Detroit Lions 2011 Schedule: Monday Night Football vs. Bears a Chance at Revenge

The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears are slated to play on Oct. 10, 2011 on Monday Night Football.

Let me say that again, boiled down this time. The Detroit Lions are playing on Monday Night Football.

According to Mike O'Hara of Fox Sports Detroit, the Lions will get their first Monday night game since 2001 next season, and they will get it against their hated rivals, the Chicago Bears.

The last time the Lions played on Monday night, they were dismantled by the St. Louis Rams 35-0. The fact the schedulers have given them a primetime spot is proof that the Lions are beginning to regain some long-lost respect.

Even better is the fact that the Lions draw the Bears. If the rivalry between these two teams wasn't already heated, the last two years have only intensified it. That's why it's not just beating a rival, it's getting revenge for all the grief the Bears have brought in recent years.

Rod Marinelli, the man synonymous with "0-16," is the Bears' defensive coordinator.

The Bears have been responsible for two of Matthew Stafford's four injuries as a pro (and the first one in both his pro seasons).

And then there's the "Process of the Catch" game, which determined the trajectories of both teams' 2010 seasons. That play singlehandedly (no pun intended) represented the difference between the Bears being the No. 2 NFC seed in the playoffs, and the Bears eating sunflower seeds on the couch watching the playoffs.

Bears fans gloated over the victory, with "Same Old Lions" as their refrain, which didn't make them any more well-liked in Detroit.

The Chicago Bears have been thorns in the Lions' sides for years as the mirror image of Detroit's team: The Bears, never as good as their record, the Lions, never as bad as theirs.

Now, finally, the Lions are garnering some respect, enough even to get themselves back in primetime. The Bears are, of course, unlikely to take part in that increased respect.

So how fortunate the Lions are to have a chance to ram that respect down their throats on national television.

Let the trash talk begin.