Posted on 10/09/2026 8:18:28 AM PDT by janetjanet998
Legendary Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka has died at 86
Da Coach. RIP. What a character.
One of the all-time greats! RIP, Coach.
Da Bears!
Great football coach but he was almost solely responsible for the rise of obama, if you are familiar with the story...
I used to get him mixed up with late Coach Dick Butkus, another tough, articulate coach with a two syllable Slavic name.
He was iconic and an enjoyable personality to catch.
egrets? Mike Ditka has a few.
The former Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints coach conceded this week that his decision to not run against Barack Obama in the Illinois 2004 Senate race was the “biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”
“Not that I would have won,” Ditka said at the grand opening of an oil company in North Dakota, “but I probably would have and he wouldn’t be in the White House.”
Ditka said Republicans tried to convince him to run for the seat after primary winner Jack Ryan dropped out of the race amidst controversy involving his divorce from TV star Jeri Ryan.
But Ditka, who was a tight-end for the Bears before he coached them to a Super Bowl victory, declined the offer, citing other commitments.
In 2004 Obama commented on a possible race against Ditka, saying, “He’s enormously popular. I think if he gets in, he immediately becomes a favorite.”
Obama went on to defeat Republican candidate Alan Keyes in a landslide.
Although Ditka, one of only two people to win an NFL title as both a player and a coach, has described himself as an “ultra-ultra-ultra conservative,” he has vouched for Democrats in the past, appearing in a campaign ad promoting Illinois governor Pat Quinn in the 2010 election.
And in a 2011 White House appearance, Ditka gave the president a Bears jersey with the number 85 and “Obama” written on the back.
He could have run against Obama, but there was no assurance he could have won.
Video
Coach Mike Ditka greatest press conference moments
https://rumble.com/shorts/v7gmfxg
Rest In Peace, Mike Ditka.
Quite.
If he would have run for the Senate in 2004 we might have never heard of Obama.
He would’ve blown obama out of the water that election and that would’ve ended obama’s hopes to be a senator....
What would the score be if Mike Ditka played the Philadelphia Eagles.........The Eagles 12....Mike Ditka 114. (Saturday Night Live when it was funny.)
” after primary winner Jack Ryan dropped out of the race amidst controversy involving his divorce from TV star Jeri Ryan.”
And of course the controversy started after a radical judge approved the release of Ryan’s divorce records and the world found out he was a freaky pervert....
My coach and juice box boy. RIP and thanks for the Super Bowl win in 1986.
As far as football goes, I was never a Bears fan, but Ditka brought something extra to the game that made the Bears more than just a midwest team. RIP Mike and your fans thank you for the years of on and off field entertainment
Some years ago, a friend of mine saw Ditka play golf in Florida. He slowly hobbled a few feet from the golf cart to every shot, with his knees stiff and showing a mass of surgical scars. Ditka politely offered to let others play through, but they preferred to watch him play and to exchange jokes and pleasantries with him.
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