Some Bears fans cried blasphemy when they saw Mike Ditka wearing a Packers sweater in a recent ad for McDonald’s.
They were outraged by Da Coach’s apparent betrayal of their beloved Bears.
Well, the Bears legend has something to say to those who were offended: “Get a life!”
During an interview for his weekly column, Ditka was asked Tuesday by the Chicago Sun-Times if it was hard for him to wear a Packers jersey in the commercial. He joked a little about it, but then turned quite serious as to where his loyalties lie.
“I had no problem at all putting it on,” Ditka said. “It’s a commercial. I thought it was kinda funny and and kinda cute. Frankly, if people were offended by that, then get a life. Com’on. It’s no big deal.
“I would say that I’ve honestly been more loyal to the Bears than they’ve been to me, so I don’t think I have to apologize to anybody if I dress up in a Packers sweater or Detroit Lions sweater or Minnesota Vikings sweater. I will not apologize to anyone for that.
“I think when you look at loyalty, it’s a two-way street. But this had nothing to do with anything. It’s a commercial. They came to me and said will you make the commercial, will you do it this way.
“You got Jerry Rice who is one of the greatest football players ever in San Francisco history, and he’s in all the Cowboys gear. He’s got the Cowboys jersey and the Cowboys hat, and there’s another commercial coming out where we’ll both be together.
“Look, I played six years for the Bears; I played two years with Philadelphia; I played four years with the Cowboys; I coached 10 years with the Cowboys as an assistant coach. You’re asking me where my loyalties are?
Full interview with Mike Ditka
Share Events on The Cube“You know, I came back to [the Bears] be the head coach, only because the man who started the Bears hired me. Only because of that. That’s the only reason. He’s the only one who would have done it, was George Halas. I think we had a relative, good amount of success in Chicago.
“Then, all of a sudden we had other people who made their decisions based on whatever they make their decisions on, and they decided … And, that’s fine! I accepted that. I moved on.
“If you’re asking me, do I have my allegiance? Yeah, I owe my allegiance to George Halas’ Chicago Bears. There’s no question about that. That’s who I have my allegiance to right now. Nobody else, really. Nobody in the front office up there now. I have no obligation to anybody up there except to Mr. Halas, who hired me, who coached me, who was my mentor. All the credit in the world goes to him. No one else.”
