Mike Ditka dies at 86 as Big Cat and Barstool pay tribute
TLDR: Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end who coached the 1985 Bears to Chicago's only Super Bowl, has died at 86, and Big Cat led Barstool's tributes to the ultimate football guy.
Big Cat is about as Chicago as a Barstool lifer gets, so it fit that his post was the first one up after Ditka's family announced the news Friday.
RIP Coach Ditka. All time Football Guy. The few times I got to meet/interview him were such a thrill. He was the definition of swagger and aura. Don’t make them like that anymore
"Swagger and aura" pretty much covers it. Ditka was the 5th overall pick of the 1961 draft by the Bears, won Rookie of the Year and played 6 seasons in Chicago before stints with the Eagles and the Cowboys. In 1988 he became the first tight end ever enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That would be a whole career for most people. For Ditka it was the warm-up act.
George Halas, his old coach and the man who founded the Bears, brought him back to run the team in 1982. Over 11 seasons Ditka took Chicago to the playoffs 7 times, and the peak was 1985: a 15-1 regular season, arguably the greatest defense the NFL has ever seen, and a 46-10 beating of the Patriots in Super Bowl XX. It is still the only Super Bowl the franchise has won. Every Bears fan alive has been comparing coaches to that guy for 40 years.
Ditka was never just a coach, though. He was a personality, and the press podium was where it showed most. Barstool went back to the archives for one of his famous rants.
A legendary rant from a legendary person RIP Mike Ditka
That persona is a big part of why Hollywood came calling. In the 2005 comedy Kicking & Screaming, Ditka played himself as a neighbor feuding with Robert Duvall's character, and the bit still holds up. The tribute hits even harder because Duvall died back in February at 95, so Friday's post ended up honoring both of them.
Robert Duvall vs Mike Ditka in “Kicking & Screaming” will always be funny RIP Legends
Big Cat put it best: they don't make them like that anymore. Expect Soldier Field to go all out for him the next time the Bears are home, and expect Chicago to spend the weekend replaying the Super Bowl Shuffle, the sideline glare and every quote he ever gave. RIP Coach.
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