Mike Ditka, som ledet Chicago Bears til seier i Super Bowl XX i 1986, er død. Han ble 86 år gammel.

Ditka var en praktiserende katolik. Under sin tid som hovedtrener for Bears tjenestegjorde han av og til som lektor ved den tidlige lagmessen klokken sju om morgenen på søndager, før kampene.

Fra Aliquippa til Hall of Fame

Michael Dyczko ble født i 1939 i Pennsylvania og vokste opp i stålbyen Aliquippa. Faren var ukrainsk og polsk stålarbeider som ikke gikk i kirken. Moren, med irske og tyske røtter, konverterte til katolisismen og formet sønnens tro.

«Growing up, the most important thing was the sacraments with my family.»

sade Ditka i et intervju med den katolske nettstedet One Peter Five i august 2018.

said Ditka in an interview with the Catholic website One Peter Five in August 2018. He also said that he did not care how many times a nun hit him, it was good for him, and that he would not have traded his Catholic schooling for anything. Ditka was a member of the Knights of Columbus and participated in the organization's charitable activities.

From Hall of Fame to Super Bowl

As a player, Ditka played tight end for the University of Pittsburgh and then in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys. In 1988, he became the first tight end ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After his playing career, Ditka worked as an assistant coach before becoming head coach of the Bears in 1982. The 1985 team went 15–1 in the regular season and won the Super Bowl. The players were so confident that they recorded the rap song "The Super Bowl Shuffle" during the regular season. Ditka later said he did not know about it, but he did not criticize the players.

His success, toughness, temper, and humor made him a cultural phenomenon. He appeared in recurring skits on "Saturday Night Live" and built a career as a motivational speaker. The temper was notorious. Once, he broke his right hand after punching a hard object out of frustration over a rookie offensive lineman. Before the next game, he told the team to "win this one for Lefty."

When results declined, Ditka was fired from the Bears in 1992. He then coached the New Orleans Saints for three years before that job also ended in dismissal.

Charity and inner turmoil

After football, Ditka made millions as a spokesperson for dozens of products. Some of the fortune went to charity. He supported Misericordia and other organizations for children with special needs and disabilities, according to Mary FioRito, an attorney and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, who spoke with the National Catholic Register. He spoke at fundraisers and privately visited residents he knew by name, the Daily Herald reported.

In his 1986 autobiography "Ditka," he described the 1970s as a time with no spiritual life at all. Two other coaches got him involved in a Bible study that brought him back to God.

"I always had faith, but I never had understanding," Ditka said. He also acknowledged what he called "constant turmoil inside" and compared himself unfavorably to Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry, whom he admired for his calm on the sidelines.

Source: EWTN News.