People often point to the ability to reason as the main difference between humans and other animals.

A jellyfish doesn’t think about hurting someone’s feelings before stinging, but a human may consider the consequences before his or her actions.

But after spending a few hours Sunday at the Panther Paw, anyone could see another difference between man and animal – the instinct to compare.

I’ll be honest, the Paw isn’t home to many sociological studies, but during the Chicago Bears’ 19-7 victory against the Green Bay Packers, the comparisons were flying.

Here’s a brief sample:

“Is Nathan Vasher the best cornerback since Deion Sanders?”

“The Super Bowl Shuffle may be the single greatest piece of music ever recorded.”

“Kyle Orton’s beard is worse than Olin Kreutz’s backside.”

And the comparisons weren’t Bear-exclusive. Packer fans couldn’t avoid making their own comparisons, either.

“Brett Favre hasn’t thrown this poorly since he took 238 Sudafed P.M. pills.”

“They’re scoring less than (insert name of friend who can’t get any).”

Luckily for me, I was sharing a table with a Buffalo Bills fan and a San Francisco 49ers fan, so I got to hear their bi-coastal comparisons.

“The 49ers are worse than any TV segment involving Terry Bradshaw and someone from the South.”

“Rob Johnson is no worse than Frank Reich.”

And “Peerless Price is the worst wide receiver ever to play.”

(This is only kind of a Bills observation. Price was catching passes from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Both were ex-Patriots, and only one is good. It’s not Price.)

Sports fans can’t get enough of this – neither can the media.

Pregame shows, halftime shows and postgame shows dissect every team’s performance, telling fans whether Gus Ferrotte’s 2005 year is better than his 1997 season.

All of this leads up to the most exhausted topic of the Bears’ season – is this defense better than the 1985 Super Bowl winning defense?

It’s our nature as humans to compare things which makes us unique (and allows people like Jay Mariotti to compare the Chicago bulls throwback uniforms to the Bears passing game on Around the Horn).

These comparisons make for interesting bar room chatter, but ultimately, these talks don’t amount to much.

There really is no way to compare players or teams across generations. Most Eastern students (except for one’s in their 14th year of college – like me) didn’t see a lot of football games in 1985.

Why waste time and energy comparing one great defense now to one great defense in the past?

It’s better to sit back, sip your drink and enjoy the present.

You’ll enjoy the contentment. It’s a lot better than.

Dan Woike is a senior journalism major. Email him at [email protected] if you want to compare Kyle Orton’s beard to any offensive lineman’s body parts.