Chicago - Official Visitors Guide - (Page 160) sweet home Chicago mike Even though former Bears coach Mike Ditka hasn’t patrolled the sidelines of Soldier Field in more then 15 years, in Chicago, he’s still known simply as “Da Coach.” The football legend won a championship with the Bears as a player in 1963 and then lead the team to victory in the 1985 Super Bowl as a coach. Today, Iron Mike is still a fixture in the city as a restaurateur, businessman and advocate. We caught up with Coach Ditka on his way to an afternoon round of golf. ditka, coach You grew up in western Pennsylvania and your career has taken you to Philadelphia, Dallas and New Orleans. Do you still consider Chicago your home? I’m a Chicagoan, Chicago’s my home. Before you were drafted back in ’61, did you have any desire to come to Chicago in particular, or were you eyeing other clubs? There were some other clubs that were interested in drafting me, but it didn’t matter to me at that time. I was a Pittsburgh kid, wherever I went, it didn’t really matter. The only time I’d really been to Chicago was when I went through Chicago to visit Notre Dame when I was in high school. So it was all new to me and it was a terrific experience and I’m just glad Papa Bear chose me. What is your most lasting memory during your six seasons as a player with the Bears? The ’63 championship was pretty significant. That was a good football team and that was a great year. What was it like working with the legendary George Halas? Dealing with Mr. Halas was an experience because people don’t really get to do that. Everything is done between agents and managers, but this was one on one, [and I learned] a lot of great lessons in life. I don’t know that I could’ve had a better teacher in a lot of ways than coach Halas. How did you come to return to the city as a coach in ’81? I wrote [Mr. Halas] a letter in ’78 and told him that I would really love to come back and coach the Bears and that I think I would coach them in a way that he would be proud — proud of me and proud of the team — and that we would put the kind of team on the field that he would be proud of. He called me and brought me in and we did a contract right over his kitchen table. It was nothing elaborate, but a great opportunity. You’re perhaps best known as the coach of the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Bears. What was it like to return to the city after that win in Super Bowl XX? It was a great experience. What I think was so great for this city, was that it was so long coming. It had been a long time since a championship had been won in this city and to do it with probably one of the most beloved teams, the Bears, was a great thing. The people embraced that group of guys and that football team. It was a special time, there’s no question about it. You recently opened a new location of your popular restaurant in Oak Brook. What’s the best part of being in the restaurant business? I think the people. There’s a lot of great restaurants in this city and people can go anywhere they want. When they come to your place you want them to have a great experience and that starts with the first person at the door to the last person that says goodbye and hands them the keys to their car. So you want to give them a complete experience. How about your favorite dish on the menu? I eat a lot of different things on the menu. Our chefs are pretty creative. Our steaks are great. I’ll put our steaks up against anybody’s. Our pork chop, I know is better than anybody else’s. We do a lot of things really well. What does Chicago have that no other city has? I don’t think you can always just put your finger on what it has. It’s real. It works. It makes sense. You know, it’s a melting pot, but it seems to be cohesive in a lot of ways. It’s very clean for a major city. It’s very well run for a major city. It’s a friendly city for the most part. I can’t find a lot of faults with the city. Sometimes the taxi drivers drive me nuts, but other than that I’m ok. What is the most underestimated thing about Chicago? The cleanliness for one thing. It’s the cleanest major city in America — maybe even in the world. And I think the friendliness of the people in this city. It’s got a true mid-western atmosphere. I think it’s a great city for things to do for young people, I mean you’ve got arts, you’ve got entertainment, you got restaurants, you’ve got everything. It gives you just enough of everything you need. It’s not all spread out — it’s pretty compact, the areas that you’re going to go to. That’s what I like about it. What do you love about Chicago — in one word? Broad shoulders. pg 160 Photography: ©Victor Skrebneski
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