Ditka's Due

The Chicago Bears are going to retire the #89 worn by former tight end Mike Ditka this season. It's a real nice gesture. It's also a very late gesture. Ditka last played for the Bears nearly fifty years ago. The delay is a joke. It's a real shame when teams and players can't see past often petty differences. Ditka has always walked to his own beat. As a player, he never saw things the same as Bears "grand pooba" George Halas. Despite being the kind of rugged, tough football player that Halas always loved, Ditka was traded after only six seasons to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967. Those differences didn't keep Halas from hiring Ditka as coach of the Bears in 1982. There was football respect between the long time owner and the great tight end. Three years later the Bears won the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Halas didn't live long enough to see it. His daughter's son, Michael McCaskey, ran the Bears and the differences between the team and the former great player and current head coach started to grow. There's always going to be some issues between players and ownership. Sometimes even coaches and ownership. It's simply the nature of often tense contract negotiations. The ideal is that mutual respect overcomes those bargaining table wars. Both parties have the same objectives. The Super Bowl. I just hate seeing iconic players not on good terms with their teams. Past or present. The Bears might be making peace with Ditka now but they might have started a little war with a more recent player in Brian Urlacher. Over in Green Bay, current quarterback Aaron Rodgers is trying to bring the Packers and former quarterback Brett Favre back together. Relations shouldn't come to this point with any team or player.

Ditka was the first tight end inducted into the Hall of Fame. That's no surprise as he was really the first tight end to be a threat in the passing game. The tight end position that we know today was far more blocker than pass catcher in the '60s. Ditka started the evolution to a more diverse position. An evolution that included John Mackey of the Baltimore Colts. Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome pretty much took it from there. Ditka may be better known to younger fans as a coach but he was a terrific football player. Despite looking like something of a grunt he was an explosive football player. Even though he played as many years with the Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys as he did with the Chicago Bears, Mike Ditka will always be a Bear. The Bears have retired thirteen numbers, which is the most in the league. Ditka's #89 will be and should be the fourteenth. It's about time.