Reuters

The Bears can get to the playoffs only if they beat the Lions and if the Packers knock off the Vikings. But that won’t make Bears receiver Brandon Marshall buy a share of Packers non-stock stock.

“I’m not cheering for anybody but the Bears,” Marshall said Thursday, via CSN Chicago. “Yeah, that’s how it is. We put ourselves in this position. And right now, you know, it could be a good position. You never know how things will work out. But all we can do is beat Detroit and sit back and have a cup of coffee and see what happens at that afternoon game.”

Linebacker Lance Briggs wasn’t quite as obstinate. “Yeah, I could root for Green Bay,” Briggs said. “It doesn’t mean that I like Green Bay. You know, everybody in Chicago’s gonna be pulling for Green Bay. That’s just the way it is.”

That doesn’t mean Briggs wearing a Cheesehead and hanging on every play. “I might check scores,” Briggs said.

It’s a realistic attitude. No amount of rooting by Marshall or Briggs or any other fan (except for the members of a loud home crowd) will influence the outcome. So why bother?

Luckily for the NFL, most fans aren’t nearly as ambivalent as Marshall and Briggs, Even though, unlike every other fan, Marshall and Briggs and their teammates will derive a clear and direct financial and professional benefit if the Packers win on Sunday.