Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers for making the Super Bowl.

The rivalry between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers is just a fun part of life in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. A day doesn’t go by in the stretch from late August to early February where pro football isn’t part of office banter.

Actually, some form of rivalry exists between all the teams in the Black and Blue Division of the NFL. Few pro sports divisions even have their own nickname. But no rivalry in the league is older and has more stories than the one between the Packers and the Bears.

Wisconsinites every summer get to experience Chicagoans coming north for vacations, and they witness the personality clashes that come with it. One example: aggressive big-city drivers in small towns.

Here in Minnesota, Vikings fans have reasons to sigh. It seems their beloved Vikings can have some spectacular seasons — 1998 and 2009, in particular — and yet fail to make the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Packers barely make the playoffs, and they are going to Dallas to play in the biggest game of them all. If the New York Giants hadn’t keep blowing games at the end of the season, the Pack would have sat out the postseason.

That’s how unpredictable — and thus, enjoyable — the NFL is. Some Vikings fans might be steamed, but, after all, it is all fun and games, even when you bleed purple and gold. Congratulations to the Packers and good luck against the Pittsburgh Steelers.