A Bears fan brought this sign to the NFC Championship game Sunday. (Credit: CBS)
CHICAGO (CBS) – We all know the scene can grow downright ugly anytime the Bears take on the Green Bay Packers, and the Bears’ losing NFC Championship Game Sunday was no different.
As CBS 2’s Dana Kozlov reports, punches were thrown and faces were bloodied at Soldier Field as the Bears went on to lose to the Packers 21-14.
Outside the stadium after the game, Packers fans were basking in the glory of victory. Some Bears fans didn’t particularly like that.
Some of the hostility was fairly innocent, like a sign reading, “lactose intolerant,” with someone in a cheesehead hat circled and crossed out.
But some of the vitriol crossed the line to violence.
“Bam! Right in the face! Bam! Right in the face!” Mel North said.
She was talking about a man in her group who was sporting a slashed nose, courtesy of a Bears fan.
As the cheese and green-and-yellow clad fans streamed out of Soldier Field, a fair number of barbs were exchanged.
“I can’t believe we flew all the way from San Diego for this Packer-head – cheesehead – to win the game,” a man said.
Insults were thrown.
“I have to say that being a Packer fan, I wasn’t treated that well. I took a lot of abuse. I was called a lot of obscene things,” a Packers fan said.
Meanwhile, Chicagoan Pete Finger still had the guts to wear an obvious sign of Packers loyalty around town. He wore a cheesehead with the words, “Battle of the Century” stenciled on it,” and what looked like a boxing ring made of green pipe cleaners on top.
“One guy said he was going to push me down the stairs, and I think he meant it,” Finger said.
In a rivalry such as this, Packers fans would be foolish to think Chicago would roll out the welcome mat. But some walked away relatively unscathed.
“They respected us, but we were still going to cheer and do our thing,” a Packers fan said. “They didn’t even spit peanuts at us.”
The bottom line is that the Packers also walked away the winners.
“Super Bowl bound,” a fan said.
