Emulation, Not Imitation Bears’ Nation has lost all sanity, fanned on by a local media chasing after ratings and profits. Yesterday, on a local version of the Today Show, I saw a contestant for a Ben Johnson lookalike contest take off his shirt just like the Bears’ head coach did in the team locker room after a win over the Eagles back in November. As my father might say, it’s a good thing imitation didn’t have to include jumping out the window. In the midst of all this insanity came word of the passing of Hall-of-Fame NHL goalie Glenn Hall, who helped the Hawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961. To the best of my knowledge, the 94-year old Hall was never the recipient of a lookalike contest. Not if it meant sitting for the 250 or so stitches Hall received over the course of an eighteen-year career, most of it played without benefit of a mask. Hall was the Lou Gehrig of NHL goalies, starting a record 502 straight regular-season games. A little-remarked fact of that career involved a certain habit—Hall threw up before every game he played. He didn’t keep it a secret. I knew about it in high school. Just something that happened on the way to greatness. What the Bears need is some of that dedication, or courage, if you will. Without the ability to face fear and uncertainty heaed-on, why bother?