Dear Bears fans,

First, thank you for having the courage to read this. Though it may not seem like it in the immediate wake of the Bears' Super Bowl loss, you've taken the first step in a long journey to healing and, ultimately, recovery. How do I know? I've been there. I'm a survivor: a Seahawks fan who, like most Seattle residents, found myself at rock bottom after the 'Hawks loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL just 12 short months ago. I know exactly what you're going through right now and I'm here to help.

First off, know that the feelings you're experiencing are completely normal: the stunned disorientation; the blunted rage; the sensation that you're perched on the edge of what will prove to be a yawning chasm of unending despair. Over the coming days and weeks, these feelings will give way to a gnawing emptiness as you realize that despite this tragedy, you still have to go to work in the morning; and after the work week, there will be nothing to look forward to but PBA bowling on TV, freezing your rear off under the unyielding grey skies of winter, and panicking about Valentine's Day. Despite the NFL’s cheery promises to the contrary, the Pro Bowl will do little to assuage this emptiness.

The next stage in your recovery will be the "flashback," in which the more tragic scenes from Super Bowl XLI play over and over in your head like a grisly "speed kills" car crash film from high school. This is normal. Mentally replaying Rex's two sequential third-quarter "fumble-stumble" snaps on what was arguably the key drive of the game? Normal. Lying awake envisioning Peyton's 53-yard first-quarter throw to Reggie Wayne, who was standing all alone, like the Chicago secondary thought he had cooties? Normal. On the bright side, you also will flash back to the good moments, like Devin Hester's opening kickoff touchdown return, but invasive thoughts such as "so how the heck did we end up losing that thing?" will quickly crush these good feelings like Tinkerbell in a trash compactor. Again, this is normal.

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You might also be harboring some feelings of resentment toward players you suspect may not have brought their A-game to the biggest stage in sports. In your case, you may feel this way about Rex "the Hex" Grossman. In our case, some Seattle fans felt this way about tight end Jerramy "I trash talk, then drop three passes in the Super Bowl" Stevens. You'll be relieved to know, however, that Seattle fans eventually recovered, thanks to such therapeutic activities as savagely booing Stevens the following year on his home field.

Which brings us to next season. For a few months, you're likely to avoid all things football. Then your interest in the Bears' prospects for the future will be piqued around draft time. By the time training camp starts you'll be fully applying the balm called "wait until next year." Despite the fact that five of the past six losing Super Bowl teams have failed to make the playoffs the following season, feel free to drink deeply of this fantasy. It's the only thing that will bring hope back into your life.  

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Though you might feel completely healed at that point, be prepared for the "secondary shock" when "next year" comes to a close (as it did for the Seahawks this season at Soldier Field). Any exit short of total victory will bring these emotions flooding back, and with your team absent, the next Super Bowl will seem strangely empty and depressing. Instead of accepting invitations to any Super Bowl parties, you'll probably just stay home with a tub of frozen cookie dough, which you'll find tough to swallow as you watch the game through your tears.

Oh wait, this was supposed to cheer up Bears fans. Sorry. Clearly, the only real way to get past the Super Bowl blues is to win one of the darn things. So good luck with next year's campaign, Bears fans -- unless you play the Seahawks. 

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