A Monopoly on the Super Bowl: Which NFC North Team Will Own This Decade?

Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings.  The NFC North.  These four teams are some of the oldest in the NFL.  Great rivalries exist, some of the greatest in American professional sports.

One strange statistic of note, one that has held true since the inception of the Super Bowl, still holds true today in the NFC North.  Only one team per decade has made the Super Bowl.  The only other division (in its current alignment) with this is the AFC South, but in all fairness, the Jaguars and Texans are still pretty new in relation to the Colts and Oilers/Titans.  

In the '60s, it was the Packers, winners of two.  No other team from the current NFC North competed in the decade.  The '70s saw the Vikings go to four, leaving all empty-handed.  In 1985, the Chicago Bears won the Big Dance, thanks to one of the best defenses of all time.  The '80s shut out the Vikings, Packers, and Lions from the Super Bowl.  In the '90s, Brett Favre led the Packers to two Super Bowls, winning one.  The 2000's belonged to the Bears, going once and getting owned by Peyton Manning.

So this upcoming season marks a new decade, opening the door for any of the four teams to secure the Super Bowl for their team and their team only, should the statistics hold true.  Two teams appear to be front-runners for next season: Vikings and Packers.  The Bears and Lions aren't about to roll over, though.  So who will get the rights to play in the Super Bowl for the decade?  And will the statistic remain?  Let me know what you think. 

Here's my opinion:  Its the Packers.  Maybe not this year, but very soon.  Brett Favre can't play forever, but Aaron Rodgers is young, talented, and rising up the elite QB ladder.  The Bears are in disarray, and the Lions are the Lions. 

I think when Favre finally calls it quits, the Vikings will see why they should've developed a QB and sink to the basement.  The Bears built themselves for a championship now, but veteran players and ineffective coaches will be their undoing.  The Lions will move into 2nd place in the North, making a few wild-card games but the division will belong to the Packers.  Expect to see Aaron Rodgers bringing the Lombardi Trophy home very soon.