Chicago Packers Won't Be Pulling For Packers

CHICAGO (CBS) - Believe it or not, somewhere in the city of Chicago there are packers, real live genuine packers who are rooting for the Bears. Where are they and who are they?

CBS 2's Mike Parker finds they inhabit a storied south side neighborhood called 'Back of the Yards' and their shouts recall the days when Chicago was indeed 'hog butcher to the world.'

They're meat packers at the Chicago Meat Authority and this week they're shouting, "Go Bears!"

350 employees work in the plant that processes 2.5 million pounds of meat every week.

"Even though we're packers and we're great packers, we're not those kind of Packers," says employee Sheila Quinn.

Plant manager Lee Koepke says he was born in Wisconsin, "but I had to move out of there because I couldn't stand being a Green Bay Packer, and I moved to Chicago because the Bears are the true football team."

Executive Michael Stanek said, "Bears fever is running rampant right now in the plant. You wouldn't know that we're a bunch of packers."

Across town at Red Hot Chicago the main product is the classic Chicago meal on a bun but the firm also makes Wisconsin style Brats. Vice President Billy Ladany is a little apologetic about that given the feverish rivalry going on. He says he considered suspending Brat production this week until after Sunday's game, but his business sense won out. He says he couldn't disappoint the Brat crowd out there.