Bears prayer

Ditka called his team in for a prayer. 

Football coaches lead their men in prayer for the same reason God is on the mind of army grunts: because no one knows when the hammer will strike steel. 

A great player in his own era, a hell-raiser and late-night carouser, Ditka found religion in Dallas, under the tutelage of Cowboys coach Tom Landry. 

Ditka was a believer, yet there was always something a little odd about his speeches and his homilies. When he went for the spiritual, he came off like a big man in a tiny coat. 

“All right,” he said, taking a knee, “let’s have the Lord’s Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the opportunity and we thank you for the talents you have given us, the chance to prove that we are the very best. Father, we ask you to give us the courage and the commitment to use these talents to the best of our ability so that we may give the glory back to you. Father, we ask that you may protect all the players in the game so they may play the game free from injury. We pray, as always, in the name of Jesus Christ your son, our Lord, Amen.”

Source: Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen