It’s been a strange weekend for sports in Wisconsin, especially on Marquette’s campus, where so many of the dairy land’s finest share close quarters with natives from that one particular city to the south.

It started on Friday, when a horrible twist of fate led Brewers fans to spend the latter part of the evening actually cheering with their North Side counterparts in the hopes that a Cubs victory over the Cardinals would secure their first division title since 1982. It was Sunday that brought the main event; another round of the perpetual grudge match that is the Packers-Bears rivalry.

The good feelings and well-wishes from Friday night were nowhere to be found in what was a highly publicized rematch of last year’s NFC championship game. Looking to avoid giving Packers fans an excuse to start singing Lil’ Wayne’s cheese head anthem,  “Green and Yellow,” all over again, the Bears tried their best to hang in there, only to eventually take the loss 27-17 after trailing the entire game.

Initially it seemed like the most impactful member of either squad was the crowd, contributing to a string of Green Bay false starts throughout the game. Electrifying return men in Randall Cobb and Devin Hester were non-factors as an unusually high number of kicks went out for touchbacks, largely thanks to the NFL’s updated kickoff rule.

Eventually, the soundly methodical Green Bay offense found its stride in receivers Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley, who combined totaled over 200 yards and three touchdowns. A couple of red zone stops by the Bears and a Brian Urlacher interception made the game worth watching in the fourth quarter, until a controversial holding penalty nullified a Johnny Knox punt return touchdown, which pretty much sealed the victory for the Packers.

Despite the hard fought and, depending on who you ask, controversial outcome of Sunday’s game, it looks like the rivalry is going to be put on hold until Christmas Day, when the Bears and Packers will match up again at Lambeau. All the bad blood between north and south will be given a chance to simmer until then, or at least until Brewers and Cubs fans stop slapping high fives every time the Cardinals lose.

By William Christiansen