There are a lot of great rivalries in sports, and with every great rivalry comes strong emotions from fans about the "hated" rival.
Here in Wisconsin, the rivalry between the
Packers and Bears is one of the longest in all of professional sports. The small-town Packers and the big-city Bears have teamed for some great games over the years. They are two of the building blocks of the NFL, with histories dating back to the origins of the league itself.
While most of the ribbing between Bears fans and Packers fans is reasonably good natured, there are some fans of both teams who despise anything and anyone associated with the other team.
Growing up in Wisconsin, I grew up rooting for the Packers, which meant rooting against the Bears. That said, as a fan of football and football history, I would still cherish an autograph from some of the great Bears stars of the past such as
Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers or
Walter Payton. I had a chance to interview Butkus a few years ago and he was great to listen to.
Likewise, I have to assume there are Bears fans who root against the Packers who wouldn't mind getting their hands on a
Brett Favre autograph or something related to
Vince Lombardi.
I know there are many other great rivalries around the country. If you're a
Yankees fan, are there players from the
Red Sox you have within your collection? Do
Celtics fans collect
Magic Johnson memorabilia?
Feel free to drop us a line with a story about the team you most love to hate, but someone on that team that you also love to collect.