Game On- Bears vs Packers

As part of the celebration of its 100th season, the NFL will break from tradition and feature the Chicago Bears vs. the Green Bay Packers in its season opener September 5th in Chicago at Soldier Field. The game will be televised nationally on NBC-TV starting at 7:20 PM CST.

With the 100th season, the NFL league’s chief operating officer wanted to kick off 2019 with two of the premiere teams of the league. The game will feature the Chicago Bears, one of the original member clubs, in their 100th season, and the Green Bay Packers who are in their 101st year in the league.

Chicago is pulling out all the pre-game hype. The Merchant Mart building is lit up with the new 100-year NFL logo and other buildings in the city have posted ‘Go Bears’ in nighttime lighting.  Grant Park will host a pre-game celebration with food, entertainment, a big screen TV for the fans to enjoy the sold-out game. On Tuesday, the Chicago Bears previewed two new icons of the Chicago Bears. The newest attractions at Soldier Field will be the 12 foot 3,000-pound bronze statues of “Papa” George Halas and Walter Payton.

Usually, the Super Bowl champion is the home team for the prime-time season opener, but the league wants to salute historic rivalries in 2019. None fits better than Chicago-Green Bay. This will be the first time since 2003 the Super Bowl champion has not hosted the opener. New England instead will open at home in the prime-time game Sunday night, Sept. 8. 

The Bears and Packers have met 198 times since 1921, when the Bears were the Chicago Staleys. Green Bay leads the series 97-95-6, including the clubs splitting two postseason games.

DeKalb County Connection: George Halas McCaskey, the current chairman of the NFL’s Chicago Bears, and his wife Barb live in the northern part of DeKalb County. Barb McCaskey is well known throughout the area as an entertainer and actress. She has been a featured singer with the DeKalb Community Band and Stagecoach Theater. Northern Illinois University has had several players make the Bears roster including NIU star running back Garrett Wolfe. For 10 years (1975-1984) the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Show Band was invited to perform at a Chicago Bears half-time as part of the team’s premiere entertainment.  Many of the NIU Band members remember meeting or standing next to some of the great Chicago Bears stars, from Mike Dikta to Bobby Douglas and from Walter Payton to George Halas.