Dr. Strange-Lovie (or How I Learned to Stop Hating and Love the Bears)

My mom always hated Dave Wannstedt.

A little back story: my mom has lived in Chicago her entire life (except for being born in Gary, which I never let her forget). In all those years, she has never really cared about sports, save for three things that never fail to make me laugh:

1. She's called Scottie Pippen "The Whiner" after Game 3 of the '94 Eastern Conference Semifinals. A surprise, since she never watched the Bulls unless I was.

2. She doesn't really remember much from the Super Bowl Shuffle, except that Otis Wilson was called "Mama's Boy" Otis. I have a feeling that this is a very fond memory.

3. She absolutely HATED Dave Wannstedt.

I never really understood why she hated Wannie so much. She didn't watch sports except soccer, since she was coaching me. But when Dave Wannstedt came on TV, she was always four words away from changing the channel. She even called me during the Bears-Patriots game just to tell me he got fired from Pittsburgh.

This is 12 years after he left the Bears, mind you. (She didn't like Dick Jauron too much either, to be fair.)

How far we've come

Still, it's not hard to see how my sports-indifferent mother could hate the man so much. He guided the Bears to a 41-57 record in five years and one playoff berth. During those years, the top Bears quarterback was Erik Kramer; the #1 receiver was Curtis Conway; and the "next great" Bears running back? Rashaan Salaam.

Suffice to say that after Super Bowl 31, I almost became a Packers fan.

After DW, there was Dick Jauron; the "dink-and-dunk" offense; Gary Crowton and the wide receiver screen; Paul Edinger; Todd Sauerbrun's ego; the (short)rise and fall of Cedric Benson and Jerry Angelo's controversial decisions. In my 22 years on the planet, the Bears have gone to the playoffs seven times. In that same span, the Packers visited the postseason 12 times (with a Super Bowl win).

But this year, there's something different. The Bears aren't obscenely lucky, like they were in 2001. They aren't just a one-dimensional team, like 2006. This year, they're something more.

A little Lovie in your heart

I'm not here to recap and analyze; you can go to ESPN and your local newspaper for that. The important stat for me is this: the Bears are 7-1 after the bye week. Going into the break, they were 4-3 and had more question marks around them than the Riddler.

All that's left is a primetime date with the Packers next week at Lambeau. Ordinarily, I'd expect the Bears to rest starters with a playoff spot locked up. However, a first-round bye is still on the line, and the Packers need a win to make the playoffs.

Say it again: the Packers need a win to make the playoffs. Against the Bears. At Lambeau Field.

Remember what Lovie's goals were when he was introduced as Chicago's coach? In reverse order: win a championship, win the division, and....beat the Packers.

Even with an 11-win season in the books, I guarantee you Lovie guns to keep Green Bay at home this postseason. If he succeeds, the coach everyone thought would be fired come January might be planning a trip to Texas come February.

Taking shape

Yes, our quarterback still has baby fat (which his playoff beard does a decent job of hiding, by the way). Yes, the offense is very inconsistent. Yes, the Bears have had mad amounts of luck since Week 1.

But are they in the playoffs? Yes. Have they won two of the three statement games in the second half of the season? Yes. Which means we can't discount this Bears team. To paraphrase Dennis Green, the Bears are not who we thought they were.

They're actually (gulp) good.

JS