This story begins in New Orleans, New York and Paris.
Back in the spring of 1998, Illinois senatorial candidate Jack Ryan brought his wife and actress Jeri Lynn Ryan to sex clubs in these cities to perform sexual acts, according to published reports.
This information, filed in court papers during the couple’s divorce in 1999, made its way to the forefront of the Illinois senatorial race in 2004. Who knew these risqué allegations would impact Tuesday’s historic presidential election?
Incumbent Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., was on the verge of retiring, and Ryan was pitted against current President-elect Barack Obama for Fitzgerald’s seat in Washington.
Finally, the attention focused on Ryan’s personal life proved to be too much, and he pulled himself out of the race.
The GOP needed someone to run against Obama. Who better than former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka?
Sure, Ditka had no prior political experience. But hey, he led the NFL’s Bears to the 1985 Super Bowl.
Plus just months earlier, Arnold Schwarzenegger had been sworn in as California’s governor.
In Minnesota, former WWF wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura was governor for four years, so Da Coach could handle a simple Senate seat, right?
In the weeks following Ryan’s withdrawal, Republican Party officials approached Ditka to see if he was interested in running for office.
Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Ill., told The Associated Press Ditka was “the ideal candidate.”
"The public is really tired of the slick politicians. They're tired of sound bites. They're tired of trial lawyers running government," he said. "The fact that he's blunt and honest and represents ordinary people, I think he could shake up the dinosaurs in Washington."
Even Fitzgerald said he wouldn’t have hesitated to pass his torch to Ditka.
“I think Da Coach would be a great U.S. senator, and I'd love to see him on the floor of the United States Senate," Fitzgerald told the AP.
Ditka, then a football analyst for ESPN, pondered the new position. Could he really do this?
He was a self-proclaimed “ultra-ultra-ultra conservative” and already had a huge fan base thanks to his coaching success and larger-than-life personality.
Have you ever seen those classic Chris Farley “Saturday Night Live” skits?
Da Bears. Da Bulls.
I mean if Ditka could beat a hurricane in a fight, he could surely take on Obama in a senatorial race.
Ditka even spoke with GOP officials to discuss the possibility of running for election in 2004, but ultimately could not go through with it.
“I've thought about it. I've talked to my family. I've talked to some close friends,” he told CNN.com at the time. “I have a lot of commitments that I've made previous to this coming up.”
Ditka said obligations to his partners and their Chicago restaurant also impacted his decision.
What could have been?
Sans Ditka, Obama defeated Republican candidate Alan Keyes in a landslide, and the rest is history.
Could all of this change have been halted before it started? By Mike Ditka of all people?
While we can only speculate, I think Ditka deserves a big thank-you call from the president-elect.
Reach the reporter at alex.espinoza@asu.edu.
