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Chicago versus Green Bay ? the cities.

Cliff Christl ? author of "Mudbaths & Bloodbaths: The Inside Story of the Bears-Packers Rivalry" ? compares the Illinois city of 3 million to Wisconsin city of 100,000:

Chicago might have more skyscrapers than Green Bay has elevators. And while the Second City overflows with magnificent museums, five-star restaurants and renowned universities, in Green Bay, life centers around much simpler pleasures like Friday night fish fries and 25-cent rides at the Bay Beach Amusement Park.

Many Chicagoans would tell you that the differences basically boil down to urbane vs. hick.... But... Green Bay's shoulders might not be as broad as Chicago's, but both are Midwestern cities built long ago on paper making and meat packing by a wide range of European immigrants. They sprouted, albeit on different scales, as heavily Catholic, blue-collar and bibulous strongholds.

Then there's the other kinship they share: football....

Go to the link for lots of colorful details about the rivalry, which has been relatively "civil" in recent years, partly because since the mid-1960s "when he Bears have been good, the Packers have generally been bad, and vice versa."  This year, then, is a momentous exception ? especially exciting for the people of the northern half of what ? look at a map ? is properly termed the Wisconsin column of the United States.

Full post as published by Althouse on January 22, 2011 (boomark / email).