Lovie Smith’s first game comes with the usual air of anticipation and uncertainty. Will this be the dawn of a successful era for the Bears, or another trip down the Dave Wannstedt-Dick Jauron road to nowhere?
Mike Ditka faced those questions when he made his debut as the Bears’ coach on Sept. 12, 1982. On the surface, the Bears’ 17-10 loss to Detroit offered little hope for a better future.
However, Ditka’s reaction to the loss foreshadowed the fire he would instill in the team–one that eventually would make it a Super Bowl champion.
`The next morning George Halas sent me an old playbook on how to run the quarterback sneak. I explained things to him. I’ve never liked to lose. That was a game we should have won. If you accept losing, you’ll lose. If you don’t accept it, then you’ll find a way to win. That team I inherited had a lot of talent. There also were a lot of people who didn’t end up staying who thought they were better than they were. Things didn’t go right that day. As a result, we got better. We figured it out.’
–Mike Ditka, on that game in `82
The game
The game was a typical Bears defeat during that period: great defense brought down by an inept offense. Walter Payton gained only 26 yards on 14 carries. He had a 55-yard touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty.
Starting quarterback Bob Avellini took a beating. Wrote the Tribune’s Don Pierson: “By the time Avellini was through, he looked like he had shaved with a vegetable grater.”
The turning point came when the Bears, trailing 10-7 late in the third quarter, failed to convert on four attempts from the Detroit 1-yard line. After Matt Suhey failed twice and Payton once, Avellini was sacked for a 10-yard loss on fourth down.
Ditka’s reaction
The coach didn’t waste any time revealing his fiery personality. When a microphone was thrust at him, Ditka snapped, “Don’t put that thing in my face.”
Ditka aimed much of his anger at the offensive line: “What am I supposed to do? Bar everybody and bring in a new line to block? They’re paid to block.”
On his calls on the goal line
“What do you want me to call? A quarterback sneak? We didn’t even have it in the game plan. It doesn’t work against their defense.”
And finally, Ditka showed his frustration and defiance in defeat: “What do you want me to tell you? That Detroit is a better football team? I’m not going to tell you that. They aren’t. . . . It was a lousy ballgame. We gave it away.”
The postscript
The Bears finished 3-6 during a strike-shortened season. After losing the next game to New Orleans 10-0, the players went on strike, forcing Ditka to wait until November to get his first victory: a 20-17 triumph over Detroit.
What they say now
Offensive tackle Dan Jiggetts, who felt Ditka’s wrath after the game: “He was more than upset, and that was a good thing. Obviously, he wasn’t going to let us become comfortable with losing. (Before Ditka’s arrival) there had been an element of the team that didn’t care. He changed that attitude very fast. His mandate was to kick some butt and get us ready to win.”
What was going on in 1982
TELEVISON DEBUTS
– “Late Night with David Letterman”
– “Cheers”
– “Family Ties”
– “Newhart”
– “St. Elsewhere”
POPULAR SINGLES
– “Physical”: Olivia Newton John
– “I Love Rock N’ Roll”: Joan Jett
– “Ebony and Ivory”: Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
– “Eye of the Tiger”: Survivor
– “Centerfold”: J. Geils Band
