Divisional Rival Poll - Blowouts Or Even Matches?

[El Guapo]

The Vikings have clearly slid under the table. They are not a good team and we *should* beat them handily on Sunday. I will not invite my sister-in-law over (a huge Vikings fan) because I blowouts just aren't fun in my opinion.

I was at the 2014 Bears/Packers game at Lambeau when we won 55-14. The game was over in the first quarter. Tons of Bears fans around me began leaving at the end of the 1st qtr and none came back after halftime. It sapped the spirit away.

So here is my question. We all love to see our enemies get weaker while we get stronger (Superman 2). I love knowing that we will stomp the Vikings again, although at the same time wish that both teams were evenly matched so it would be an exciting game to the finish.

Which do you prefer?

 

[Dantés]

Blow them out of the water. Embarrass them. Make them weep and gnash their teeth.

 

[Poppa San]

Blow them out of the water. Embarrass them. Make them weep and gnash their teeth.

Forgot about the fans burning their jerseys in effigy.

 

[sschind]

I couldn't really vote because the Bears and vikings were both included in each choice and the Lions were left out completely. I'm one of those rare Packer fans who will root for the Bears more often than one might think. I was a huge fan of Walter Payton and I have a ton of respect for George Halas. Obviously at 5-2 I will be rooting against the Bears until they cease being a threat but once that happens, and I am confident that it will, I will take of my Bears hater cap.

The vikings are a completely different story. I have been a viking hater for longer than I have been a Packer fan and it would be a very rare instance for me to wish them to ever score a single point and not give up 50. I can think of a few situations where I would root for the vikings to win but it would have to be late in the season and it would have to have a significant impact on the Packers chances. If the Bears played the vikings this week I don't know if I could bring myself to root for the vikings Its just too early in the year and there is a lot of time left for the Bears to self destruct. If this were week 15,16,17 and the Bears were only a 1/2 game back then yeah, come on vikings but for now it's just too early.

Most Packer fans are pretty "meh" when it comes to the Lions and I used to be that way but my sister in law is a huge Lions fan and she drinks...a lot. Enough said.

I'm not that big of a football fan to hope for good games. I rarely watch anything besides Packer games and outside of a handful of teams that I really don't want to see win (vikings of course, the cowboys, Patriots, Seahawks and 49ers) the outcomes of most other games, besides how they impact the Packers, don't really concern me and I don't care if they are close games or blowouts.

When it comes to the Packers however I hope they win every game by 4 TDs. If I do want a good game I'll watch 2 AFC teams that I don't care who wins (Bengals/Browns was good last week)

 

[Poppa San]

I'm one of those rare Packer fans who will root for the Bears more often than one might think.

I think we are going to have to re-evaluate your board membership.

my sister in law is a huge Lions fan and she drinks...a lot.

Let me know next time this happens and she needs consoling and some private "grief counseling."

 

[PikeBadger]

I couldn't really vote because the Bears and vikings were both included in each choice and the Lions were left out completely. I'm one of those rare Packer fans who will root for the Bears more often than one might think. I was a huge fan of Walter Payton and I have a ton of respect for George Halas. Obviously at 5-2 I will be rooting against the Bears until they cease being a threat but once that happens, and I am confident that it will, I will take of my Bears hater cap.

The vikings are a completely different story. I have been a viking hater for longer than I have been a Packer fan and it would be a very rare instance for me to wish them to ever score a single point and not give up 50. I can think of a few situations where I would root for the vikings to win but it would have to be late in the season and it would have to have a significant impact on the Packers chances. If the Bears played the vikings this week I don't know if I could bring myself to root for the vikings Its just too early in the year and there is a lot of time left for the Bears to self destruct. If this were week 15,16,17 and the Bears were only a 1/2 game back then yeah, come on vikings but for now it's just too early.

Most Packer fans are pretty "meh" when it comes to the Lions and I used to be that way but my sister in law is a huge Lions fan and she drinks...a lot. Enough said.

I'm not that big of a football fan to hope for good games. I rarely watch anything besides Packer games and outside of a handful of teams that I really don't want to see win (vikings of course, the cowboys, Patriots, Seahawks and 49ers) the outcomes of most other games, besides how they impact the Packers, don't really concern me and I don't care if they are close games or blowouts.

When it comes to the Packers however I hope they win every game by 4 TDs. If I do want a good game I'll watch 2 AFC teams that I don't care who wins (Bengals/Browns was good last week)

Are you a native cheesehead???? Some of what you said borders on sacrilege and I believe your forum cheesehead status should be revoked. Excuse me now while I go puke!

 

[sschind]

Are you a native cheesehead???? Some of what you said borders on sacrilege and I believe your forum cheesehead status should be revoked. Excuse me now while I go puke!

Born and raised but the Packers were not my first favorite team. That distinction belongs to the Dolphins. When the Dolphins defeated the Redskins in SB VII this was the first football game I had ever seen and since I was 7 years old they became my favorite team. The next football game I remember seeing was SB VIII and since the Dolphins were my favorite team the vikings obviously became my least favorite. A year later when The Packers hired Bart Starr as their head coach I started to learn more about him and the team from my home state and I became a Packer fan and never looked back.

1975 was also the year the Bears drafted Walter Payton and it didn't take me long to come to appreciate his talents. Since I hadn't developed a hatred for the Bears at that point they became just another team that happened to have one of my favorite non Packer players. I rooted for Sweetness moreso than for the Bears and as I got older and started to learn the history of the NFL I realized how important George Halas was and my respect for him grew and I never did develop the hatred for the Bears.

 

[swhitset]

I realized how important George Halas was and my respect for him grew and I never did develop the hatred for the Bears.

It’s never too late. Looks like you have something to work on lol.

 

[gopkrs]

My grandfather (from Madison, though probably born around Howard's Grove) hated Halas. He said Halas paid off the refs when they played in Chicago. And he meant it. He was a Cubs fan though.

 

[PikeBadger]

Born and raised but the Packers were not my first favorite team. That distinction belongs to the Dolphins. When the Dolphins defeated the Redskins in SB VII this was the first football game I had ever seen and since I was 7 years old they became my favorite team. The next football game I remember seeing was SB VIII and since the Dolphins were my favorite team the vikings obviously became my least favorite. A year later when The Packers hired Bart Starr as their head coach I started to learn more about him and the team from my home state and I became a Packer fan and never looked back.

1975 was also the year the Bears drafted Walter Payton and it didn't take me long to come to appreciate his talents. Since I hadn't developed a hatred for the Bears at that point they became just another team that happened to have one of my favorite non Packer players. I rooted for Sweetness moreso than for the Bears and as I got older and started to learn the history of the NFL I realized how important George Halas was and my respect for him grew and I never did develop the hatred for the Bears.

To this day, the bile rises in my throat when either Mike Ditka or **** Butkus appears on my tv screen. I’m 7 years older than you apparently and to this day remember very well the anger and bitterness I had/have for Bennie McRae for breaking Bart Starr’s arm.

 

[sschind]

I'm not sure why it never developed in me. Probably several reasons. Since I hated the vikings it was natural for me to root for the Bears at least twice a year anyway. The Bears had a player that I really liked and when he did well the Bears would win. The Bears never had that prolonged period of dominance over the Packers and they never dominated the league like some of the other teams I dislike (cowboys, Niners, Patriots) When
they did put together a long streak vs the Packers in the 80s they still had Payton and lets face it, everybody beat us back then.

I think because the Packers were so bad during the first 10 or 15 years of my fandom I never really developed a huge interest in the game as a whole. I watched Packer games but they didn't become the can't miss events like they did in the late 80s with Majik and the early 90s with Favre's arrival. Once that happened and the Bears ceased being a threat on a regular basis I just never really considered hating them. By then I had other teams to join the vikings at the top of my teams to hate list.

The best part of it all though is that it really ticks off my friends who are Bears fans. They get mad when they can't rub in a Bears win and a Packers loss like I do when the opposite happens.

For about 20-25 years I never missed a Packer game. I changed the hours of my business to be closed on Sundays partly because of Packer games. When the Packers lost it bothered me for the whole week. Then my nephews started in youth football and I started missing Packer games to watch them play and since then I have come to realized just how unimportant the NFL really is.

Its too late to develop a hatred for any team because to be completely honest I really don't care about it anymore. I watch Packer games when I can although I work most Sundays now. I'll root for them to win each and every week and when they lose it will bother me for a little while but I get over it very quickly.

 

[Do7]

Each are special in their own way.

Blowing out teams gives the satisfying feel of demoralizing the opposing fanbase; especially when they talk so much trash and act like their team is so much better, only to be served some fresh humble pie as well as some crow.

Now winning a competitive game, that is satisfying in its own right, but it does come with a bit of backlash. For instance you know you will hear Vikings, and especially Bears fans *****ing about the refs, and how we only won because the refs gave us a favorable call, yada yada yada. But watching our boys march down the field and win on a last second FG or TD and watch as the hope and joy evaporate from division fans eyes, and replaced to despair and disbelief. Mwa! It's such a satisfying feeling. But at the same time it's nerve wracking as hell, because of the uncertainty. I can't tell you how many times I was nervous due to how close the games were only for us to win at the end. It gives you a sense of relief, joy, and pride all at the same time. At times I would go on Youtube and see if there were reaction videos to these kind of losses, and have a laugh at their misery.

Blowouts are kinda safe bets, unless you blow them out by a substantial margin like in the 60s or 70s, it's really not that memorable typically.

Hard fought games are more high risks, but are usually more rewarding along with being more memorable as those are the types of games that we will be talking about years later down the road as opposed to blowouts.

I'm not opposed to hard fought games as they certainly last a longer impact, but I'll go on the safe side and always take a blowout.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

The Vikings have clearly slid under the table. They are not a good team and we *should* beat them handily on Sunday. I will not invite my sister-in-law over (a huge Vikings fan) because I blowouts just aren't fun in my opinion.

I was at the 2014 Bears/Packers game at Lambeau when we won 55-14. The game was over in the first quarter. Tons of Bears fans around me began leaving at the end of the 1st qtr and none came back after halftime. It sapped the spirit away.

So here is my question. We all love to see our enemies get weaker while we get stronger (Superman 2). I love knowing that we will stomp the Vikings again, although at the same time wish that both teams were evenly matched so it would be an exciting game to the finish.

Which do you prefer?

Just win.

By one point or fifty, I don't care.

Just win.

 

[sschind]

Just win.

By one point or fifty, I don't care.

Just win.

That's a fine attitude after the game is over but as it is unfolding the uncertainty of a close game and the possibility that they won't win makes me hope for a blowout from the opening kickoff.

 

[Fredrik87]

So here's the thing I like a few close games vs division rivals as long as we win especially if it comes as a near miracle like 2013 vs the Bears, 2018 week1 vs the Bears, 2015 hail mary vs the Lions.

But I want most games to be blowouts so my heart doesn't explode and that also goes double this week because I have the Packers DST in Fantasy.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

That's a fine attitude after the game is over but as it is unfolding the uncertainty of a close game and the possibility that they won't win makes me hope for a blowout from the opening kickoff.

Have faith....

 

[Guacamole]

Blowout, because look what happened when McCrappy took his foot off the gas pedal

 

[sschind]

Have faith....

I watch for entertainment an today's game was not entertaining for me. I guess half of the first half was (the Packers 2 drives) but the rest certainly wasn't.

 

[rmontro]

I voted for the "I prefer they suck" option. But there's an argument that a competitive division makes you better, that it forces you to get stronger so that you have more post season success. But then there are teams like the Patriots who had a cakewalk in their division for years, which led to better records, more home playoff games, and more opportunities. So yeah, I prefer they suck.