When I got home from class today, I picked up my mail and paid extra close attention to the address.

While I normally use the trip of three flights of stairs to make sure the mail delivered was intended for my roommate or me and not one of my neighbors, I wanted to make sure that my hometown wasn't annexed in the previous 48 hours.

Sure enough, there it was: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.

Usually, such a thought never crosses my mind. But with the way local media has covered the Chicago Bears' victory Sunday in the NFC Championship game; you would have thought that Mayor Richard Daley had annexed Milwaukee.

Morning newscasts featured stories on Bears fans buying Super Bowl XLI shirts, hats, and souvenirs as fast as they could come off the truck. Other stories focused on the fact that tickets to the game in Miami are commanding prices of more than $4,000.

My question is, who cares?

No, this isn't the insane ramblings of an obsessed Packers fan. In the spirit of full disclosure, the fan in me cares as little for the green-and-gold as the Bears.

Nope. This gripe, instead, is aimed at those Chicagoland transplants who feel compelled to turn Milwaukee into a suburb of our neighbor to the south. You know the type, they always whine about how lame Milwaukee is, how pathetic the nightlife, shopping, culture, and entertainment is compared to the Windy City.

Listen, folks around here know what it's like to wait for years in between Super Bowl appearances. Remember, the Packers won the first two contests before finally returning to win Super Bowl XXXI after the 1996 season.

Bears fans here have every right to celebrate. Especially if they're real fans, and not the Johnny-come-lately folks who just want to be different and rub local fans the wrong way. Chicago fans can be pains in the butt as it is and don't need any extra incentive to be annoying.

So let's save the hooting and hollering for trips south of the boarder. Surely there have to be other topics to beat to death that have more of a local connection. Has that Favre guy made a decision on playing again next year yet?