Story In The Shadows: 85 Bears On Real Sports
I first saw this teaser trailer over the weekend and winced. My South Side Chicago roots are no secret, and my affinity for the Bears comes through in my radio/video work with some regularity. So, when the cracks show from the legends, the heroes of your youth, you sit up and pay attention.
Tuesday’s edition of “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel On HBO” presents a feature on the 1985 Chicago Bears. It chronicles the physical tolls paid by the legends of the gridiron, including Richard Dent, quarterback Jim McMahon and Coach Mike Ditka.
For the better part of the past decade, Ditka has been a driving force of Gridiron Greats, an organization that raises funds to support former players experiencing difficulties. The final part of the Q/A in this short teaser includes a quote from Ditka that will be the rage for the period leading up to Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona.
He turns a question from Gumbel about the state of football and its future back on Gumbel.
“If you had an 8-year-old kid now, would you tell him you want him to play football?”
Gumbel says that he wouldn’t and returns the volley to Ditka. This answer will have many fans, players and league executives raising an eyebrow.
“Nope — and that’s sad. I wouldn’t. My whole life was football. I think the risk is worse than the reward. I really do.”
The anger surrounding the Rice, Peterson, Smith, Irsay, McDonald (Should I just stop?) has died down, replaced by the lunacy of “Deflate-Gate” for the moment, bringing the concussion issue and the long-term health effects facing players back to the spotlight. Commissioner Goodell will be called upon to respond in his annual address, no question about it.
