Former St. Charles — and Packers — QB gives slight edge to Green Bay

When Randy Wright wore the orange and black as one of the best quarterbacks to ever don a St. Charles Saints jersey in the late 1970s, he didn't pay much attention to the Chicago Bears.

Wright, who was born in St. Charles, but shortly thereafter moved to Austin, Texas, lived 16 years in the Lone Star state and became a rabid Dallas Cowboys fan before his family moved back to St. Charles in 1977 when he was a junior in high school.

His allegiance to the Cowboys was finally challenged when, upon graduating from St. Charles High School in 1979, Wright spent one year at Notre Dame before transferring to the University of Wisconsin.

He went on to become a star quarterback at Wisconsin and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1984, where he played for five seasons before losing the starting job to Don Majkowski. His best season was in 1986 when he became only the second Green Bay quarterback in history to pass for more than 3,000 yards.

“When I first went to Madison to go to college, I still followed the Cowboys,” said the 50-year-old Wright, who is a member of the St. Charles Saints Hall of Fame and currently coaches the Sturgeon Bay High School football team in Wisconsin, but spends his winter months in Arizona with wife Kelli, close to where their son attends college.

“Neither the Bears nor Packers were very good at the time, and even though they were the local teams, it was pretty easy to still follow the Cowboys, because they were so successful,” Wright said.

Once he was in the Packers' fold, he said it became clear very quickly as to which team represented the most heated rivalry.

“It was the Bears,” said Wright, whose career was hindered by a knee injury suffered in his rookie season when sacked by Richard Dent in a game against the Bears. “Even without having the experience of playing for the Packers as I did, you learned that there was a lot of truth to the rivalry and that there was one team you loved to hate — and that's the Bears.”

In addition to his experience as a player, and now a coach, Wright also spent 15 years in the broadcast booth for Wisconsin. So his take on Sunday's NFC championship clash between the Packers and Bears comes from an experienced perspective.

“The home team always has a few points advantage, but the cold weather will be an equalizer, not an advantage for either team,” Wright said. “I think the Bears have some advantages, especially in the running game, but Green Bay's defense has played so well and I think they have figured out how to confuse (Jay) Cutler.

“When the talent is so equal, it boils down to when you are playing a team, and Green Bay is very hot right now,” Wright said. “I really think that the three-point-favorite line for Green Bay is probably deserved and accurate.”

Despite the outcome of Sunday's game, Wright will find himself back on a football field soon enough in his new life as a high school coach.

“It's been a great experience and I just love it,” Wright said of his coaching job. “I have been so fortunate to have been around all different levels of football for more than 30 years.

“After watching my son's games when he was in high school, it reminded me of the innocence and purity of the high school game, and I just wanted to get back into it.”