Chicago Bears great Jim McMahon has invited friends like Joe Montana, Mark Rypien, Morten Anderson, Johnny Damon and Jamir Miller for his first Gridiron Greats Celebrity Golf Classic in Anthem on Friday, February 10.
Presented McMahon’s cannabis company, Revenant, as well as Cannabis Talk 101 and Farechild Events, the event supports Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund for retired athletes. McMahon himself is a two-time Super Bowl champ.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start at 11 a.m. General admission is $100, or $500 for the VIP experience.
“We’re looking forward to an awesome time,” McMahon says. “It should be a great day of golf, and then have some music and just raise as much money as we can for the organization.”
McMahon is happy that cannabis use has become more widely accepted.
“It’s finally nice to know that people are starting to open their eyes and realize that this is not a drug, it’s a medicinal herb that we all should be using,” McMahon says. “And to get these guys off the painkillers and the things that have proven to be addictive and proven to kill people, whereas cannabis has not killed anybody.”
Held at the Anthem Golf and Country Club, the tournament comes at a prime time for Arizona. With the WM Phoenix Open and the Super Bowl boosting the population of the metro area by as close to 20%, it is a great way to have all eyes on two very important organizations.
McMahon has experience in both camps, as he is an avid cannabis proponent, as well as an avid Gridiron Greats.
Gridiron Greats was founded by Hall of Fame coach Mike Ditka as a way to offer assistance to struggling NFL alumni get back on their feet. Although NFL players now make a minimum of $705,000 a year, that wasn’t always the case.
“It was a great thing that (Ditka) started,” McMahon says. “He sees a lot of his guys that he played with and played against that are just, they’re living on the streets. He said, ‘Hey, the league’s not helping them, the Players Association isn’t helping them, I’m going to help them out.’
“And so, it’s just great to be a be associated with coach again. I know, he and I had a lot of run ins in the seven years I played for him, but he’s a good man. And he’s been doing a lot of good things since he’s been retired.”
With fellow former NFL players Kyle Turley and Eben Britton, McMahon started Revenant as a way to show the positive benefits of cannabis on players’ minds and bodies.
“It’s been demonized for over 100 years,” McMahon says. “It makes my life a hell of a lot better. I can actually remember stuff, I’m not in a big fog, like I was taking pills all those years. They don’t do anything for you but mask the pain. They don’t help you one bit. And they cause a hell of a lot of problems. You can’t sleep, you don’t go to the bathroom regularly. I mean, there’s just a whole host of things.”
Gridiron Greats Celebrity Golf Classic
WHEN: 9 a.m. registration; 11 a.m. shotgun start Friday, February 10
WHERE: Anthem Golf and Country Club, Ironwood, 2708 W. Anthem Club Drive, Anthem
COST: $100 general admission; $500 VIP experience; $1,500 single golfer; $4,500 golf foursome; $5,000 legend single
INFO: https://bit.ly/GridironGreatsAnthem
