Justin Fields, Jordan Love begin futile quest to bury Bears-Packers rivalry

No two NFL fanbases hold more animosity between them than the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. The rivalry stretches all the way back to 1924, when Green Bay's Tillie Voss and Chicago's Frank Hanny became the first NFL players to get ejected for fighting.

The rivalry has boiled and blossomed in the years to follow, with both midwestern powerhouses maintaining a healthy hatred for each other. Aaron Rodgers famously cried "I still own you!" to the Chicago faithful at Soldier Field in 2021. Nothing will change the dynamic between these teams. Those fanbases have been cemented in utter opposition for a century.

That won't stop Justin Fields and Jordan Love from trying to be the change they want to see in the world. It's a new age — maybe change is, in fact, possible. Fields recently spoke to reporters and outlined his budding friendship with Love. The two rival QBs even worked out together over the summer.

If you're a Packers fan or a Bears fan, please feel free to cover your eyes while you scroll through this next bit.

Justin Fields and Jordan Love make friends amid Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers rivalry

From Zack Pearson of 247 Sports on X: "Justin Fields told us he and Jordan Love are friends as they have trained together in the offseason. Called Love a great guy on and off the field as well as a great quarterback."

There's something very wholesome about two young quarterbacks on diametrically opposed teams striking up a close friendship and bonding over their unique circumstances. Both Love and Fields are relatively new to the NFL scene, and both face a heavy burden of expectation playing for historic franchises.

Love is the successor to Aaron Rodgers. Whether he wants it or not, he's going to be relentlessly measured against one of the greatest talents in NFL history. Fields was a first-round pick after a tumultuous and controversial college journey, tasked with taking the Bears from the NFL basement back to the limelight after years of organizational stagnation.

For those outside the Green Bay versus Chicago bubble, this is a heartwarming story about two potentially great QBs training together and elevating one another. For those inside that bubble, however, it potentially reads as blasphemy. These teams hate each other. There are too many incidents to count. Fields and Love aren't supposed to offer up public support of the enemy. That's just completely improper Bears-Packers decorum.

The QBs being buddy-buddy does dull a typically sharp-edged feud. The fanbases won't relent on account of Fields' comments, so expect the fans to be as vociferous in their disapproval of the opposing franchise as ever. But, we are entering a new era in sports. Rivalries aren't quite what they used to be. Players train together in the offseason. Fields and Love probably text during the week. That's just the nature of things.

Chicago and Green Bay will never be on completely friendly terms, but don't expect the players to maintain that hatred off the field.