Da Doubletalkin' Coach

For years I, like many Chicago Bears fans, have held a place close to my heart for a certain coach who coached a certain team to a Super Bowl XX victory. Mike Ditka is a god in Chicago and will be immortalized forever in sports lore in the Windy City because of one season, although some say he is actually an underachiever since he did not lead that squad to more than one championship. He is also a national celebrity. How many head coaches have had a co-starring role in a movie or had many skits done about him on Saturday Night Live? He is less of a coach and more of a character. He has distinct ties to the Bears, although by recent comments made by him you wouldn't be able to tell that. Yesterday in a string of interviews Ditka would not predict a winner for Sunday's Bears-Saints game, saying "If you're asking me to pick a team, I don't do that.", claiming that he needs to be "an objective member of the media." That would be fine, except he picked a winner in the AFC title game.

Now, Ditka was fired by both the Bears and the Saints, which led him to air dirty laundry with both teams owners. I don't think this is an example of being objective at all. I'm not saying his assessment of both owners is wrong. Everyone in Chicago knows McCaskey is a dope, and Tom Benson is known as one of the worst owners in football. Some media members see Ditka's rants as a way to get attention, but I think it is much deeper than that. Although he acts like a hardass, he is actually quite sensitive. I think this is all a preemptive strike. He is afraid that if Chicago does actually win the Super Bowl that his status in the city will decline. This is false though, since, like I said, he is more known for the aura which is the personality of Ditka, not so much for coaching the Bears. He is also covering his bases in case someone asks "Lovie Smith/Sean Payton won, why didn't you win more than you did?". A smart way to handle this and not come off as a baby would have been to say something like "the game could go either way" and then just move on. But thats not Ditka. He always needs to stir the pot to keep that red ass image going.

























Ditka tells everyone to shove their
predictions up their ass!