A resurfaced video of Chicago Bears icon Mike Ditka singing during the seventh inning stretch at a baseball game is giving many fans something to smile about as they grieve the football giant’s death.
The video features Ditka singing the classic “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during a July 1998 match at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. And he definitely puts his own twist on the song.
In the clip, shared by MLB, Ditka raucously belts out the words, losing his voice several times throughout the song. Adding to his undeniable aura, Ditka also speeds up, leading the organist to attempt to match his pace.
It’s controlled chaos — just like the beloved football icon himself.
Ditka’s family announced his death Oct. 9. He was 86.
The Bears icon, who led the team to its only Super Bowl victory in 1986, was known for his big personality as much as he was for his gridiron prowess. And that charisma certainly shined during that 1998 Chicago Cubs game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
That wasn’t even Ditka’s only famous rendition of the ballpark song. During a 2005 game at Wrigley Field between the Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies, Ditka was joined by comedian Will Ferrell to lead the stadium in the song. The pair, who starred in comedy “Kicking & Screaming,” don’t exactly sing in-sync.
Ditka, who was inducted into the pro football Hall of Fame in 1988, has long been a source of comedy fodder. He even became the focus of a recurring sketch on “Saturday Night Live” in which a group of superfans, who look just like Ditka himself, hail the legendary coach as something of a god.
