, has featured legendary antics, colorful participants and unpredictable weather. Don Hutson, Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, Vince Lombardi, Ray Nitschke and, now, Brett Favre for the Packers. Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Mike Ditka, Mike Singletary and Walter Payton, just to name a few Bears. "There are so many great stories and personalities. It's wonderful to be part of it," says Bears coach Dick Jauron, who spent nine years as a Green Bay assistant. The Bears and Packers get together again Sunday with an even rarer circumstance - they're playing for first place in the NFC Central. The mere 207-mile distance between the cities and their disparity in size - Green Bay is the smallest town in the league and Chicago one of the biggest - helped amplify the rivalry. "I don't think there is a better rivalry in all of pro sports," Jauron says. "The geography of the situation contributes to it. They are relatively close. It's just an old rivalry. When you play a team that long and it goes back that far, you want to beat them more than anybody else. I'm sure they feel that way." Forrest Gregg and Ditka exemplified the intensity. They first played against one another and then, as head coaches one year, got into a heated shouting match during a game at Milwaukee County Stadium, where both benches were on the same side of the field. During that era came one of the most infamous plays of the rivalry: the Packers' Charles Martin body-slammed Bears quarterback Jim McMahon to the turf. The teams played just once in the postseason, a playoff won by the Bears in 1941 after both teams finished 10-1. They have missed just two seasons: in 1922 and in 1982, a strike year. There has been just one overtime game, and that resulted in one of the most bizarre endings. Bears tackle Alan Page blocked a field-goal attempt by Chester Marcol. The ball bounced right back to Marcol, who picked it up and ran 24 yards for a TD to win the 1980 season opener at Lambeau Field. This year's matchup doesn't need a side plot, yet there are plenty: - Jauron and defensive coordinator Greg Blache were Packers assistants. - Packers vice president of football operations Mark Hatley held a similar post with the Bears before leaving last spring. He is responsible for drafting and signing many of the players who are contributing to Chicago's success. - Packers defensive end John Thierry is a former first-round draft choice of the Bears. - Green Bay defensive tackle Jim Flanigan spent his first seven seasons with the Bears. - Packers defensive backs coach Bob Slowik was the Bears defensive coordinator. The Bears (6-1) are on a six-game winning streak, their longest since 1990. And they have pulled off two of their most memorable comeback victories ever in the last two weeks, winning overtime games against the 49ers and Browns. Both times they rallied from sizable fourth-quarter deficits and won both games when safety Mike Brown returned an overtime interception for a TD. Favre seems to save his best for the Bears. He's 14-4 against Chicago and has won eight of nine games he's played at Soldier Field. That includes a Halloween night victory in 1994 that featured torrential rains and 50 mph winds. "I say it's great for football, which it is, that the Bears are back. I just wish they'd have waited like three more years," Favre says. "I guarantee you that place will be rocking. It's something Chicago's been waiting on, and it'll be a fun atmosphere. And I think for people who like football, this is something you want to see." Green Bay (5-2), in second place behind the Bears in the NFC Central, has dominated the series recently, winning 12 of the last 14 games, although the teams have split the last four. The Packers have won seven straight at Soldier Field. Bears defensive end Bryan Robinson, who blocked a last-play field-goal attempt two years ago to give Chicago a victory, has been trying to impress on the team's younger players what it's like to play the Packers. "I was telling David Terrell that this game is like Michigan-Ohio State, but 30 or 40 times more, and you need to realize this," Robinson says. "And if you haven't felt it from the veterans talking about it, go out and look up your history." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing