story here http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/1992/10/in-voting-ditka-talks-good-game.html
In life, Mike Ditka has a lot to say when it comes to politics.
"If the Clinton/Gore team were to be elected," said the coach last week, "it would be the biggest step backward this country has taken in its 200 years of existence."
The remark came at the end of a speech at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in which Ditka offered both social commentary and a brief comparative analysis of economic conditions in the Carter and Bush eras while endorsing Illinois' Republican senatorial candidate.
"We've got the right guy for the job," Ditka said. "And that's Rich Williamson . . . a real winner."
It was shades of 1989, when Ditka, a Lake County resident, proclaimed, "Chicago deserves the greatest mayor," during the city primary campaign. "I think Rich (Daley) can fulfill that," he went on. "He's already a winner."
The Daley endorsement came a few months after Ditka had thundered in a newspaper ad that, "The next president of the United States must be able to build on Ronald Reagan's record of peace through strength. George Bush is that man!"
In the voting booth, however, the coach has had less to say.
Since 1984, there have been 17 primary and general elections in Lake County in which Bears coach Mike Ditka was or might have been eligible to vote. Lake County Clerk Linda Hess said records show the coach has stayed on the sidelines for 14 of them. He's voted just three times, Hess said records show: in the 1984 and 1988 general elections and in a 1985 primary.
This spring, Ditka endorsed Lake County Republican state representative candidate Andrea Moore in her primary race against Ralph Swank. "(Diana Ditka and I) continue to support Andrea because we care about Lake County and the state of Illinois," said his endorsement, mailed to voters on a postcard. "Andrea will make an outstanding representative."
Moore squeaked out a narrow victory, but did Ditka vote for her? Couldn't have. Lake County records say he wasn't even eligible to cast a ballot because his registration lapsed in 1989 when he moved from unincorporated Grayslake to his current home in Bannockburn.
As of Friday afternoon, Ditka's name was not on the list of voters eligible for next month's election, Hess said, but the registration deadline was Monday and the office still has more than 20,000 last-minute applications to process. Ditka's will be among them, promised Bears public relations director Bryan Harlan.
Over the years, gridiron success has inspired Ditka to tell the rest of us what kind of cars to drive, gum to chew, soup to eat, bank to patronize, brand of undergarment to wear, rustproofing to apply, antifreeze to use, decongestant to take, airline to fly, and place to shop for home electronics.
Other sports personalities play the endorsement game as well, but Ditka differs in two key respects. One is that, while he spews advice freely, he is notoriously touchy when others seem to try to give him advice. "You know where you can plant your lips" was his reported response to those who had other ideas about how he should have comported himself during last week's game.
A second difference is that Ditka, unlike every other coach and manager in town, freely crosses the line into politics. Who does he think he is, one of those Hollywood experts like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Richard Dreyfuss? Even Bulls coach and reconstructed hippie Phil Jackson, who attended this summer's Democratic convention, declines to endorse candidates.
We are all entitled our opinions, of course, about politics, football, nasal sprays and everything else. Some of Ditka's may even be right on the money, as when he asked his audience Wednesday, "Isn't it about time to put the words 'ethics' and 'integrity' back into politics?"
Sure it is. In theory.
But in life, remember, you can't put anything back into politics if you don't put yourself into the voting booth.
In life, Mike Ditka has a lot to say when it comes to politics."If the Clinton/Gore team were to be elected," said the coach last week, "it would be the biggest step backward this country has taken in its 200 years of existence."
The remark came at the end of a speech at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in which Ditka offered both social commentary and a brief comparative analysis of economic conditions in the Carter and Bush eras while endorsing Illinois' Republican senatorial candidate.
"We've got the right guy for the job," Ditka said. "And that's Rich Williamson . . . a real winner."
It was shades of 1989, when Ditka, a Lake County resident, proclaimed, "Chicago deserves the greatest mayor," during the city primary campaign. "I think Rich (Daley) can fulfill that," he went on. "He's already a winner."
The Daley endorsement came a few months after Ditka had thundered in a newspaper ad that, "The next president of the United States must be able to build on Ronald Reagan's record of peace through strength. George Bush is that man!"
In the voting booth, however, the coach has had less to say.
Since 1984, there have been 17 primary and general elections in Lake County in which Bears coach Mike Ditka was or might have been eligible to vote. Lake County Clerk Linda Hess said records show the coach has stayed on the sidelines for 14 of them. He's voted just three times, Hess said records show: in the 1984 and 1988 general elections and in a 1985 primary.
This spring, Ditka endorsed Lake County Republican state representative candidate Andrea Moore in her primary race against Ralph Swank. "(Diana Ditka and I) continue to support Andrea because we care about Lake County and the state of Illinois," said his endorsement, mailed to voters on a postcard. "Andrea will make an outstanding representative."
Moore squeaked out a narrow victory, but did Ditka vote for her? Couldn't have. Lake County records say he wasn't even eligible to cast a ballot because his registration lapsed in 1989 when he moved from unincorporated Grayslake to his current home in Bannockburn.
As of Friday afternoon, Ditka's name was not on the list of voters eligible for next month's election, Hess said, but the registration deadline was Monday and the office still has more than 20,000 last-minute applications to process. Ditka's will be among them, promised Bears public relations director Bryan Harlan.
Over the years, gridiron success has inspired Ditka to tell the rest of us what kind of cars to drive, gum to chew, soup to eat, bank to patronize, brand of undergarment to wear, rustproofing to apply, antifreeze to use, decongestant to take, airline to fly, and place to shop for home electronics.
Other sports personalities play the endorsement game as well, but Ditka differs in two key respects. One is that, while he spews advice freely, he is notoriously touchy when others seem to try to give him advice. "You know where you can plant your lips" was his reported response to those who had other ideas about how he should have comported himself during last week's game.
A second difference is that Ditka, unlike every other coach and manager in town, freely crosses the line into politics. Who does he think he is, one of those Hollywood experts like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Richard Dreyfuss? Even Bulls coach and reconstructed hippie Phil Jackson, who attended this summer's Democratic convention, declines to endorse candidates.
We are all entitled our opinions, of course, about politics, football, nasal sprays and everything else. Some of Ditka's may even be right on the money, as when he asked his audience Wednesday, "Isn't it about time to put the words 'ethics' and 'integrity' back into politics?"
Sure it is. In theory.
But in life, remember, you can't put anything back into politics if you don't put yourself into the voting booth.
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