The Heckler on A Fan Speaks Out

September 27, 2005

An Interview With Dan Jiggetts      

Whether it was opening holes for the legendary Walton Payton when he was a lineman for the Chicago Bears or fronting the Tribune Live show on Comcast SportsNet, Dan Jiggetts is adept at getting the job done.  In this month’s feature interview, he addresses the Bear’s quarterback issues, talks about why sports radio is not what it used to be, and definitively explains why fans of both the Cubs and the White Sox have to get together before either team will win anything.  

The Heckler: You were at the forefront of sports radio in Chicago starting out with Mike North working for the Score.  Did you ever think the station would survive as long as it has, and what was it like at the beginning?

Dan Jiggetts: The answer to the first question is yes; I did think it would survive, because this town has a great thirst for sports.  You knew that once fans had an opportunity to have their say; and I want to say for maybe the first ten years at that station, we offered the fans an opportunity to have a voice.  We knew it was going to work.  Unfortunately, I don’t think that sports radio is still the same kind of medium that it was when we started out.  I think it’s changed a great deal and I don’t necessarily think for the better, but what do I know, I’m in television. 

TH: What do you dislike about sports radio today compared to when you did it?

DJ: I think when we first started out there was a great deal of interaction with fans and with athletes.  You don’t hear that nearly as much as you used to.  And it’s almost gotten to the point where a lot of it is just mean-spirited.   I think there’s great value in providing an opportunity for fans to talk about the teams that they love, because we can have our opinions, but what really counts is what they think, cause they’re the ones paying the bills, not us.

TH: You’ve always been the type of guy that is the voice of reason.  Was it difficult working with Mike North, who is the polar opposite of you?

 DJ: It was just one of those things where we decided to just kind of sit down and have a conversation and in that conversation sometimes we agreed on things and other times we didn’t.  Sometimes you would get to a point you would just be screaming at each other and then you go to commercial break and get up and get our coffee cups and sit back down.  It’s just like when you’re disagreeing with some of your buddies with something that happened, like “Did you see that Cubs game last night?”  “So and so was brutal.”  “No he wasn’t.”  It was fun and that’s what I mean about actually discussing the issues and not berating somebody.  You try to keep it out of that realm. 

TH: You were one of the pillars of the station at the Score and you got switched around a bit at the end before you parted company.  Is there any lingering resentment about how things ended up there?

DJ: Sure.  There are some things you can never forgive people for.  But all of that I’ll keep between me and them.  And they know who they are and they know why there’s resentment.  I look at it this way.  The best revenge is to continue to succeed, and that’s what we’ve done here (at Comcast SportsNet). We’re succeeding.  So you keep your mind focused on that and not the negative things and it’s all good.  But every dog has his day. (He chuckles loudly.)

TH: You played for the Chicago Bears in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  Mike Ditka came in near the end of your career to coach the team.  I believe he made a speech when he came in where he said, “We will be going to the Super bowl, but a lot of you won’t be going with us.  What was it like playing for him and how did he compare to other coaches you played for?

DJ: He said that anybody that didn’t believe it, get up and leave now and pointed to the door.  I didn’t see anybody breaking for the door.  He was probably as raw in terms of how he dealt with people of any of the head coaches I had had all the way through college and everything.  He wasn’t the first former player that I had played for.  Jack Pardee, my first head coach with the Bears had been a very successful player in the NFL too.  But Jack came out of that George Allen school where you were more about teaching.  Mike was more about emotion.  And for a team that had been stuck in neutral for a number of years, that whole organization needed that kind of a tune up and he certainly gave it to them.  If you look at that system that Mike set up there, and again I always credit guys like Jim Finks and Jerry Vanisi for putting together a team that in essence should probably have gone back to three Super Bowls.  It was that good, but for reasons that are fairly apparent, they didn’t do it.  And it’s too bad.  It’s just our luck here in Chicago when you get a team that is so good and so dominant and then in one year, that’s it, it’s gone. 

TH: Was “The Coach” difficult to play for?

DJ: No, the only thing you had to do was go out there and play hard and not make mental mistakes.  Because mental mistakes was something you could control, and that was the thing that would drive him up a wall.  And if you get beat you get beat, but don’t get beat because you’re not trying, because that was a sure ticket out of there.   I had gotten to know Mike very well in the time that we were away from the Bears and we have developed a really good friendship.  And to be honest with you, when a guy cuts you, you never think it’s going to end up like that.

TH: How did you get started in the media after your playing career ended?

DJ: I had dabbled a little bit in the early 80’s working at Channel 5 with Chet Coppock.  It was something that I wanted to do.  I called a couple of high school football games for Channel 11.  When I retired in 1985, I talked to Peter Lund, who at that time was running CBS sports.  Peter used to be here running Channel 2, and that’s where I first met him, and I told him I wanted to do some NFL games.  And he goes, you too, and I go, yea.  So he says we’re going to give you a chance to call a game in studio, we’re going to put it on a monitor and we’re going to provide a play-by-play guy for you, and you’ve got to call the game.  We’re not going to tell you what game it is until a day or so before, if then.  We just want to see how you react.  I came in and it was an NFC championship game between Dallas and somebody else, and Tim Ryan was the guy I was working with and we ended up doing a half and they said, that’s enough.  And I thought well, I’m out of here.  We were in New York and we walked outside of the broadcast center and I ran into Charles H. Milton, who was the coordinating producer.  Chuck was like one of those old cowboys and he liked to chew tobacco.  He was chewing the tobacco in the middle of 57^th St.   I saw him and said, “what’s up,” because I had to pay my way in for the deal, and he spit some tobacco and said, “Let’s go get some lunch and talk about it.”  I was like, yes!  But just in case they wouldn’t do the deal for me I ordered the lobster.  I had this lobster as big as the table.  I paid three hundred bucks for flying down, you know.  That led to a twelve-year relationship.  I had a contract to work every week of the year doing something.  From Boxing to Gymnastics to the NBA and college basketball, everything.  It was a great time and I was really blessed to have that opportunity. 

TH: How did you end up at Comcast SportsNet?

DJ: I worked at Fox for twelve years and really enjoyed that as a weekend anchor and a Bears reporter.  This opportunity came along when I ran into an old acquaintance who was one of the principles here that I worked with when I used to do some Philadelphia Eagles pre-season games with Buddy Ryan. This is going back about fourteen years ago maybe.  We talked about what they were going to do here and I said that sounds kind of interesting.  And obviously the connection of what I liked to do on the radio and with what we do on Chicago Tribune Live was a natural fit.  I had the opportunity to come on board and on my worst day here, I do an hour of television.  On some of the really good days, it can be as much as three hours, if not more.  We’re in the business of covering sports and the more opportunity you have to do that, then the more fulfilling the job is.  I find it extremely fulfilling.

TH: Why do think neither Chicago baseball team has won a World Series or even went to one since the White Sox in 1959?

DJ: I’ll tell you exactly why I think.  I think because we have this whole division in this city of North side, South side.  Who’s your favorite team?  My guys are either the Cubs or the Sox, and whoever’s playing the other team.  We need to stop that and get somebody in a world series and get this city behind them.  I’m convinced that’s the only way it’s ever going to happen.  You know we’re pulling at ourselves.  The Sox are doing well and the Cubs fans are like, well you know what, I sure hope that they lose.  Well that’s no attitude…it’s Chicago; let’s see Chicago teams do well.  As long as they’ve got Chicago written across their chest, I’m for them.  I want to see them win and I think that’s the biggest thing in baseball, see because everything else you look at, basketball, everybody likes the Bulls, right? You look at football; everybody likes the Bears, right?  Well there’s a couple of Green Bay fans around here, but forget about that.  You see my point.  But here we go with baseball; this city opens up and it’s a North side and a South side thing.  What we’ve got to do is get a team that’s successful, get behind them and then put the pressure on the other team to catch up.  Because that’s the way you do it.  You look at what they’re doing and say we’ve got to do the same thing.  That’s the model.  In the business world now, everything’s got to be a model.  The Sox look like they’re going to have an opportunity to do some extraordinary things.  And then, the Cubs will look around at them going, “Man, they’re getting a lot of attention, we better start doing something.”  Success breed’s success and I think that’s why we’ve had such a difficult time in this town.

TH:  Do you think because the fans of the Cubs religiously follow the team no matter how good or bad they are throughout the years that it’s partly their fault for supporting the team regardless of how they play?

DJ:  No I don’t, and this goes for all sports.  I think what we need to do as fans is to continue to keep pressure on the teams to excel.  Because I think you can reach a certain comfort level and that’s not a good thing.  So you keep the pressure on them as a fan, that’s your responsibility, because that’s your team.  Yes, the stewards are the Chicago Tribune and Jerry Reinsdorf’s group.  The fact of the matter is that those guys are in the business to make sure that we as fans come through the gates, because that’s what they depend on.  So, yeah, it’s very important what we think.  And they’ll tell you that.  That’s why they do surveys.  They want to know, you know?

TH:  What’s your prediction for the beloved (the Bears) this year?

DJ:  16 and 0.

TH:  How about your realistic prediction, not the Doug Buffone prediction?

DJ:  Oh, realistic.  You know, I would love to see them get somewhere around 9 and 7.  They can do it with the defense that they’ve got.  As long as they don’t experience any injuries like they did last year.   Offensively, they should be able to run the football. The passing game is going to be the big question mark again.  If it comes down to that, and it’s the passing game that prevents them from advancing to the post season, than shame on Jerry Angelo.  Because it should never have come to that.  This is not a surprise that Rex Grossman is out for the season.  We really only had a very short look at Rex anyway.  And to put all your eggs in that basket, man, that’s a whole lot of wishing and hoping right there.   And it’s too bad because the defense looks like it’s ready to become a very dominant defense.  And so that’s why we were talking yesterday about where you are and whether or not you start a rookie quarterback.  Where this team is defensively, and we’re going to get a real good picture in the first three weeks; if they play like I think they can play, then you can’t do the rookie experiment on offense unless Kyle (Orton) is just extraordinary.   Because there’s a world of difference between playing in the second half and playing in the first half of these preseason games. 

TH:  Since you talked about quarterbacks, obviously, the Bears don’t have a very good history with quarterbacks.  Why do you think the Chicago Bears have never really been able to develop a franchise quarterback?

DJ:  I think part of it is what you depend on.  The Bears traditionally have been a running team.  They certainly have produced a couple of running backs.  And the other thing is, when you take a team like the 49er’s or the Packers as an example.  Let’s take Green Bay.  Green Bay has produced a boatload of quarterbacks.  Many have gone on to starting for other teams.  They’ve been blessed that they’ve had the same guy starting for the last twelve years.  You look at their development of quarterbacks and it’s just so natural because they have a knack for doing it.  But it’s based on their teaching and their offense as well.  And maybe that’s the other problem the Bears have had.   When you look at whether or not there’s any continuity, in terms of the approach offensively.  Now the Packers may have changed coaches, the 49ers may have changed coaches but when you look at what they run, they run the same kind of system.  It goes from one coaching staff to another to another.   So there’s not a great deal of change.  So the kinds of people you’re going to go out and look for don’t change, and there’s continuity that way.

TH:  You mentioned the Bears had some great running backs in their history, and you played with the greatest they ever had, and maybe the greatest runner in the history of football in Walter Payton.  What was it like to play with Walter, and do you have a good Walter Payton story you could pass on?

DJ:  This is a family paper, right?  I think it was more so than just one particular thing, it was just the kind of person he was.  He was a guy who had an extraordinary personality.  One that was infectious and everybody that would come in contact with him would always feel like after that they knew him extremely well.  And in large part they did because he was just a fun loving person who happened to be really good at what he did.  I think the thing that made him so good was that drive and determination that he came into this game with and the fact that I don’t think he ever had a day that he wasn’t having fun.  And that goes for him chasing General Manager Jim Finks, the silver fox we used to call him; this very distinguished looking guy who played quarterback in the NFL and one of the top guys in the league and they’re running around the locker room throwing balls of socks at each other.  You look and you said, is that Jim Finks over there?  That’s the kind of person that he was.  It was just great to have the opportunity to be around someone who enjoyed life as much as he did

TH:  Sports have changed quite a bit over the past 30 years or so.  I know when I was growing up players were on the same team for most of their careers.  That was before the advent of free agency.  Obviously free agency was great for the athletes, as far as them making a lot more money, but do you think free agency also was good for the fans?

DJ:  Yes, I do. Because it gave you hope.  If you were on a team that was drafting poorly, that’s okay, because you can still get something better in free agency.  And frankly, maybe that’s why the interest level has increased with the professional teams, because now everybody thinks that you still have a chance.  What are people talking about with the Sox now?  They’re still talking about who’s available, and who’s been waived and cleared waivers because now you can get that extra bat or you can get that relief pitcher or whatever.  There are more things at play that keep our interest.  So yeah, it’s been a bonanza for them and it at least gives us hope that if push comes to shove, there might be that one little piece to the puzzle that we can add to take us over the top.

TH: Dusty Baker gets criticized all the time.  Are they going to fire him, will he be back next year, will they renew his contract after next year?  Is Dusty Baker to blame for everything with the Cubs?  It seems that’s all you hear on sports radio from some of the hosts and the fans.  In your opinion, is he at fault, or what is the reason the Cubs haven’t played well?

DJ:  No, I think that when you have the situation like what transpired this year, there’s blame to go around for everybody.  And Dusty would probably be the first person to tell you that.  He’ll accept a certain portion of the blame.  You’ve got Andy MacPhail who will accept a certain portion of the blame.  You’ve got Jim Hendry who will accept a certain portion.  But above and beyond all of that, the guy’s who put the uniforms on and go out and play are the guys who have to accept some of the blame for what goes on.  Because ultimately, it’s you that goes out as a performer and is on the field.  And baseball, more so than the sport that I played takes a lot of individual effort to make it a success.  And this year there have been some guys who have been major disappointments and the injury factor as well is something you can’t do anything about.  So you put all of that in.  And the other thing is, with our history of judging managers in this town, how good has it been?  So, if you don’t want Dusty, then who else?  Because before Dusty got here, didn’t they want Dusty?  And we talked before about continuity with the quarterbacks and offenses; it’s the same thing I think in baseball.  You need some form of continuity; otherwise, all of a sudden it’s a different thought process, looking for different players.  The problem is you’ve got some guys loaded up with some salaries and what do you do with all of that?  So I think one way or the other you’ve got to develop some continuity and live through some tough times in order to make it through to the successful ones.  So as to whether or not Dusty is the guy who is to blame, no.  It’s a team and everybody is to blame, from the top down.

TH:  You were mentioning earlier that everyone in Chicago ought to get together, Cubs fans and Sox fans.  Who are you a fan of?

DJ:  I am a fan of both teams.  When the name on the front says Chicago, I’m for them.  Now which team have I been paying more attention to?  I used to be a huge Cubs guy because I lived near the park, and a bunch of the players lived in the building that I lived in, so during football season some of those guys that stayed here would want to go to our games.  We’d go to their games, and then we started doing a home run hitting contest over on the South side.  You kind of start hanging out, you get to know some of the folks over there.  When Veeck (Bill) was here, he was another guy who was really big on bringing guys in and just sitting around the Bards Room and talking.  That’s when I started to develop an affinity for the White Sox.  It seemed like for a long time no one liked them.  I was always somebody who was rooting for underdogs.  And I’m friends with Kenny (Williams).  And I would like to think I’m friends with Jerry, but I don’t know.  That’s something else that goes into it.  You get to know people over the years.  With Jerry, obviously it’s on two different levels, with the Bulls as well as with the White Sox.

TH:  So you’re a fan of both of them?

DJ:  Yeah.  Sometimes you hear these guys talking about the media, it’s like us and you and we’re fighting them.  We do well when they do well, you know.   If they go to the World Series, hey buddy, excellent, right?  You talk to those guys over there at Cubby Bear and Hi Tops; they’d be going nuts.  This whole city benefits.  And in our business, we all benefit.  Because all of a sudden all of those TV’s are tuned in.  All those radios are turned on, because they want to hear every single thing that’s going on.  And we saw that during the Bulls runs.  So, no, we don’t want you to fail.  We want you to succeed because when you do, we do.

TH:  It seems like there’s a lot more sports radio guys in town that are Sox fans than Cubs fans.

DJ:  In reality, I think it is pretty even.  It’s just that as a Cubs fan, you notice the Sox fans more.  Did you catch that?  Do you see what I’m saying?

SportzNutz Columnist Darrell Horwitz isn’t shy when it comes to “A Fan Speaking Out”… he holds nothing back and tells it like it is, from a fan’s perspective.  A Chicago native, Darrell is a lifelong Cubs and Bulls fan. Along with his “A Fan Speaks Out” column, Darrell is the fan writer for the Chicago Cubs, here on SportzNutz.  If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email Darrell at darrell.horwitz@nutzworld.net