So a woman and her 11-year-old son took a train downtown from the Chicago suburbs a couple of weeks back to check out the Christmas decorations. They were waiting to cross the street when the boy told his mother that he thought Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose team was in town to play the Bears, was standing near them.

We're only going to give you a taste here because Kendra Meinert of the Green Bay Press-Gazette tells the tale so well.

Meinert wrote that Rodgers asked the 11-year-old boy "all kinds of sports-related questions. When Peter apologized for being a Bears fan, Rodgers told him no need. He should be. He lives in Chicago."

Later, the mom and son were in a department store and saw a woman decked out in Green Bay apparel and told her what had happened. "She kind of patted my arm in a sweet, sweet way and she goes, 'Oh, my son plays for the Packers.' "

That's how they met running back Ty Montgomery's mom.

HOWARD SINKER