I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago rooting for the Bears.
When I was in second grade, one of the most dominant NFL teams of all time – the 1985 Chicago Bears – won the Super Bowl convincingly.
They were so dominant that they had their own song called the “Super Bowl Shuffle.” That team consisted of quarterback Jim McMahon, running back Walter Payton, linebacker Mike Singletary, free safety Gary Fencik and defensive end Richard Dent just to name a few.
The Packers have been one of the Bears biggest rivals for decades. In fact, the Bears and Packers may be the biggest rivalry and the NFL has ever seen.
It appeared nothing could stop me from rooting for the Bears, until now that is.
The Packers selected offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins, a 2014 Clarksdale High School graduate who played for Mississippi State, with the 44th pick in the NFL Draft.
As long as Jenkins is a Packer, I will have to root for them against the Bears.
My first loyalties are with athletes I have known personally, seen grow up and watched them excel on the field.
Jenkins will be blocking for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whom, for the first time, I look forward to seeing throw a touchdown pass against my Bears. I did not like it when Rodgers and the Packers went on the road to Soldier Field, defeated the Bears in the 2010 NFC Championship 21-14 and went on to win the Super Bowl, but things have changed.
Jenkins has never forgotten his roots and was with his family and friends in Clarksdale as he was selected Friday night. He could have been at the NFL Draft in Nashville, Tenn., but he had his priorities in line.
Two coaches who had a very strong influence on Jenkins – his peewee coach for the Clarksdale Lumberjacks Tyrone Smith and Wildcats coach Henry Johnson – were with him as he was selected Friday night.
I knew Jenkins how special Jenkins was after his junior year with the Wildcats in 2012.
Clarksdale finished the season 4-7 and missed the playoffs, but Jenkins was on the 5A all-district first team. The Wildcats were a Class 5A team back then.”
Linemen can be overlooked, but Jenkins was recognized as part of a below .500 team that missed the playoffs in a tough district.
I have told this story before, but it is worth repeating.
When I interviewed Jenkins after the 2012 season, he told me about all the “pancakes” he had. I had to ask him what a pancake was and he was able to explain it to me. The pancake block is a term that is used by offensive line coach and offensive linemen in football to describe a block that leaves a defensive player flat on his back as the running back goes through the hole.
I had watched and written about sports for several years, but here I was learning something from a high school athlete. His maturity, even seven years ago, was beyond his age.
Jenkins helped the Wildcats get back to the postseason as a senior, win a playoff game and advance to the quarterfinals. That team in 2013 had countless running backs, including New Orleans Saints safety Juantavius “J.T.” Gray, who were successful.
Jenkins’ blocking helped create opportunities. It takes someone special to cause me to root for the Packers against the Bears, but I will be doing just that in 2019.
Congratulations Elgton and keep up the great work.
