New Bears good for business, bad for cowards and losers

The past, as Mike Ditka once noted, is for losers and cowards.

And we loser Bears fans reveling in the past should feel a little cowardly every time Da Coach and his 1985 Bears milk their glorious one-consecutive Super Bowl championship reign of 25 years ago.

The future, which must be for winners and heroes, seems a lot brighter when we same fans think about how our current Bears have won four straight games, lead their division and suddenly appear to be given a legitimate shot at winning Super Bowl XLV. If so, we are going to have to learn how to spell the names of Bears players Israel Idonije, Pisa Tinoisamoa, Brandon Manumaleuna and Matt Toeaina all of whom contributed in the Bears 31-26 victory Sunday over superstar quarterback Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles team that had been the NFL darlings until the Bears assumed the role.

As for the present, we fans are just happy to discover that there still is room on the Bears' bandwagon.

Walking into Dick's Sporting Goods in Schaumburg on Bears Victory Monday, shoppers might notice the most-prominent display window still touts that Chicago Blackhawks' Stanley Cup Championship that is so 2010. But inside, fans are welcomed by a display of Bears jerseys led by quarterback Jay Cutler's No. 6.

Last month, after Cutler somehow managed to be arrogant and jerky despite tossing four interceptions and fumbling away a touchdown in a miserable loss, those Cutler jerseys seemed destined for some third-world charity where impoverished kids would be asked to accept them as replacements for their tattered Corey Patterson Cubs jerseys.

Fans who once booed Cutler and accused him of whining now cheer him for not only recording the highest quarterback ranking of his career in Sunday's win, but for showing enough fire in his belly to upgrade his whining to a level meriting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

While not receiving corporate clearance to talk to me (could that be because Dick's headquarters is located in the same state as the Eagles?), our suburban Dick's store managers must be thrilled by the Bears' turnaround. No one who watched the dreary 2008 and 2009 seasons dared dream that Devin Hester jerseys ever would come back in style, let alone be given a prominent position at Dick's. Those No. 54 Brian Urlacher jerseys were a huge seller a decade ago, but seemed destined as nothing more than cheap rags for washing cars until Urlacher found the fountain of youth this season. Now middle-aged fans need to buy new Urlacher jerseys to replace the too-tight versions they bought 11 years and 35 pounds ago. Some might want to add a Julius Peppers' No. 90 jersey, a Matt Forte No. 22 or the Johnny Knox No. 13 to their collections.

In a single month, many Bears fans have gone from rooting for the Bears to lose so the team could fire coach Lovie Smith and start the rebuilding process, to checking Dallas-area hotel prices for the Feb. 6 Super Bowl.

“I love it because I love the Bears,” says bartender Gina Robinson of Douglas Street Sports Pub in downtown Elgin, who notes that a good Bears team means bigger crowds and better tips. “When people are excited, they drink more. They are having fun. We are having fun. It's more about people's attitudes. It's nice to see people happy.”

Even if the Bears stink, folks still come to Fatman's Pizza Pub in Gurnee. “But that game where he (Cutler) threw four interceptions? Nobody wants to stay and watch that,” says Elliott Khayat, general manager of Fatman's. “It's definitely a lot better when they are winning.”

During the 1985 season, Bears fans were confident from the opening game that our team was going to win the Super Bowl. In 2010, the team has sneaked up on us. If they continue playing this way, they can win the Super Bowl and do something the 1985 Bears still haven't been able to do push the Super Bowl team from 25 years ago out of the spotlight and into the past for cowards and losers.