No. 1 woman rule: Embrace your man's love of the game
Just as many women have a love-hate relationship with their partner's relationship with sports.
The Bears' journey to their first Super Bowl in more than 20 years isn't helping matters.
The National Football Conference Championship Game averaged 43.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched NFC game in 10 years. This means about 43.2 million women were either:
A) Sitting next to their husband or boyfriend cheering on the Bears -- screaming, even.
B) Pouting that football season just never seems to end. I mean, did the Bears have to win again?
In honor of all the sports-divided couples out there who fall into the second category, I'd like to propose an option C: Support your man in his football devotion, for now and forever.
Eeks! I can already see eyes rolling and wounded exasperation among women who feel pushed to the outermost edges of their Sunday-game-day limits. You want some attention! You're dying here! Enough already!
However, fighting the football obsession is not going to get you far, especially when we're talking about the Super Bowl. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this year's Super Bowl love means serious football time next year -- whether or not the Bears win this Sunday.
So what's a sports widow to do?
If you're simply not looking to be a convert, you can still be a team player. And that, my friends, is what great relationships are all about.
Embrace your man's love of sports. It doesn't mean you have to pretend to be into it. (Though learning about the game doesn't hurt and once you move beyond the resistance that you "just don't like sports," you may find that getting the strategy behind the game gives you a surprising thrill.)
Try cuddling up to your partner with a good book while he watches the game. Or do your own thing and come out in a hot little cheerleader outfit and pounce on him during halftime. Or plan a sensual picnic to eat on the floor after the game. Of course, most men are apt to be watching the game with their buddies, but these ideas can work for those times he's solo at home.
If he goes to a buddy's house or bar -- or if he stays home and even the mere sound of sports announcers and screaming men in your living room is too much to bear -- don't fight it out -- go out! Plan something fun with other like-minded women, such as shopping, drinks, a massage or a manicure.
The bottom line? In whichever way suits you best, accept football madness. Every couple has their deal-breakers. Da Bears should not be one of them!
And men, once it's all over, turn some of that attention to her. Connect with your honey as much as you've been connecting with Rex Grossman. You know how to make her feel special, and it's important to be appreciative, not entitled, about football season (even during the Super Bowl).
And finally: GO BEARS!
Laura Berman, Ph.D., is a couples therapist and director of Chicago's Berman Center. E-mail her at drberman@suntimes.com.