Former Chicago Bears quarterback and Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon has always been known to bend the rules and march to the beat of his own drum. Whether it was ignoring play calls from head coach Mike Ditka or plastering the name of former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle’s name on a headband, McMahon was one of the most unique individuals in football.
Now, a new documentary focused on the “punky QB” dives into those moments during McMahon’s career and the subsequent years following as he dealt with injuries and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
“Mad Mac: The Jim McMahon Story” details the former quarterback’s rise to prominence with the Bears with engaging interviews and never-before-seen footage. Directed by C.J. Wallis, the documentary features interviews such as sportscaster Dan Patrick, head coach Andy Reid, former Super Bowl champion Joe Namath, teammate Steve McMichael and many more. The film is scheduled to debut in late 2021 or early 2022.
A special private screening was held in mid-August at the new Hard Rock Northern Indiana, showing an extended 30-minute clip of the documentary. The clip centered around McMahon’s season in 1985 and all of the trials and tribulations of navigating the road to Super Bowl XX while in the limelight.
A Q&A session was held with fans as well and the event featured a special performance by the Chicago 6 band, headlined by 1985 Bears legends Dan Hampton and Otis Wilson.
When asked about the documentary and what stands out in comparison to other pieces surrounding the 1985 Bears, McMahon stressed fans will hear from new people and gain different perspectives.
“When C.J. called, I asked him, ‘What’s going to be different that hasn’t been done?'” McMahon told Bears Wire. “He said he wanted to come at it from a different angle, talk with different people. He’s talked to a ton of them, not just football players. Actors, baseball guys, just people I’ve run into over the years. I haven’t seen the full thing yet so I’m looking forward to it.”
Wallis, who has directed other documentaries such as “Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much” and “Stu’s Show,” has been working on the film for nearly a year and wants to showcase how vital McMahon was to the Bears, even though he might not have gotten the recognition some of his teammates did.
“I feel like he was under-appreciated from watching the footage,” Wallis told Bears Wire. “A lot of people don’t give him the credit that he deserved.”
During the sneak peek of the film, McMahon and Wallis detailed some of the off-field storylines, from the lightheartedness of the Super Bowl shuffle leadup to the frightening death threats he received leading up to Super Bowl XX in New Orleans. McMahon wasn’t fazed by any of it though.
“I just blew it off. I knew all I had to do was play and win,” he said. “We did that, everything would go away. It didn’t go away, but I didn’t really give a [expletive] what was going on. All that stuff you do off the field didn’t really matter to me. It’s what you do when you’re on the field and on the field we did alright.”
While the off-field antics certainly get plenty of attention, McMahon’s play on the field deserves just as much. The documentary highlights plenty of on-field moments, notably the comeback victory against the Minnesota Vikings in 1985.
“The Minnesota game was obviously a highlight, the way things turned out,” McMahon said. “I don’t remember a lot of games, but that’s one I remember because I see it all the time anyone shows something about me, they show that game. But every game was special to me. Just being able to play. When I couldn’t play, that sucked and I hated it.”
McMahon didn’t get to play in the Minnesota game to start as he was dealing with injuries, but wanted to get the game. Trailing 17-9 in midway through the third quarter, he got his wish. McMahon found his way into the huddle and managed to throw three touchdowns on seven attempts to lead the Bears to a win. It was one of the catalysts early in the season that led them to their historic record and Super Bowl victory.
The documentary doesn’t end with McMahon partying in New Orleans, though. It dives deeper into his later years and how injuries affected him throughout the rest of his career and beyond, beginning the very next season.
In 1986, McMahon and the Bears were rolling through the NFC yet again, though the quarterback had been dealing with injuries to his rotator cuff.
“I played six games with no labrum in my shoulder,” McMahon said. “Every time I moved my arm, it would pop out of its socket. Then finally we play Green Bay, I get dunked on my head. We get a bye week so I go out to Los Angeles and see Frank Jobe and he tells me my arm is coming out of my socket. All [the Bears doctors] did was keep shooting me so I could play. I was amazed I was able to play after that. The damage I did to my shoulder playing like that was beyond repair.”
McMahon getting “dunked” in Green Bay was the infamous hit by nose tackle Charles Martin, a hit that impacted McMahon for the rest of his playing career which is also a major moment in the documentary. From that point on until Martin’s death in 2005, McMahon never reconciled with the former defender.
“I never talked to him,” McMahon said. “Never wanted to.”
Though McMahon never reached again the heights of quarterbacking the Bears to a Super Bowl, he stuck around the league for 15 years jumping on with various teams. Only seven of those years were with the Bears, though, and McMahon pinpointed the moment when he realized he didn’t want to be in Chicago anymore.
When asked about the possibility of the McCaskey family selling the team, McMahon says it’s past due.
“I said it 35 years ago that they should sell the team,” McMahon said. “There’s so many great fans of the game in Chicago that want to buy the team and make them competitive every year.”
The former Bears quarterback then detailed a meeting he had with then-president Michael McCaskey about his motives for the team.
“I had one meeting with Mike McCaskey when he was president. He told me ‘we don’t really care if we’re in the playoffs every year as long as our stadium’s full,'” McMahon said. “That’s when I knew I didn’t want to play there anymore. I’m a player. We only have so many years to play. We want to win. We don’t give a [expletive] about your stadium being full.”
While he doesn’t necessarily care about the stadium being full, McMahon does believes the Bears’ rumored move to Arlington Heights would be a great decision.
“That would be a great move for the fans,” he said. “They’ve been renting that stadium forever, they don’t even own it. Seems like every other team has their own stadium, but the Bears rent theirs.”
If McMahon had his way, the ownership group would change and the Bears would own their new, state-of-the-art stadium.
“Mad Mac: The Jim McMahon Story” will give fans a deeper insight into the quarterback they loved and appreciated throughout the 1980s. From the highs to the lows, it’s sure to teach everyone something new about McMahon and the tumultuous life he lived both during and after his playing days.
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