From 1995 to 2001, the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers met five times in the playoffs, with Green Bay winning four of them. Aaron Rodgers was a young San Francisco fan at the time. In 2005, when he looked to be a candidate for the first overall pick, his boyhood team had the pick. They selected Alex Smith instead. Here’s video of a local TV interview with a station in San Francisco at the time of the draft.

Aaron Rodgers holds grudges. He uses them to motivate. Earlier this year, he talked about a Cal professor that doubted he would make it in the NFL. He gave a Shhhh! to critics after the demolishment of the Texans. There is no question that this game means a little more team as he gets ready to play a playoff game against the team he grew up rooting for.

This is quintessential playoff slugfest. Both of these teams have looked like the best team in the league when they are playing at their best. San Francisco dominated Chicago, destroyed the Jets and Bills, and went on the road at New England and took it to the Patriots for the first half. They also went into Lambeau to open this year and won. Green Bay went into a primetime matchup and showed why they won a Super Bowl two years ago, and 15 games last season. Let’s sit back and enjoy, because this is going to be a good one.

[photo via USA Today Sports Images]