ESPN host Mike Greenberg paid tribute to the late, great Mike Ditka on Friday morning, but some fans think he went too far.
Greenberg, a New York native, attended Northwestern in Chicago, Illinois. He got his start in sports media in Chicago, working for radio stations like WMAQ and WCSR in the late 1980s and 1990s. He ended up leaving Chicago for ESPN in 1996.
The longtime ESPN host was around for much of Mike Ditka’s time with the Bears, as well as Michael Jordan’s first dynasty stint with the Bulls.
On Friday, Greenberg claims that Ditka was actually a bigger star in Chicago than Jordan.
“He was larger than life. … Michael Jordan was a global icon and certainly beloved in Chicago, but Mike Ditka was the biggest star in Chicago sports,” he claimed to “The Pat McAfee Show.”
Ditka was certainly a legend in Chicago, starring for the Bears as a player while later leading the team to an iconic Super Bowl as a head coach. Ditka was Chicago’s head coach from 1982-92, going 106-62 and winning Super Bowl XX.
But fans are pushing back on the claim that he was a bigger “star” in Chicago than the legendary Michael Jordan.
Fans take issue with Greenberg’s claim about Ditka, Jordan
Greenberg was living in Chicago at the time, but fans think he’s taking things too far in the wake of Ditka’s death.
“I’m not from Chicago, so there is some risk in what I’m about to assert……but I’m fairly certain Michael Jordan is FAR and AWAY the biggest star in Chicago sports history because in American history, his peers are Ali, Babe Ruth, Tiger Woods, etc,” one fan wrote on X.
“He could’ve praised Ditka without mentioning Michael Jordan….why do they always feel the need to do this? It’s unnecessary & wack,” one fan added on X.
“We are respecting the legend but Greeny did way too much here,” one fan added.
“Walter Payton was a bigger star than Mike Ditka. Stop this,” one fan added.
One longtime Chicago Bears fan, who has been a season tickets holder for 25 years, did put Ditka in the same breath as Jordan.
“Ditka’s like (Michael) Jordan,” the fan told ABC News. “He’s Chicago. His passion, his devotion, his no-quit, his toughness. He’s compassionate. We’re a team that sucked for years and he brought us a championship.”
But it’s certainly a leap to claim that Ditka was a bigger star than Jordan in the Windy City.
