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Article: Miracle of Mike Ditka Will Not Be Forgotten
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- January 6, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1993 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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Miracles shouldn't end in tears. When a man grows up poor in a
mill town, works and bleeds to escape, then wakes up one day as a
cultural phenomenon who makes millions and inspires prime-time comedy
routines, you figure he goes out with the happy ending. As the owner
who fired him said wistfully, "I wish he could have ended his career
in a blaze of glory."
Instead, Michael Keller Ditka goes out in a Blazer, red with
snow on top, turning right out of Halas Hall onto Washington Road and
never coming back. He goes out not in glory but with watery eyes, a
cracking voice, pain etched in his face, enough pathos to fill a
screenplay. He goes out standing in a corner downstairs, staring
foggily ...