To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

GREENSBORO – Former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka stopped by the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro as the Old North State Council of the Boy Scouts of America kicked off its annual fundraising season.

Ditka spoke to a sold out crowd of corporate sponsors at the Friends of Scouting breakfast fundraiser. Some sponsors paid thousands of dollars to meet the football legend.

A former Boy Scout himself, Ditka made a name for himself on the football field first as a fifth overall draft pick for the Chicago Bears in the 1960s and then later as the team's coach.

“It's a real honor because I love to play football,” Justice Bailey, of Troop 405, said. “My favorite team is actually the Chicago Bears, so I'm really eager to meet him.”

The three-time Super Bowl winner shared some stories from early on in his football career that he says showcases some of the “fundamentals of life.”

“When I was a freshman in high school, I tried to quit football because I was too small. I was getting killed. Those guys were running over me. I was what they call cannon fodder,” he said. “I came back next year, gained about 45 pounds, grew a couple inches and started in a state championship football team in defensive end and lineback.”

He also shared a few life lessons he calls “ACE,” which stands for achievement, character and enthusiasm.

“Every single day you wake up, you have choices to make in life,” he said. “You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be sad or you can choose to be positive or you can choose to be negative.”

The Boy Scouts said they hope the event will raise $250,000. At last check, they had collected more than $235,000.