With baseball on lockout and prospects for a quick settlement fading day by day, the NFL has happily filled the void somewhat. This past weekend featured the NFL Draft Combine, otherwise known as 21st Century slave review. College athletes who have listed for the April draft are measured, prodded, everything except having their tongues reviewed like horses. But there’s a bigger story in football – the quarterback shuffle…
Since this time last year, the fate of Aaron Rodgers has been one of the hot button topics in sports. Rodgers said that he was upset at the Packers’ front office since using a first-round draft choice to draft his successor, Jordan Love. Along with the pain of consecutive 13-win seasons without even a Super Bowl appearance, Rodgers said that he wanted out of Green Bay. The Packers have since tried everything to get on Rodgers’ good side including covering up for him not being vaccinated against COVID-19, subjecting his teammates to risk infection, and of course, his sudden, weird, now defunct engagement to equally strange actress Sharleen Woodley.
The teams in the NFC North of course, were rooting for Rodgers to be traded or retire. The Packers once again lost in the playoffs, and after this season, Rodgers said he would decide on his future before the draft. Yesterday, it was announced that the Packers had signed Rodgers to a new contract worth $200 million for four years with $158 million guaranteed, the biggest contract ever in the sport.
It was believed that the Broncos, Steelers and perhaps Dolphins were the hottest suitors for Rodgers, since there was no way that the Packers would trade Rodgers to a team in their conference, much less their division. I guess the Broncos were very serious about Rodgers because, after news reports confirmed the Rodgers’ signing, the Broncos put together a deal to get Russell Wilson from the Seahawks. It is unclear how many players and draft choices will be heading northwest, but Seattle is an aging franchise who is not a Super Bowl contender anymore, and so a lot of help is needed. Wilson has expressed his dissatisfaction with the team not getting better linemen to protect him, but reports were that Head Coach Pete Carroll did not want to trade Wilson. Of course, Carroll is 70 years old, and may either want to retire or get pushed out.
Overall, the trade reminds me of the Herschel Walker Trade from the Cowboys to the Vikings. Walker is a Hall of Fame running back, but had a lot of mileage on his tires, as it were. The Cowboys took those picks and used them to acquire players like Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson and Russell Maryland, the foundation for it’s 1990s Super Bowl teams. The Vikings never made the Super Bowl in that time period and Walker retired (and has become a GOP right wing candidate for Congress).
Denver of course, has had some very good defenses these past few years and some decent skill position players, but no QB to run the show. Assuming he passes the physical and agrees to the trade, Wilson will be coming into a good situation, much like Peyton Manning did after leaving the Colts for the Mile High City. And Wilson now makes the star-studded AFC even tougher with Allen, Mahomes, and other QBs.
The only question now is who’s next? There are no elite QBs coming out of college this draft, so that leaves some others like Derek Carr reportedly available. And there are the same old retreads like Andy Daulton hanging around. One has to wonder whether Jordan Love, Rodgers’ heir apparent is available?

Yes, there is war in Ukraine and inflation and the usual political divide in the country, and what would cheer everyone up? I always use the arrival of pitchers and catchers to spring training as evidence that we have made it through the winter and warmer days are ahead. Unfortunately, there is no baseball or joy in Mudville as the owners’ lockout of the players continues as both sides attempt to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.
I remember a few years ago when MLB and the Union celebrated 25 years of labor peace, the longest time without a work stoppage since the Andy Messersmith free agency decision. The sides appeared to be friendly. Well, all that goodwill is gone. The last CBA had provisions that were definitely owner friendly and with the pandemic, player salaries have actually fallen on average. One wouldn’t think so with the quarter and half billion dollar contracts going to the superstars, which the owners were hoping would 1) split the players between the super rich and the rest of the rank and file; and 2) get the fans on their side.
As always, both sides are at fault and mostly it is a victim of the current political environment. Compromise is seen as weakness, complete victory is the only outcome valued by anyone. The owners established the lockout, designed to play hardball with the Players’ Union and the few negotiating sessions were futile until the owners set a deadline of this past Monday or the start of the season was in jeopardy. I really thought that the sudden flurry of sessions would save the season at the last hour, especially with the arbitrary deadline. Then they extended the deadline by 24 hours and after a nearly nonstop sessions on Monday and Tuesday, the owners cancelled Opening Day and the first two series to put the pressure on the players. Instead it appears that this has brought the players solidarity and both sides are going into the nuclear bunkers.
The major problem of course is whether people will care. Baseball’s demographic skews very old and the game continues to be very slow which has the League thinking hard about ways to speed up the game. Some were ridiculous like starting runners at second base in extra innings, which was quickly eliminated, and universal DH, which I liked a great deal. Still, the ideas haven’t worked and the sport is in real danger of disappearing, which a prolonged labor problem definitely will not help.
It just goes to show that people never learn. This is going to go on for awhile, and honestly, baseball is the only sports show in town from mid-June when the NBA and NHL end to mid-August, when the NFL camps open. Baseball is no longer the national pastime, to many young people it is a boring anachronism. Can these reportedly “titans of industry” and the very talented players decide to compromise or are they going to blow up the season? I’m not hopeful…

A comedian I follow on social media asked a very good question as the Winter Olympics begin in earnest – the Games were a big thing growing up and they’re not this year. Why is that? I think there are a number of reasons why this Olympics does not have the same excitement as in years past:
Let’s start with the obvious one – Covid-19. Even though the Omicron variant seems to be losing strength, that was not the case in the build-up of this Olympiad. There was legitimate concern as to whether the Games would be a super-spreader event. The NHL and Players’ Union pulled the pro players from the Games (although I like a return to the amateurs playing, especially since the pandemic ended the IIHF World Championships that are held around Christmas/New Year). One would think that this would be enough, but there’s more…
The Games are being held in China. Many people cannot separate the Games with the government that my friend Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times listed in his column this morning: oppression of the Uyghur population; crackdown on Hong Kong; long time attempts to grasp Taiwan; it’s hold on Tibet; and a two-year-old trade war. Not to mention being one of the first outbreaks of the before mentioned Covid. As Neil stated, it isn’t the best time to be publicizing where the Games are being held.
Which leads us to the modern Games. With so many billions of dollars in “white elephant” stadiums, venues that cost lots of money that could have been used on more important things like food, shelter, education, health, to see them deteriorated, never used again, like ghosts, governments are declining to jump on the Olympic bandwagon. With the terms rigged that the International Olympic Committee getting most of the revenue without risking money themselves. Then leaving when the 3 weeks are over; it is a sham. However, institutionalized state governments, where opposition is crushed, can spend all the money they wish on lavish games with no one to complain. It’s more important to provide a positive spin on life in the country, especially hiding the ugly aspects as propaganda to the rest of the world. Knowledgeable people are not falling for this.
Finally, this isn’t the 1960s and 1970s. In those days, athletes from Soviet Pact countries were rumors. We in the West heard about them and how great they were, and the Olympics were the only way to see them compete, and against the best from the rest of the world. For example, the Soviet Hockey Teams were incredible but we got to see them only in the Olympics or special series like the Canada Cup. Today of course, all one has to do to see the best Russian hockey players is watch the NHL: Ovetchkin is in Washington; Artemi Panerin plays for the Rangers; there’s lots more. Skiers, bobsledders, can be found on American television if you look around. Yes, the competition may not be as high as the Olympics, but they are no longer myths and legends only talked about among fans.
Coming back to the beginning, the anti-Asian hate and xenophobia that has come more out in the open over the past few years in America and elsewhere may also be playing a part. And, in my opinion, the Winter Games are not as popular as the Summer Games. The Summer Games are older by decades; it has not been proven that the Winter Games are very popular in countries nearer the Equator where there is little to no winter (at least before climate change).
For quite a while, I have asked here at evilopinion.com whether the Olympics will soon be a thing of the past? With municipalities and countries no longer bidding for games; perhaps the need for permanent locations of the Games – Greece for the Summer Games and some place with proper weather and mountains for the Games would be the way to go? That way, the buildings and facilities get reused and can be the location for other events in between Olympiads.
I admit that I will watch some of the Olympics – it’s in my DNA. Will it be less than in years past? Perhaps. I wonder what the final ratings will be?

What happens when you really love something, a work of art, a film, a television show or a sports franchise that is/was created, cast with or owned by someone you find disreputable, even evil? In the social media age, and with more sophisticated ways of finding information, people’s exploits, positive and negative are grist for the proverbial mill.
A dear friend, the late Rebecca Watson, who had been in the movie industry in her youth, and I would get into intense arguments about Roman Polanski and Woody Allen (never heated arguments and it’s one of the things I miss about her most). Polanski of course had sex with an underaged girl in the early 1970s and has not been in the U.S. since. Polanski directed the classic “Chinatown” and “The Pianist” among other films and was the husband of Sharon Tate who was killed with her unborn child by the Charles Manson family. I find the act disgusting, but the girl’s mother put her daughter together with the director and at the end of the trial where an agreement had been reached on punishment, the judge attempted to suspend the deal and send Polanski to prison for a long time, so he left the country. (It should also be noted that the woman involved would like the matter ended in Polanski’s favor.) Rebecca always argued that Polanski should be caught and sent to jail.
Allen of course, has been seriously alleged to have molested one of then girlfriend’s adopted children and then left Ms. Farrow to marry another adopted daughter, many years Woody Allen’s junior. So far, the occurrence has not stopped me from watching a Roman Polanski film. A documentary called Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired made quite a compelling case that at the very least, Polanski was going to be railroaded. On the other hand, I watched the documentary “Allen v. Farrow” and have an even worse opinion of Allen. Now, I can only watch Annie Hall, and Hannah and Her Sisters. All of his other films, especially the ones where his character is involved with a much younger woman, turn my stomach.
Why am I bringing this up and why now? Long time readers know that I am a huge fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. For many years, I shared partial season tickets with a group of friends and watched many games including playoff and a couple Stanley Cup Finals games. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 Cup championship teams. The friend who bought the season tickets each year retired and I took over the tickets. Of course, it has been hard to be a Blackhawk fans since they last won in 2015. The team has played poorly as the old core aged and retired or left. Worse yet was the fact that the Blackhawks allowed a pedophile to work as a video assistant during the 2010 title run. Rather than turn the criminal in, they waited until after the playoffs and paid for him to resign plus gave him championship gifts like the other employees. They never went to the police.
The young prospect, named Kyle Beach sued the team in 2019 along with another young man who had been molested after the video coach was working for a Michigan high school. The story reached the press and the Blackhawks hired a law firm to investigate the allegation. Rather than issue a whitewash report to use in the litigation, the report was scathing and honest. After that report was issued, Stan Bowman, the Head of Hockey Operations and GM resigned. John McDonaugh, had been fired by te organization awhile ago. Then Coach Joel Quenneville resigned his head coaching job with the Florida Panthers. An settlement was made with Beach, the other lawsuit was thrown out, but there were three people preparing more lawsuits as of this writing.
I already wrote about Owner Rocky Wirtz’ unseemly tirade at the team’s town hall meeting on Wednesday. He refused to answer any questions although the questions involved what controls had been put in place since the incident. The rant went viral and was met with universal derision. Both Rocky and son Danny issued apologies. Wayne Gretzky on TNT said that he would be unwilling to let a son if he had one come and play for the Blackhawks. Some fans said that they would never follow the team again. Some people threw away their jerseys and other paraphernalia. Therein lies the quandary – what should I do?
When the allegations came to light, I did not throw away my 2010 Championship shirts or hats. I did not throw away the replica championship ring I bought, nor any of the 2013 or 2015 championship swag. How should I feel about the team now that Rocky Wirtz has shown his true colors? Sports team owners are usually known as unpleasant, spoiled brats playing fantasy sports with real humans. Here is Chicago, we have the Cubs owned by the Ricketts family who’s father can be considered nearly a Nazi and he and his sons all are Trump supporters. The White Sox and Bulls are owned by Jerry Reinsdorf who held the State of Illinois hostage for what is now Guaranteed Rate Field. The Bears are owned by the McCaskey Family, who have mismanaged the team for decades and now want to move the team to suburban Arlington Heights.
For the Hawks, I have a little bit more experience actually. As an Andy Frain usher, I worked at the old Chicago Stadium. Aisle 10, right behind the benches near center ice was Aisle 10, where the Wirtzes sat. There was one very clean-cut usher who exclusively worked Aisle 10, but occasionally he couldn’t work and so a few times, I worked the Aisle. I was never comfortable there – very little was said to me whereas the regular usher was treated better, spoken to, acknowledged. I was not, but it was OK, these were some stuck up people. I met Rocky’s grandfather Arthur and his wife, the man who bought the Hawks; I was around Rocky’s father Bill, later known as “Dollar Bill” for his penny-pinching ways after his father passed. It was only when Bill died and Rocky took over that the team leapt into the 21st Century. Games were televised; beloved veterans were invited back to be community ambassadors. And of course, there was the winning – the first Stanley Cup wins since 1962. A book, The Breakaway detailed the Wirtz family from Rocky’s perspective, a cold, loveless family – a Dickensian nightmare mixed with the family on “Succession.”
The answer – I don’t think I can cut off the Blackhawks. I have been a fan since the 1960s, even when Black people generally didn’t go to games due to a feeling of being unwelcome. I am a hockey fan, when the Hawks were lousy, I still had the NHL Center Ice package on cable so I could see every game. I have been to a Dallas Cowboys game despite the fact that I was giving money to Jerry Jones. Same for the Yankees when George Steinbrenner was still alive. I have been to White Sox, Bulls and Cub games, but admittedly, not since the Ricketts took over. That Rocky Wirtz has similar traits as his father and grandfather probably shouldn’t be a surprise. Even with my inside knowledge, it never stopped me from going to games. The horrible days in the 1990s when the Hawks sucked kept me away just to keep money away from the Wirtzes when they put a subquality product on the ice.

The other day, I received an email from the Blackhawks. As a partial season ticket holder, I was invited to stream a town hall meeting with senior management, other season ticket holders and certain members of the press. I had to log in to watch this, and I got much more than I bargained for. After introductions, moderator Ed Olczyk let Owner Rocky Wirtz speak for a few minutes then son Danny, who is now the President of the club and Jaime Faukner, the still new President of Business Operations.
Fan questions submitted in advance asked abut the search for a new general manager, how they decided to do it in this manner and why choose Patrick Sharp, Marion Hossa and Olczyk to be part of the process. There were more questions about announcer Pat Foley and tickets. Since this was one of the first opportunities to talk to the ownership, the Kyle Beach sexual assault by then video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010 remained the 800-lb gorilla. Things were going along predictably until Mark Lazarus of The Atlantic asked a very valid question to Danny Wirtz: what are the Blackhawks doing to empower players in the future if confronted with a similar situation? Did the elder Wirtz believe that no questions would be asked about that?
Copied from the Chicago Tribune: Rocky Wirtz jumped in: “I’m going to answer the question, not him. I think the report speaks for itself. The people that were involved are no longer here. We’re not looking back at 2010, we’re looking forward and we’re not going to talk about 2010.”
Lazerus: “I’m not talking about 2010.”
Wirtz: “I know, and I’m not either. And we’re not going to talk about what happened. We’re moving forward. That is my answer. Now what’s your next question?”
Danny Wirtz tried to interject: “I can pick up, too, what we are doing today.”
Rocky shut him down: “No, that’s none of your business. That’s none of your business,” directed to Lazerus and other reporters assembled at a table. “What we’re going to do today is our business. I don’t think it’s any of your business.”
Lazerus: “How is it not my business?”
Wirtz: “Because I don’t think it’s any of your business. You don’t work for the company. If someone in the company asked that question, we’ll answer it. And I think you should get onto the next subject. We’re not going to talk about Kyle Beach, we’re not going to talk about anything that happened. Now we’re moving on. What more do I have to say? You want to keep asking the same question to hear the same answer?”
Lazerus: “No.”
Wirtz: “OK, ask the next question.”
Lazerus: “You’ve said enough right there.”
Wirtz: “OK, good.”
Tribune reporter Phil Thompson said originally he wanted to ask if Wirtz felt personal responsibility for what happened to Beach, so he put away that question and continued:
Thompson: “I’m sorry, but I’m a little mystified here. During the Jenner & Block briefing you guys talked about a change in culture and transparency and demonstrating the new culture and values that are going to protect players and protect the organization in the future. And it seems like the second that we ask a question about that, it’s met with resistance. So I’m going to ask it again.”
Wirtz: “Answered it. I answered it and I told you to get off the subject.”
Thompson: “You didn’t tell me, you told him.”
Wirtz: “I’m not going to bring up the report.”
Thompson: “We’re not asking about the report, we’re asking about the new …”
Wirtz: “I know, you’re asking about what the report was talking about, and I told you we’re moving on.”
Thompson: “We’re asking about the values and the protections for the future.”
Wirtz: “I don’t care, I’m not going to answer this line of questions. Why don’t you ask about something else? Why don’t you ask about the GM search? Why don’t you ask about something else? Why do you bring up old business?”
Thompson: “OK, I will.”
This was an uncharacteristic performance or Wirtz, who until the Beach incident came to light, was perhaps the most popular sports owner in Chicago (I’m avoiding the joke about being the tallest midget in the circus). If the reporters were trying to rehash the particulars of the case or settlement, such a reaction would have been a little bit understandable. The reporters were asking what protections had been put in place for the current and future Blackhawks. Since the team press release earlier last year talked about trying to gain the public’s trust; this was the perfect opportunity to do that, but instead Wirtz had a hissy fit.
By 11:45 PM, the team released an apology from Wirtz “ “Tonight, at the Chicago Blackhawks town hall, my response to two questions crossed the line,” Wirtz said. “I want to apologize to the fans and those reporters, and I regret that my response overshadowed the great work this organization is doing to move forward. We have the right leaders and right processes in place to create a safe environment for our employees and players.”
In between the tantrum and the apology, the Blackhawks were utterly routed again, this time by the Minnesota Wild 5-0. This came after a sleepwalking performance against Vancouver over the weekend that generated a much tougher practice and some fairly foul language from Hawks Assistant Coach Marc Crawford. The Canucks were only 4 points ahead of the Blackhawks for the last playoff spot, but now, after having lost 7 of the last 8 games, they stagger into the All-Star Break looking like definite sellers before the trade deadline March 21st. The most coveted asset would be goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, but he has the right to veto a trade and could just retire rather than be traded again.
Once again, the Kyle Beach sexual assault is the PR disaster that keeps on giving. An settlement has been reached with Beach; all of the management who were in charge in 2010 and failed to protect Beach (except the owners of course) are gone. It is natural for the external stakeholders, the fans, the press to ask how you will prevent it from happening again? If I had a kid good enough to go to the NHL, I would want to know how the team will protect my kid. Rocky Wirtz tonight showed the anger and arrogance of a privileged person who does not permit tough questions.

After having enjoyed as enjoyable a playoff season as any in sports history, former Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores dropped a boulder into the lake that is the National Football League. Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL accusing the league of having racist hiring practices. With the league, three teams were named in the 58-page lawsuit—the Dolphins, the Broncos, and the Giants regarding interviews with the Broncos and Giants and his firing last month by Miami.
Basically, there are huge allegations in this lawsuit, one of which is obvious, the other is as insidious. The fact that Mike Tomlin is currently the only Black head coach in all of the NFL is stark evidence that the NFL’s claims that it is concerned about diversity and fairness is a bunch of crap. The “Rooney Rule” that requires every team with an open coaching position interview at least one minority candidate is just a box to be checked off as the owners hire their favorite white man.
Flores claimed the Giants had interviewed him for a head coaching role only to fulfill the Rooney Rule. The suit alleges the job was already promised to another coach before his final interview. The difference is that there appears to be evidence. Text messages between Flores and his former boss Bill Belichick reveal Belichick mistakenly congratulated the former Miami coach on landing a job with the Giants that was actually promised to a different coach with the same first name. When asked to confirm who the text was meant for, the Patriots’ head coach corrected himself, saying he intended to text another former Patriots assistant Brian Daboll, not Brian Flores. “I fu**ed this up. I double checked and misread the text. I think they are naming Brian Daboll. I’m sorry about that,” Belichick wrote to Flores.
Flores claims that a similar scenario occurred when he interviewed with the Broncos for a head coaching job in 2019. According to the lawsuit, then-Denver General Manager John Elway and others arrived late for his interview and were apparently hungover. The Broncos released a memo of their own, stating, “Our process was thorough and fair to determine the most qualified candidate for our head coaching position.”
It has been said that the NFL is a plantation; treating the players, 70% of whom are African-American, as assets, not people. Yes, they are paid very well, but considering the punishment they risk every time they step on the field and the potential long term health issues, this is a matter of respect. To interview with no legitimate chance of getting the job, it is disheartening; it is soul crushing; it makes you angry. I can empathize with these Black coaches are going through. I have been unemployed twice in the past five years, one time for 17 months, I interviewed with several major financial institutions in the Chicago area and I was under the impression that the choice had been made, but they had to have a minority interview. In one interview, I was told before I left that perhaps there would be positions open in another section of the organization. Needless to say, I never applied for any positions with them again. If I was a Black coaching candidate, I would rather that there were no Rooney Rule, not wasting anyone’s time for an interview for a job that I will not get, no matter how well I do; just how white candidates only get a fair shake.
Worse is that with the NFL making business agreements with sports gambling sites, Flores’ allegations lead to a problem with the integrity of the game itself. In the lawsuit, Flores claims that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross attempted to bribe him to lose games after he was hired in 2019, and tried to pressure him into recruiting a “prominent quarterback” at the end of the 2019 season. Flores refused to tank and when he refused he was allegedly cast as the “angry Black man” who was difficult to work with. The alleged incidents with the Dolphins led to his ouster; Flores was fired from his position as Head Coach on Jan. 10 despite recording the Dolphins’ first back-to-back winning seasons since 2003. (It should be noted that former Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson said that he was offered money for losing games.) According to ESPN, the Dolphins claimed, “The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect.”
Flores knows that he will probably never get a coaching job in the NFL, especially a head coach. “I understand the risks. And, yes, it was a difficult decision, and I went back and forth,” he said of filing the lawsuit without having a coaching job. “And like I said, I love coaching. I do. It’s something that I’m passionate about. It brings me joy. I love helping young people reach their potential and become the best versions of themselves. I’m gifted to do that.” Flores said he told the two teams with which he interviewed for their head coaching jobs that he was going to file the lawsuit. He called the lawsuit “bigger than coaching.”
There is no way to ignore the way that the NFL treated Colin Kaepernick. Yes, the former QB got money in litigation with the league, but he has never played another game in the league. The league says that it will aggressively combat Flores’ charges but the numbers are the numbers. After the season, there were seven head coach openings, so far three have been filled and all have been white men. One thing that has always been a bone of contention between the league and the players is that Commissioner Roger Goodell often acts as though he is the Sheriff to control the players, particularly players of color. However, if you look at the NFL Offices and there is diversity with lots of minority and women in the league offices, but Roger Goodell works for the 31 owners (the Packers of course are publicly owned). He has no power to tell his bosses who to hire.
Finally, if you’re a player for the Dolphins or Browns, what does it say that they will openly tank, and the league knows about it. The willingness to pay coaches to lose games goes against everything that players are taught from Pop Warner football all the way to the NFL. What does it say that the owners think that you and your teammates as not very good; further undercutting the ability of the coach and the team and other players who go out there and are working hard and trying to win? Back to the beginning, what does it say that the games may be fixed in return for future prospects?

Like many other people in the Chicago area, I was very happy to see 49er (and former Chicago Bear) kicker Robbie Gould put through a 45 yard field goal as time expired to defeat the Green Bay Packers last evening. Locally, there is always dancing when the Packers get beat; Facebook and Twitter are alive with jokes and puns, and Packer fans react with “you’re just jealous” replies. This year however, the controversy that has surrounded quarterback Aaron Rodgers has brought a lot of the rest of the country around to some Packer hatred (and the omnipresent State Farm commercials haven’t helped).
But why? Other than Rodgers, do we know any of the Packers? As an Northwestern alum, DL Tyler Lancaster and Dean Lowry are also alumni who I watched play and cheered in Evanston. The President of the team, Mark Murphy was the Northwestern Athletic Director for 16 years. I don’t know them, or the other players on any of the teams. Except for Rodgers, I can’t say anything about the Packer players or coaches. I met Reggie White once – very nice man, RIP.
So what is it? Easy, it’s the fans that people really hate. Very seldom do you see people like the other team’s fans. I’m not just talking about the drunken louts, of which there are plenty at every sporting event(or concert, etc.). I think that while close proximity is certainly a factor (you don’t often see rivals who are hundreds or thousands of miles away), but the main factor is perceived arrogance. To Bear fans, Packer fans are ignorant hicks who have nothing better in their lives than to lord their dominance over the Bears at every opportunity. To Packer fans, Bear fans are big city losers who, while they have Chicago, they are jealous of Packer success. There is some truth to both: there are Packer fans who are bumpkins with a need to show up the big city @$$holes. Bear fans have shown their boorishness toward Wisconsin (in fact, I believe some criticism of QB Justin Fields is racial in nature); and yes, there is jealously, not of record, but the fact that the Packers don’t have an owner who can embarrass them like a Jerry Jones, or continue to delude themselves with thoughts of competence like the out of touch McCaskeys.
It’s mostly fans that create the animosity and teams that win frequently get a lot of the hatred (what fun is it hating teams that have sucked for decades like the Detroit Lions and the 1970-1994 Northwestern Wildcat football team). Alabama wins national championships frequently, so while people don’t have any great love for the University of Georgia, everyone outside of the state is happy. Duke basketball was a powerhouse, and many people still have the Blue Devils. No one particularly cared about the New England Patriots until Bill Belichick and Tom Brady came along (although I must say that Brady, with his all-American image and lifestyle advocate does bring personal animosity of which I am not immune).
I think however that tradition also plays a part. The Packers and Bears are the oldest rivalry in the NFL. Long term success breeds a permanent expectation that their team will win. Michigan and Ohio State fans are a little worse than other teams because they are so accustomed to winning, they just think that its obvious who the winner will be. (Of course, there is the other side of that coin, fans with an inferiority complex like Michigan State. The in-state poor sister to Michigan, they come into Evanston more entitled than the other two schools. To me, they are the worst.)
We cannot mention tradition and obnoxious fans than the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, until recently the Montreal Canadiens, and of course, Notre Dame. Twenty-seven World Series titles have spoiled New Yorkers, whose arrogance has spread to the other NY teams in all sports. By the same token, twenty-five titles which made the French-Canadian fans expect to win every year. However, having not won a title since 1993 and a fair amount of mismanagement in the front office have brought their fans back to earth. Fans had a fair amount of sympathy to the Boston Red Sox during their championship drought of 86 years between World Series titles. However, after they won in 2004 and 2007, the Red Sox Nation became as entitled as their New York neighbors (along with the entitlement about the Patriots at the same time).
Of course, there is no fan base more entitled than Notre Dame. Having won 11 consensus national championships, all of the bluster about Rockne and the echoes of the championships make them the most hated bunch in sport in my opinion. Expecting to be in the national championship discussion every year no matter their talent or the power of other schools – their fans feel like they deserve a spot in the College Football Playoff by divine fiat despite the fact that the Irish haven’t won a national championship since 1988. It’s bad enough that the alumni and the university are bad, but it’s the bandwagon fans who are worse. Growing up in Chicago, there are a lot of fans who are die hard Domers, just for the fact of being Irish (even though the teams are predominantly African-American now). May of these people could be accepted into ND if all they had to do is spell the name of the school and we gave them the N-O-T-R-E. As passionate as my distaste for the Packers is, it is nothing close to my loathing for Notre Dame, which is very hard with all of the Black players and now, a Black head coach who seems like a good, competent man.
So, what is my point? Why have I brought this up? I don’t know exactly – I have good friends who are Packer fans and as I’ve had to watch them gloat when they won, here was a chance to give it back to them. Some times it gets into asshole territory, but then again, wasn’t I being an asshole rubbing in their disappointment?
Maybe my point is: does being a fan gives us an outlet to be assholes – no matter who we root for?