Green Bay Packers

McCarthy on Packers-Bears rivalry: We're not playing hopscotch

Published Sep. 8, 2015 9:11 a.m. ET

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There's no love lost between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. The two squads will meet at Soldier Field to kick off the 2015 regular season on Sunday. It will be their 190th head-to-head showdown since the rivalry was born in 1921.

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy knows hostility runs high in this rivalry, and he did little to quell it by saying his team is going to "kick Chicago's a**" in this 20-second video clip.

@paytonsun @CLTVSportsFeed pic.twitter.com/kDcz7ntyfn
— Will Dudley (@ThaRealD_Will) September 3, 2015

For those who are offended by his comments, McCarthy has a reminder about the NFL and the Packers' relationship with the Bears.

"To me, it's the reality of the rivalry," McCarthy said, per Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel. "I mean, let's be real here. We're not going down there to play hopscotch."

McCarthy went into more detail about the nature of the rivalry, via the Journal Sentinel:

It was all in fun, but I think it's really just an example of why you shouldn't say things like that in public. The reality of it is it is really the way the game is looked upon. It's a great rivalry. I'm sure a lot worse is said in private about the opposing teams and so forth, but it is with great respect.

It's the oldest rivalry in the National Football League. In my opinion, I think it's the best rivalry game that I've played in. So playing down there opening day, it's going to be a lot of fun. It's a big challenge.

The bad blood is already boiling, as these two historic franchises await the coming opportunity to clash.

(h/t Journal Sentinel)