A Chinese philosopher said: "If you're living in the past, you're depressed; if you're living in the future, you're anxious; and if you're living in the present, you're content." What BS. But I agree with Coach Ditka all the way: today is a gift.
Bear lifer here- Did you know as Tough as Ditka was/is......He has mentioned several times that Tom Landry was one of the few that he actually looked up to and respected tremendously- Mike was quoted after they beat the cowboys 44-0 in 85' to Tom after the game "I'm sorry" "Im truly Sorry"
I live in England and we all know how great American football player the great Mike ditka really is he won the American football world cup in the year 1986 I went to see his team the chicagos bear at wembly for a football match against the Dallas American football team I the year 1986 Chicago's won with 22 points !
Mike Ditka just expected every player to be great like he was, to have the same energy as he, the same passion, same work ethic, etc. This is always the case when great players become coaches. Love how he coached!!!!
Despite being a prominent Conservative, Ditka is the only real public face of doing ANYTHING for retired players. Other pro sports offer permanent health insurance for players who have given X amount of time on field. Indeed, the NFL has far more players, but they also now have the most $$$$$, by FAR.
Being conservative does NOT mean you can’t be generous. It means that you believe generosity ought not to be forced by the government. Studies show conservatives are by FAR more generous than libs. Except “conservative” politicians. F$&k politicians in general, regardless of what side they’re on.
Ditka can be rough, Ditka can lash out...but you cannot deny his effort, and commitment as a person. Were I an NFL player I would play like Ditka, and I'd want Ditka for a coach but ask him to toss in Bill Walsh as an offensive coordinator.
As the NFL's first great receiving Tight End...Mike Ditka was a better player than he was a coach. I'm not saying he wasn't a good coach but the Bears only winning 1 Super Bowl in the 80's was kind of a disappointment considering they had home field advantage in the playoffs numerous times but lost at home to the Redskins in the Divisional Round in both 1986(27-13) and 1987(21-17) and lost the 1988 NFC Championship to San Francisco 28-3... also in Chicago against a warm weather team from California. The one thing that does work in Ditka's favor though is that the NFC was really tough to win in the mid to late 80's with Parcells' Giants, Gibbs' Redskins, Ditka's Bears, and Walsh's 49ers all competing for a Championship basically every year. The NFC Championship Game basically was the Super Bowl for quite a while with the NFC winning 13 straight Super Bowls from 1984-96...most of them one sided blowouts other than SB23(49ers vs. Bengals) and SB25(Bills vs. Giants)
The Bears had all that talent and from 1984 to 1988. They had a chance to get to multiple Super Bowls. Even after 1985, the next year the defense was even more dominant. The problem was that Jim McMahon body just fell apart even before the Charles Martin cheap shot. He just never could stay healthy. When Dikta got Flutie and then started him in the playoffs that was the beginning of the end for the players trust in him. Even the next year the Bears gave up a 14-0 lead against the Redskins and in 1988 the Bears did nothing against the 49ers in the NFC championship game, it marked an end of what could have been. Really the whole team ego's were too big. Everyone did commercials and thought they were hot shit. That's the big reason why the 49ers won 4 Super Bowls in the 80's and the Bears only 1. Bill Walsh kept the team grounded while Ditka couldn't control the egos of the team and it got out of control.
Not to mention the players' strike of 1987. When Ditka called his replacement/scab players The Real Bears. He thought everyone was replaceable by that point.
God bless him for all he does for the 🏈old~timers, standing up to get the NFL to do the right thing!!🌟🙏☝️.... He’s a pillar of wisdom, frankness, toughness, grit & determination. A true pleasure & honor to remember him coaching the Bears; just regret I’m not old enough to have watched him play. And lastly, here’s a guy who truly understands how the “modern”🏈 pro offense has tilted wayyy to much towards “flag football”, if he had to tell you honestly; that’s why I never need to argue about that because I just remember ol’ Mike’s surely an ally in that!
I think you’re always gonna have a few regrets, but if you live in the past then you’re gonna die in the past, I’m not goin to go back and rehash all the stuff people wanna rehash “why didn’t you do this?” “why didn’t ya win more” I don’t wanna do that, I mean you’ve gotta live in the moment I don’t care what you have ever done in your life, it has nothing to do with what you’re going to do now, or what you can do, the past is history, tomorrow’s a mystery, and today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.
The best part I enjoyed was when Ditka went to New Orleans to coach the Saints, and they had a losing season, when the crowd was booing him for the Saints horrible game, Ditka faced the crowd who grabbed his crotch and shook it with his hand at the Saints crowd, shortly he was fired by the Saints. It was real funny, never had such a good laugh at him.
14:15 Interesting because as bad as the Steelers were in 1986, they gave Da Bears a tough game in week 13 of that season. In fact, Da Bears needed overtime to win it.
I always thought Mike Ditka would have made a good president. If you were one of these petite world leaders from Iran or North Korea, would you look him in the eyes and say "No"...??
15:23 Wilbur Marshall left for Washington and won another SB, Dave Duerson left the Giants and won another ring. Having a dismissive attitude towards great players that won you a championship? No wonder the Bears didn't win more SBs in the 80s
A coach with the personality of Ditka wouldn't last a year in today's NFL. The majority of the younger players wouldn't be able to handle Ditka screaming in their face like a Marine drill sergeant and would likely turn against him in no time. Alot of the young players in today's NFL are basically millennials born in the late 90's or right around the year 2000 ...the participation trophy generation. A guy like Ditka, Buddy Ryan, or Bill Parcells just wouldn't cut it today.....too brutally honest
I grew up living Ditka almost like a father. I will always love him. What he's said about BLM and racism in America is unacceptable. I hope he can see the err in his ways.
Why? Ditka was just coaching to win the game. How was he supposed to know Payton was gonna whine in the locker room after the game because he didnt score a TD? He had plenty of chances to score and couldn't get it done. The Patriots defense keyed on Payton all game and actually did a pretty good job of it. I actually lost alot of respect for Walter Payton after hearing how he was actually gonna bad mouth Ditka to the media in his post game interview because he didnt get to score a TD in the game. I never thought Walter Payton was that selfish of a player. He should've been celebrating winning the Super Bowl with his teammates instead of pouting by himself. Would he be happier if they lost but he ran for 200 yards and scored 4 touchdowns? I'd rather rush for 10 yards but win the game
@@jeremythompson9122 Thank you for your answer. I respectfully disagree. Still is and always be Walter Payton...#1. By the way I lived in the same town as the fridge and he's a blow fish big mouth.
You lost respect for Payton! Why? You don't really know what went on. It might be just as simple as Ditka explains it...Mike got wrapped in the game, and may have forgotten about it. However, Ditka should have kept track of the opportunities as the game didn't require much coaching after it got under way.
