Mike Ditka promises that his audience at Men's Night Out "won't be bored," but anyone who knows anything about "Da Coach" already knew that.
Born and raised in the steel belt around Pittsburgh, "Iron Mike" carries the region's once-proud blue-collar lunch-pail ethos on and off the football field. Like a mill worker, he's known as a tough guy who never minces words and doesn't kiss up.
So expect some straight talk from "Da Coach" when he speaks at Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's annual testosterone-soaked fundraiser, which takes place Wednesday, March 5, at the Arizona Biltmore.
Ditka is best known for coaching one of the greatest National Football League teams ever, the 1985 Chicago Bears (affectionately known in Chicagoan as "Da Bearss," with that little double-s sibilance at the end), to a Super Bowl win. It just so happens that his team trounced this year's Super Bowl loser, the New England Patriots, in a 46-10 victory.
The only person to participate in both of the last two Bears championships, Ditka is also one of only two men to win an NFL championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Ditka was already a star player for the Bears when the team won its NFL championship in 1963 (that's before the Super Bowl became the arbiter of NFL supremacy).
He was named Rookie of the Year in 1961 by The Associated Press, United Press International and Sporting News, after an impressive season. By catching 56 passes that season, Ditka transformed the position of tight end, which traditionally was devoted to blocking opponents, into an important offensive tool.
Today, Ditka divides his time as a sports broadcaster on ESPN cable network and on radio, the owner of a restaurant chain, and a public speaker.
His talks focus on "what I think it takes to be successful."
"You never lose until you quit trying, and when you lose you never quit trying," he says. "I think it's a valid message."
He emphasizes that "never quit" message because few teams or individuals ever go undefeated.
"Losing can upset you, but it's not going to kill you," he says, but it takes character to get up and keep doing the best you can do, win or lose.
His talk will be laced with anecdotes and life lessons from and about the football figures he's known.
"You have to have attitude, character and enthusiasm," Ditka says. Attributes that were very much in evidence on the 1985 Bears.
"We had a group of guys that were characters, characters that had character," he says. "I played, so I understood what they were going through. We tried to keep everything fun."
Ditka's respect for guys with character has led him to champion the cause of retired players who are suffering from late-onset disabilities, including dementia, that result from football injuries and trauma.
The problem, he says, is that when these players, who played before the era of big-money contracts, seek assistance from the league or the players union, which have funds to provide health-care benefits to them, their claims are disallowed for various reasons.
"The league has plenty of money, but it's too hard to get to," he says.
Ditka sits on the board of The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, which continues to rally today's players to help raise awareness and make financial grants to needy retired players.
"We're just a Band-Aid," Ditka says of the fund, saying that the group wants to help end the impasse and get the NFL and players union to make good on the old players' health claims. He submitted testimony to that effect last July to the U.S. House of Representatives.
That's not the first time his name has been mentioned in the same breath as Congress.
A little-known chapter in his career takes an interesting significance in 2008. A self-described ultra-conservative, Ditka was asked to run against Barack Obama in 2004 for the Senate seat that launched Obama into his surprising run for the Democratic presidential nomination this year. It was one challenge Ditka declined.
"Just think, if I'd have run ...," he says, leaving us to finish the thought.
Details
- Who: Mike Ditka
- What: Men's Night Out, annual fundraiser for Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix
- When: Wednesday, March 5; 6 p.m., networking reception; 7:30 p.m., dessert and program (dietary laws observed)
- Where: Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, 2400 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix
- Cost: $100, plus minimum $365 contribution to 2008 Campaign for Jewish Needs
- Contact: 480-634-4900 or jewishphoenix.org
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