Follow the fascinating spurts of growth and introspection that helped a fiery coach with a wild temper learn to control himself and get the most from his players whose salaries and egos exceed his own.
Because he’s Da Coach, and I’m a Bears fan, I’ll give this book a ranking of “Of Some Definable Merit.” Of the positives – this book really does give a glimpse into the motivations of Ditka. He talks extensively about the legendary 1985 Bears and many of its personalities. I was surprised to learn that he actually respected Jim McMahon, who he publicly feuded with many times, as a winner. I was not surprised by how much he had to say about Buddy Ryan. There are also glimpses into his greatest as
Because he’s Da Coach, and I’m a Bears fan, I’ll give this book a ranking of “Of Some Definable Merit.” Of the positives – this book really does give a glimpse into the motivations of Ditka. He talks extensively about the legendary 1985 Bears and many of its personalities. I was surprised to learn that he actually respected Jim McMahon, who he publicly feuded with many times, as a winner. I was not surprised by how much he had to say about Buddy Ryan. There are also glimpses into his greatest asset, that thing that matched him so perfectly to Chicago, his attitude. “I really believe this: if you accept defeat, then you’re going to be defeated a hell of a lot more than you’re going to win. You can be gracious in defeat, but boy I’ll tell you what, you can be gracious on the outside, but you better be doing flipflops inside. If you’re not churning and turning, you’re going to go out and get your ass whipped next time out, that’s all there is to it.” (38)
Unfortunately for the rest of the book, it is written exactly as Ditka speaks. I had naturally assumed that a man who has achieved had thoughts that he could put on paper that sounded less like stream-of-consciousness, chopped up motivational speak. He writes like he talks. Apparently he talks like he thinks. I suppose this shouldn’t be surprising, as one of Ditka’s most endearing qualities is his brutal honesty, and the sleeves upon which you can see his emotions. To the detriment of this book, it doesn’t make a great autobiography. Watch the interviews on TV as they will be more entertaining.
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A great read written like Ditka talks. Not only a good read regarding football, but also a interesting take on success, leadership and the drive it takes to do what you love.
Mike Ditka is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for 3 years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach.