Crushing on Lovie

I develop crushes really easily. I always have. Michael J. Fox, Peter DeLuise, Kevin Costner, Sinjin Smith, don’t get me started. Luckily my crushes have changed somewhat as I’ve grown older; they are rarely romantic, males and females are crushed-on in equal numbers and I’ve even thrown in a handful of movies and a couple books as of late. Oh, and a wallpaper pattern in a downtown Seattle hotel. I’m sure some would argue there is a more appropriate word for the intense, and often fleeting, feelings I develop for people and inanimate objects. But for me, they’re all crushes.

My latest crush is on a human…Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith. Lovie. Lovie Smith. I just love-lovie saying it.

Eric is a life-long Bears fan, and come football season we fall into an easy pattern based on an unspoken agreement: I support his team (which now involves wearing my adorable new Bears shirt with Eric’s high school football number on the back) and make sure the schedule is free of any non-football television plans on Sundays and the occasional Monday. Eric responds in kind by keeping his enthusiasm for Bears football to a nice, respectable level which means no screaming, no crying and no life-sized wall stickers of Brian Urlacher. I’d say it works out quite nicely for the both of us.

So last Sunday we’re watching the back and forth of the Bears and the Eagles when I became aware of that all-too-familiar feeling of butterflies in my stomach while watching Lovie Smith on the sideline. What? Really? I have a crush on Lovie Smith, don’t I? Eric nailed it when he said that Lovie looks like he could be Seal’s dad. Heidi Klum should be so lucky to have Lovie Smith as a father-in-law. His eyes are always smiling. Always. Even when the Bears are down and turnovers are reaching double digits and defense can’t block to save their lives, Lovie’s eyes twinkle as if to say “I’m going to try my damnest to help win this game, but in the end it really is just a game so lets have fun out there.” I want to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him on the cheek and breathe in his sports deodorant smell and have him promise to take me out for ice cream just as soon as the fourth quarter is over. I’ve never once seen him yell at a referee or player or another coach. He is quiet and thoughtful and even-tempered – all qualities which seem non-existent in the world of professional football. They are also qualities I’ve projected one hundred percent on Lovie Smith with absolutely no knowledge of the man – because a crush is a visceral thing, not a research project. But just look at the guy, he has to be one of the most gentle human beings on the planet. Watch a Bears game and try NOT to crush on Lovie Smith. I triple-dog-dare you.

GO BEARS!

Gretch