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ChicagoSports.com: Lovie endorses Obama; will he finally open up?





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Lovie endorses Obama; will he finally open up?
 David Haugh
 On the Bears

 April 4, 2008

 Typically guarded about revealing anything personal, Lovie Smith
probably would prefer not to divulge whether he favors paper or
plastic in the grocery aisle.

 So Smith volunteering Wednesday that he supported Barack Obama for
president goes down as one of the most surprising developments of a
fairly dull Bears off-season.

 Not because Smith chose Obama over candidates Hillary Clinton or John
McCain, but that he chose to be so open about it without being asked
specifically whom he supports, according to reporters present.

 Forget Smith's Pollyannaish projection at the NFL owners meeting that
gimpy Mike Brown would start for the Bears at free safety. His pick
for the person to run the country was the nugget of the day.

 If Smith can be as clear and decisive choosing between Rex Grossman
and Kyle Orton, this could be viewed as a positive personality shift.

 Granted, the only candidate Bears fans care about Smith picking this
month involves whoever he likes most at the No. 14 spot in the
upcoming NFL draft. It often backfires when coaches take a political
stand, and as a rule, sports and politics should be kept as separate
as Bears fans and Packers fans.

 The latest example came courtesy of St. Louis basketball coach Rick
Majerus, who recently shared his personal beliefs on abortion and
stem-cell research at a Clinton rally. Those examples expand the
platform for coaches well beyond their expertise as well as stretch
the boundaries of our attention span for whatever they have to say.

 On the other hand, hearing Smith speak boldly about something,
anything in public was refreshingly genuine. Smith's unscripted
moments that provide a window to what makes him tick have been few and
far between in his first four seasons. Fans want to love Lovie, but it
would help if they knew more about him.

 The layers might be peeling off slowly. Whether it's because of a
contract that provides security through 2010 or simply the evolution
of a head coach expanding his reach, Smith finally has looked more
willing lately to delve into issues beyond the Cover-2 defense.

 Two weeks ago, Smith made a public appearance on behalf of UNICEF to
promote clean drinking water around the world. Last month he spoke on
Christianity at a Columbus, Ohio, prayer breakfast where he told the
Columbus Post-Dispatch coaches shouldn't be afraid to talk about
religion or politics. Wednesday, he joined the Obama-rama.

 Can an "Oprah" appearance be far off?

 If it means he's loosening up, many Bears fans probably welcomed
seeing Smith display his personality with his endorsement, even at the
risk of turning off some people in his own building. After all, Bears
founder George Halas was known to donate to various Republican
campaigns, as daughter and team owner Virginia McCaskey has been known
to do as well.

 Ironically, Mike Ditka, the last Bears coach whose opinion carried
any weight, was approached by the Republican party in 2004 to run
against Obama for the vacant Illinois U.S. Senate seat. Da Coach
declined.

 That was just before Smith's first season, before he had built up
enough confidence or clout on the job for anybody really to care about
whom he favored in that race. Now we know which way Smith might have
been leaning.

 Turns out he and Obama, apparently a big Bears fan, have become
friendly enough to have had a conversation on the latest quarterback
dilemma. And like any self-respecting NFL coach, Smith probably will
take Obama's input as seriously as the candidate would take Smith's on
health care.

 At the very least, if Obama goes on to become president, the
endorsement should guarantee Smith a warmer reception at the White
House than past Bears coaches have received.

 It was during a 1925 national tour with Red Grange that President
Calvin Coolidge supposedly said upon meeting Grange and Halas at the
White House, "Pleased to meet you, gentlemen, always been partial to
animal acts."

 This bold show of conviction by Smith was no act. If it's a sign of a
more candid and frank head coach in 2008, encore, encore.

 dhaugh at tribune.com

 Copyright (c) 2008, The Chicago Tribune