ESPN ’30 for 30′ of 1985 Chicago Bears Exposes Dedication
Last night was the debut of the long-awaited documentary of the 1985 Chicago Bears, which may well be one of the greatest teams in NFL history.
After watching it, one could not help but feel emotion, compassion, loyalty and anger. As I was reading through some sports pages, I saw a piece from Time Out North America titled, “New ’30 for 30′ relives glory of ’85 Bears, but ignores bigger picture.” In the article, writer Clayton Guse claims that the documentary ignored the CTE factor in the success of the ’85 Bears. He claims the film “disregarded the downside” of the injuries to football players.
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"“the film reinforces the mindset that millions of football fans across the country will have when they sit down to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday: That big hits, touchdown passes and an exciting game are more important than the tragedies that occur as a result of them.” – Clayton Guseyour"
It is true that in the last 20 minutes of the film, the issue of the dangers of CTE was evident, with the suicide of Dave Duerson and the downhill health of Jim McMahon. However, let’s understand something here, these men were not stupid oafs who had no concept about what they were doing.
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According to the film it was McMahon who was relentless in pressuring head coach Mike Ditka to let him play in the playoff game. Ditka DID NOT want him to play, knowing that McMahon was on painkillers, but McMahon wouldn’t stop so Ditka relented. Later McMahon and other former players sued the NFL regarding this issue.
McMahon got the help he needed and was able to relieve the pressure that was building in his brain due to CTE. If only Duerson, Junior Seau, Ken Stabler and many others received the help they needed. The fact that the film-maker included this hot topic in the film is an indication that unless the NFL does something serious about the problem, it will not go away.
Interviewed in the film, McMahon admitted that he did not not care about what people told him, he just wanted to play and play his way. He was told numerous times that his reckless play would someday backfire and it did. It is no secret that there has been an increase number of concussions in the last few years.
The truth is each player has a choice to play and continue to grasp the brass ring or quit due to fear of what injuries will do to them in the long haul. But the reason for this film was to display the success of the 1985 Chicago Bears, and that it came from a dedicated group of men who believed they could win it all. It was a story about a defense who loved, respected and would die for their one of their coaches, Buddy Ryan, and looked at each other as heroes.
When asked if they were given a chance to play again, Dan Hampton, Kevin Butler, Mike Singletary, Jim McMahon, William Perry, Steve McMichael and Gary Fencik all said they would play in a heartbeat. Why? Why would they put themselves back into the bone-breaking, ground and pound situation again? Because they LOVED and dedicated their life to the game of football. Each one of them knew the risks going in just as the players do today. There was a different type of dedication and devotion to the coaches back then.
They fought for their coach, even so much as to write a collective letter to George Halas to keep Ryan as their defensive coordinator. Had they not written that letter, the ’85 Bears would not have had the season they had. At the end of the day, the 1985 Chicago Bears played the best season of their lives and they loved every second of it. No one can take that away from them. It was evident when at the end of the film each player interviewed, with the exception of William Perry, placed their Super Bowl ring on their finger with pride.
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In a single season, the Bears achieved what teams like the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions fail to do every season, win a Super Bowl. The men that played on this team displayed their hard work and dedication by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. The film did a good job in projecting the obstacles they had to overcome to get there. A brotherhood was forever built with the ’85 Bears and there has been no other like it since. If this doesn’t motivate the current Bears roster then they have missed the point.