Bears mascot Staley, Monster Squad hype up fans across Chicago ahead of Packers playoff matchup

Tens of thousands of fans will fill Soldier Field Saturday night to cheer on the Bears against the Green Bay Packers.

The team is returning to the playoffs for the first time in five years.

It's a highlight for a Cinderella season for the team under new head coach Ben Johnson.

A Bears-Packers playoff game is certainly memorable. It's only the third time in history the oldest rivals in the NFL have faced each other in the post-season. The Packers won the last time in 2011 and the Bears won the first, which was way back in 1941.

It was a week after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, throwing the United States into World War II in December 1941. The Bears played their games at Wrigley Field in those days. That season, the Bears and Packers finished the regular season in a tie and played the first divisional playoff game in NFL history. It featured two founding fathers of the league, the Bears' George Halas and the Packers' Curly Lambeau.

"It was a different era, but the rivalry was just as intense as it is going into this weekend," Retired Chicago Tribune sportswriter Fred Mitchell said.

The Bears went on to win that first playoff game 33-14 and won the NFL Championship a week later. It was before the Super Bowl era.

Saturday's game will add more fuel to the historic rivalry. Mitchell covered it for decades as a sportswriter.

"The rivalry is real," Mitchell said. "The coaches, the players take it seriously, and definitely the fans take it seriously."

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Ticket broker Steve Buzil expects a strong showing from Packers fans coming down from Wisconsin for the game.

"I believe there's gonna be about 15%, if I had to guess, Packers fans," Buzil said. "A lot of green shirts."

Friday morning, the Bears mascot and drum line got everyone pumped up.

It's just about wild card weekend and Bears fans can "bearly" contain their excitement.

Staley Da Bear and the Monster Squad made the rounds today all over town for their "Pop-Up City Tour," hyping fans up for the big playoff game Saturday, and Chicagoans loved it.

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Their day began at Union Station. Fans took photos in the Grand Hall with the new "Good. Better. Best" light display, the team's catch phrase this year coined by Bears head coach Ben Johnson.

One woman was seen wearing a forbidden Packers hat.

Tracy and Terrell demonstrate how the windy conditions could impact the Bears game Saturday.

Then, the hype squad headed to the North Side, visiting DePaul University in Lincoln Park.

Staley Da Bear busted a move with the Blue Demons' mascot DIBS, making lots of noise in the Student Center.

Then, to the West Side the crew went. The bus pulled up to a Dunkin' near the United Center ,visiting with folks grabbing their morning cup of joe.

"I was not expecting it," Maze Jackson said. "I came in to get a cup of coffee and the bears are here. I'm like super fired up and ready to rock 'n' roll."

Like coffee, the crew was a shot of caffeine to the veins.

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"Man, I'm fired up," Jackson said. "It's playoff time. Bears has been so long since we've been at the playoffs so I'm fired up."

The Bears drum line is building excitement ahead of Saturday's playoff game against the Packers.

Some lucky customers even got their own personalized "Da Donut." Staley visited with fans and his antics made some gals blush.

So the rivalry is alive and well going into the playoff game, and it will be the tiebreaker game on Saturday after the Bears won the first in 1941 and the Packers won the last time in 2011.

ESPN's David Kaplan previews the Bears-Packers playoff game.