Full disclosure. I’m a Green Bay Packers fan.
With the opening of the National Football League season this week, it’s only fitting two legendary franchises meet for the 199th time since 1921.
Every game is always a fight no matter what the records or score. The Packers hold a 97-95-6 advantage in the series.
The Packers visit the Chicago Bears to begin the 2019 season on Thursday at Soldier Field at 8:20 p.m. (EST).
Growing up in the 1970s, being a fan of the Packers was pretty tough. There wasn’t a lot of successful seasons.
However on a Sunday afternoon in 1980, I was yelling at the television and jumping around my living room.
It was an astounding moment as the Bears visited the Packers for the season opener on Sept. 7.
Over the years, the Bears and Packers have played many games without a touchdown or were very low scoring. This game wouldn’t be any different until overtime.
The score was tied 6-6 after regulation at Lambeau Field as the Packers lined up for a game-winning field goal attempt, which would have been the fifth of the game.
A 35-yard field goal by a former all-pro veteran would send the Packers faithful home happy, but Chicago’s Alan Page nearly ruined the party.
The following day (Sept. 8), The Milwaukee Journal had several quotes about the historic moment in the history of the Packers.
“I blocked the kick with my face,” said Page, who was near the end of a Hall of Fame career spent mostly with the Minnsota Vikings. “Ideally, the ball will bounce so one of your guys can return it, and that’s the easiest touchdown in the world. This one popped right back into the kicker’s hands.”
The astonished kicker was Chester Marcol.
“The Bears were overloaded coming in the middle,” Marcol stated. “I saw it get blocked and all of a sudden there it was, right in my hands. The left was wide open.”
The 25-yard race to the end zone ended with Marcol being mobbed by his teammates. Perhaps if he wasn’t so stunned, he could have perfected the first Lambeau Leap as the Packers won 12-6.
I can still remember doing my first Living Room Leap.
Outstanding Rookie
Marcol was drafted by the Packers in the second round out of Hillsdale College in 1972.
That year, the Packers won the Central Division and eventually fell to the Washington Redskins 16-3 in the playoffs.
Appearing in two Pro Bowls, Marcol was supurb in 1972 as he led the NFL in scoring with 128 points and was named the NFC Rookie of the Year.
Born in Poland, Marcol played with the Packers from 1972-1980. He was cut during the 1980 season and finished his career that year with the Houston Oilers.
In 1987, Marcol was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.