[CBFF] TIME: Why Chicago Loves Lovie

[Kenny Claxton]

Too late, I hear Eddie Munster is going to use it in an upcoming column.


Kenny

On 10/16/06, Jerry Madsen <jerrywm at gmail.com> wrote:
> That's it.  I'm declaring Lovie's new nickname as "J-Bomb".
>
> Jerry
>
> On 10/16/06, Steve Behrens <steve.behrens at gmail.com> wrote:
> >  Why Chicago Loves Lovie The Bears' gentle coach is on a roll
> > By SEAN GREGORY / LAKE FOREST <javascript:void(0)>
> > SUBSCRIBE TO TIME<https://subs.timeinc.net/CampaignHandler/tdsplit?source_id=15>
> > PRINT <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1546333,00.html>
> > E-MAIL <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546333,00.html#>MORE
> > BY AUTHOR <http://www.time.com/time/searchresults?query= SEAN GREGORY>
> >
> > Posted Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006
> > Lovie Smith is a football coach. Yes, the name is Lovie, and while that's
> > not exactly a testosterone-fueled calling card, Smith isn't cut from the
> > foul-mouthed jock mold anyway. The head coach of the Chicago Bears cusses
> > like, well, a kindergarten teacher. What does he say when he gets upset?
> > "Jiminy!" And when he's really angry? "Jiminy Christmas," says MaryAnne, his
> > wife of 26 years. "That's like us throwing F-bombs." Or there's the glare, a
> > sign to the players that they've disappointed their coach.
> >
> > The glares are rarer these days. It's only October, but the Bears have
> > established themselves as the NFL team to beat. Through the first five
> > weeks, they were not only undefeated but had outscored opponents 156-36,
> > including a 37-6 whipping of the Seattle Seahawks, last year's NFC champs.
> > "I just don't see any flaws on this team," says ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski.
> >
> > Defense is the hallmark of Chicago football--from Dick Butkus to "Samurai"
> > Mike Singletary--and Smith's is exemplary, which isn't surprising, given his
> > history as a defensive coordinator. Led by middle linebacker Brian Urlacher,
> > the Bears had created 15 turnovers--tied for tops in the NFL--entering last
> > weekend. Yet the real news is that the Bears have a potent offense. Smith
> > stuck by quarterback Rex Grossman, an oft-injured, inconsistent fourth-year
> > player, through a rocky preseason. Smith's reward? Grossman is a top-rated
> > QB in the NFL.
> >
> > The players have happily boarded Lovie's boat. "He's got a quiet confidence
> > about him that demands respect," Grossman says. "You just follow his every
> > lead." In the Windy City, where the bluster of legendary coaches George
> > Halas and Mike Ditka helped lead Da Bears to glory, Smith is a cool breeze
> > off Lake Michigan. "He's not seeking to show he's General Patton," says Marv
> > Levy, general manager of the Buffalo Bills, a 40-7 victim of a Bears
> > beating. Smith, who spent 20 years as a college and pro assistant before
> > taking the Bears job in 2004, revered coaches who taught rather than tossed
> > chairs. "Screaming was for guys that didn't have anything to say," he says.
> >
> > Smith, 48, grew up dirt poor in the tiny east Texas town of Big Sandy, where
> > his work ethic spoke volumes. In the summers, Smith, a self-described "hick"
> > who turns words like curfew into care-few, picked berries, and tossed 30-lb.
> > bales of hay onto trucks. "I can smell it now," he says, perking up in his
> > Lake Forest, Ill., office, loading faux hay over his shoulder. "We didn't
> > know about lifting weights. Haaaay! That's what you got." The name Lovie he
> > got from his great-aunt Lavana, no doubt requiring him to become a very
> > tolerant man. His most stirring performance took place in 1988, when his son
> > Matthew, then 2, fell into the family's pool. (Smith was an assistant at
> > Arizona State.) Though afraid of water, Smith jumped in and pulled a tiny
> > blue body from the bottom. MaryAnne's CPR resuscitated the boy. Matthew, now
> > a student at Northwestern, had all but drowned. "I was no hero," Smith says.
> > "I let my guard down. Luckily, we were able to make a wrong right."
> >
> > He'd like to do the same for the NFL's less than sterling record of hiring
> > minorities for top coaching jobs. "I could be politically correct and say,
> > No, [race] is not a barrier," Smith says. "But race will always be a part of
> > life." The Detroit Lions invited Smith to interview for a head coaching job
> > in 2003, when he was defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, but he
> > declined, sensing that Detroit was ready to hire someone else. "I don't
> > believe in token interviews."
> >
> > Becoming the first black head coach in the Super Bowl would notch another
> > groundbreaking victory for Smith. He could face off against fellow aspirant
> > Tony Dungy, coach of the Indianapolis Colts, another 5-0 starter. "I like
> > being a pioneer," Smith says. Not just for African Americans, but for
> > coaches everywhere who drop J-bombs.
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
>
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-- 
"He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don't let that
fool you. He really is an idiot."

 Groucho Marx