There are people you admire growing up because of what they do. And then there are people you admire even more when you get older and discover who they really are.
For me, Mike Tomczak has always been both.
Tomczak was my favorite quarterback as a kid. I am a diehard Chicago Bears fan, I owned his jersey, and I loved watching him play. While other kids might have gravitated toward the biggest stars or the flashiest personalities, I gravitated toward Tomczak. I even dressed up as him for Halloween year after year.
Yes, really.
And here’s the part that still makes me smile: Years later, after Mike somehow heard us tell that story on Full Ride, he reached out to me. The man I had admired as a kid had somehow found his way into my life as an adult. We have been pals ever since.
He even went out of his way to get the Bears’ equipment staff to make me a new Tomczak jersey for future Halloweens! :)
Think about that for a second. A former NFL quarterback, a man who played on one of the most recognizable teams in football, took the time to do something thoughtful for a guy who once dressed up as him for Halloween.
That tells you a lot about Mike Tomczak.
But after having him on the show yesterday, I was reminded that the best thing about Mike has very little to do with football.
It’s the man himself.
In a world that can feel increasingly selfish, be a Tomczak.
That’s the message I took away from our conversation. It’s a message that goes well beyond football, and it’s one I wish more people understood.
A football career, grounded in something bigger
Tomczak enjoyed a career in the NFL, including his time with the Bears. He knew what it meant to compete at the highest level of the sport. He knew how difficult it was to make it to the league, how demanding the quarterback position could be, and how much it took to survive in a profession where opportunities were limited and the pressure never really went away.
He also knew the importance of the people around him.
Tomczak doesn’t strike me as someone who needs to remind everyone what he accomplished. He doesn’t need to walk into a room and announce that he played in the NFL. He doesn’t need to be the loudest guy at the table.
He’s comfortable being Mike.
He’s a salt-of-the-earth, blue-collar guy who understands work, responsibility and the importance of serving other people. He spent time in the steel industry after football and now works in industrial maintenance, supporting businesses with products ranging from hydraulics and chemicals to fasteners and abrasives.
He described how he got into that business as a matter of trusting his decision-making and trusting the Lord to lead him through a transition out of the steel industry.
Then he said something that stuck with me.
“I look at my business as if I’m a servant. And when you realize a certain point in your life that service before self, your life becomes very peaceful.”
Read that again.
Service before self. I truly believe this to my core.
Those are easy words to say. They’re much harder to live by, but you can do it with a softened heart. But listening to Mike, you get the sense that this isn’t some slogan he picked up along the way. It’s the way he approaches his life.
He isn’t talking about service as a public-relations exercise. He’s talking about how you treat people, how you conduct your business, how you show up for your family and how you make yourself useful to the people around you.
“I’m a servant currently,” he told me. “And that’s the way I’m going to leave this earth as a servant.” Did I tell you I love this guy? My mother, Mary, taught me to be this kind of man. To put others first. I can be a blessing and a curse because people like to hurt us, but the mission is stronger than the roadblocks in the way of being kind and helpful.
That’s Mike Tomczak.
The quarterback I admired as a kid is still the guy I want to learn from as an adult.
He didn’t leave football behind. He found another way to serve it.
One of the things I love about Mike is that his relationship with football didn’t end when his playing career did.
He is in his 11th year volunteering as a coach at Youngstown State University. He doesn’t have to do it. He has already played the game at its highest level. He has already experienced the locker rooms, the pressure, the victories and the disappointments that come with an NFL career.
Yet there he is, still investing his time in young players.
And when Mike talked about Youngstown State quarterback Bo Brungard, his pride was unmistakable.
Brungard, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner, has continued to put up impressive numbers while setting records at Youngstown State. But Tomczak wasn’t interested in talking only about statistics.
He talked about work ethic. Football intelligence. The way Brungard interacts with his teammates. The kind of person he is becoming.
“It’s almost like an adopted son that I have,” Mike said.
He called Brungard “the real deal” and offered a comparison that would catch any football fan’s attention.
“That’s Brock Purdy 2.0 but a lot better.”
That’s high praise, certainly. But what mattered most to me was why Mike believes in the young quarterback.
He remembers Brungard as a freshman. He watched him grow. He saw the work ethic and the commitment before the records and recognition followed.
That’s what a coach does. He sees more than the player someone is today. He sees the person that player might become.
Mike could spend his time telling stories about his own football career. Instead, he’s talking about a young quarterback’s future.
He is still giving to the game that gave so much to him.
And he clearly loves it.
He understands how hard this life can be
There was another moment in our conversation that I won’t forget.
Mike was talking about his former teammates and the difficulty of making it in the NFL. He made it clear that he wasn’t going to speak poorly of another player.
“I’m not going to talk poorly about any teammate because it’s tough to make it in a National Football League. And it’s tough to play quarterback.”
That answer says something about his character. He understands the work that goes into getting there. He understands how difficult it is to stay there. He understands that behind every player is a person dealing with pressure, expectations and the challenge of trying to be his best.
Then he widened the conversation beyond football.
“Life is hard, but you got to push forward. You got to celebrate the little victories in life.”
It’s simple advice, but sometimes the simplest advice is the most important.
We spend so much time chasing the next thing. The next achievement. The next paycheck. The next promotion. The next win. We can become so focused on what we haven’t accomplished that we forget to appreciate what we have.
Mike’s message was a reminder to keep moving forward, recognize the little victories and appreciate the people who make life meaningful.
And then came the reason behind that perspective.
“Because life is too damn short.”
Mike spoke about losing former teammates and friends, including Matt Suhey and Walter Payton, as well as teammates from his time in Pittsburgh and Green Bay.
He has experienced enough loss to understand that life doesn’t wait for you to get around to appreciating it.
“Life keeps on going, man,” he said.
Then he explained what keeps him going.
“I got a family to feed. I got people I love to serve and inspire. I’m an inspirer as well.”
I couldn’t help myself.
“No wonder I loved you so much as a kid,” I told him. “Are you kidding me? I picked a good one.”
I meant every word.
The Super Bowl Shuffle wasn’t the whole story
When people think about the Bears of that era, they think about the swagger, the personalities, the toughness and, of course, the Super Bowl Shuffle. They think about Mike Ditka and a team that became part of football history.
Tomczak was part of that world. He understood the culture and the demands of playing for a franchise that meant so much to its fans.
He also has enormous respect for Ditka and the people he played alongside.
But what has always drawn me to Mike isn’t flash. It isn’t celebrity. It isn’t a desire to be the center of attention.
It’s that blue-collar spirit.
He played hard. He cared about the game. And he understood how difficult it was for every player to get there.
There is something beautiful about a former NFL quarterback who can talk about the game without making everything about himself. Someone who can appreciate what he accomplished without believing his accomplishments make him more important than anyone else.
Mike’s story reminds us that football can be so much more than a game. At its best, it teaches teamwork, accountability, resilience and how to overcome adversity. It teaches you that you can’t do everything alone. It teaches you to trust the people beside you and to keep going when things get difficult.
Those lessons don’t disappear when you leave the locker room.
They follow you into business, into your family, into your friendships and into the way you treat people you may never see again.
That’s what I hope young players learn from football. And that’s what I hope all of us remember.
I picked a good one
I don’t know how much a kid can really understand about a person’s character by watching him play football.
When I dressed up as Tomczak for Halloween, I certainly wasn’t thinking about his future career in industrial maintenance. I wasn’t thinking about volunteer coaching, service before self or the wisdom that comes from losing people you love.
I was a kid who loved the Bears and loved his quarterback.
But maybe there was something there I recognized without knowing how to explain it.
Maybe I saw a guy who played the game the right way. A guy who worked hard, cared about his teammates and didn’t need to be the flashiest player on the field to earn my admiration.
Whatever it was, I’m grateful for it.
I’m grateful that the man I chose to look up to as a kid turned out to be someone I admire even more today. I’m grateful that a story about a Halloween costume turned into a friendship. And I’m grateful that, after all these years, Mike continues to show me that the things that matter most in life have very little to do with fame or status.
Yesterday, I got to sit down with one of my childhood heroes.
I came away thinking about service, family, friendship, loss, faith and the responsibility we all have to make life a little better for the people around us.
Mike Tomczak has a family to feed. He has a business to run. He has young football players to coach and people he wants to inspire. He’s a former NFL quarterback who still finds fulfillment in serving others.
He has every reason to spend his time talking about what he accomplished.
Instead, he spends his time helping other people accomplish something of their own.
That’s a pretty good example to follow.
I used to wear his jersey because I wanted to be like my favorite Bears quarterback.
Today, I admire him because of the man who wore it first.
In a world of selfish, be a Tomczak.
I picked a good one.
A little more comfort for football season — presented by 4Topps
One of my favorite places to watch football is on my deck, settled into my 4Topps AIRdirondack chair. If you’ve enjoyed their premium mesh seating at a stadium, you know why I’m such a fan. You can bring that comfort home for fall afternoons, backyard gatherings and Saturdays that turn into Sundays.
Find your favorite seat at 4Topps.
My everyday game-day upgrade — presented by AR’s Hot Honey
I talk about AR’s Hot Honey because I actually eat it. Pizza, chicken, a biscuit—it’s an easy way to make something good even better. That balance of sweetness and heat keeps me coming back, and I’d love for you to give my sponsor a try.
Shop AR’s Hot Honey and use SHOWPONY15 at checkout.
Keep the conversation going on Show Pony Live
My conversation with Mike Tomczak is a reminder that the best sports stories reach far beyond the scoreboard. For more conversations about football, family, and the people behind the games, watch or listen to Show Pony Live—and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next. Guests this week include Mike Tomczak, ESPN’s Matt Barrie, and OutKick’s Trey Wallace.
📺 Watch on YouTube
🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts
🎧 Listen on Spotify
Show Pony Live is presented by 4Topps and AR’s Hot Honey.