What if the Bears play their game of the season?

What if Jay Cutler silences his critics by outplaying Aaron Rodgers?

What if Devin Hester gets a special teams TD?

What if Lovie Smith and his assistants coach their best game so far?

What if the defense shuts down the Packers highly touted offense?

What if the O-line protects Jay and garners no sacks?

What if the Bears beat Green Bay?

What if the Bears chose offense first instead of deferring?

What if Chicago’s defense took away the slant?

What if the Packers went 3 and out on 1st possession?

What if Jay connected with Devin Hester for the TD to tie at 7-7?

What if the Bears O-line played penalty free?

What if the defense stopped the run?

What if the Briggs INT turned into an offensive score?

What if the Bears offense showed up in the 2nd half?

What if Jay Cutler didn’t leave the game?

What if Brian Urlacher didn’t get tackled by Rodgers after his INT and scored?

What if Caleb Hanie didn’t throw the pick six to B.J. Rajie?

What if the Bears didn’t run an end around on 3rd down?

What if Hanie doesn’t throw the 2nd INT virtually ending the game?

What if the Bears won…

I woke up last night about 1am wondering all of the things I listed after the jump in my head. I couldn’t sleep…I wandered to the TV, flipped it on and reached for some solace while the glare of the TV illuminated the room. No comfort was found…

I agonized over all the "what if’s," I listed before the jump. I tried everything to calm my pre-game nerves…"Why do I do this?" I asked myself.  I couldn’t imagine playing in a game of this magnitude…this is our rival, the Green Bay Packers! Even Lazarus could get up for this game…

Ahh…the endless cacophony of questions ringing in our psyche…yes, we fans all do this; the infamous "What if’s," that drive us to madness.

I’ve had a day to let things settle. You know, get things straight in my head. The radio helped a little and so did reading WCG…mostly I realized I’m not alone with my thoughts. There were some fans and media, rightly or wrongly, that went on with questions further than I could imagine…

All I can say is I’m glad to have had the opportunity to root for my team, The Chicago Bears, in the NFC Championship game…a "what if" that was buzzing my brain the previous 3 seasons.

And now I wonder about that NFL draft…