Jim McMahon

By Brad Berreman
Love Of Sports Correspondent

Long before the Super Bowl Shuffle and the sunglasses, Jim McHahon racked up 9,536 collegiate career passing yards, 84 touchdowns, 70 NCAA records, a first round draft pick in the 1982 NFL Draft, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (but has yet to be inducted into his college’s (BYU) Hall of Fame). The boy could flat out play!

The game that really put McMahon on the map as a star was the 1980 Holiday Bowl against SMU. The Cougars trailed 45-25 with 4:07 to go in the fourth quarter and McMahon took control of the game and led his team to a 46-45 victory. In 1981, he would win the Davey O’Brien Award, the annual award given to the best collegiate QB, and led BYU to another Holiday Bowl victory, throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns against Washington State.

McMahon was drafted fifth overall in 1982 by the Chicago Bears where he immediately set the tone for his rebellious behavior by showing up to his first public function for the team with a beer in his hand. McMahon took over the starting job during his rookie season and displayed an uncanny ability to remain calm under pressure and nearly led the team to the playoffs.
In 1985, McMahon led the Bears to a 15-1 regular season record and a 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. He also became the first QB in Super Bowl history to rush for two touchdowns.

From there on out, injuries plagued McMahon’s career and never played more than nine games in his last three seasons in Chicago before being traded to the San Diego Chargers in 1989, after a falling out with Bears’ head coach Mike Ditka.

McMahon would later move on to the Philadelphia Eagles (1990-1992) starting 12 games in 1991 and winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. In 1993, he started 12 games for the Minnesota Vikings, but they were to be his last as a full-time starting QB.

In 1996, McMahon won his second career Super Bowl, this time with the Green Bay Packers as Brett Favre’s backup. Still carrying that rebellious streak, he sparked controversy when he wore his Bears #9 jersey when the team went to the White House. He justified the move stating that the Bears never got to visit the White House after they won the Super Bowl, because of the tragedy with the Challenger space shuttle explosion occurring so close to their victory.

Since his retirement, McMahon become actively involved in many charity and celebrity golf tournaments and even has his own clothing line called Swang Wear, which includes golf attire and more. In 2006, he visited Iraq with the USO to do his part for the American troops stationed there.

In recognition of a player that marched to the beat of his own drum and was one of the first to wear a dark visor in his helmet, here’s some OLD SCHOOL LOVE to Jim McMahon

Check out McMahon’s Website for more information about his clothing line, events and pictures.