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The last time we saw Jim McMahon on national television, it was not a pretty picture. In an episode of HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" that aired in January 2015, McMahon's physical and mental struggles were front-and-center.
He talked about his pain. About how he had used excessive amounts of painkillers. About his many surgeries. About his memory loss.
And the former BYU/Chicago Bears quarterback admitted he had considered suicide.
The "Real Sports" report about the struggles of members of the Bears' 1985 Super Bowl champions was a string of stories that went from bad to worse — including Dave Duerson, who shot himself to death in 2011.
But we're promised that the upcoming ESPN "30 for 30" documentary about that team will paint a considerably rosier picture.
"I was expecting [that] Jim, if he was able to participate, I thought it would be, really, kind of a downer," said filmmaker Jason Hehir. "Jim is completely lucid. And Jim, if he was sitting here today, would be speaking with the rest of us just like this."
He said McMahon's doctors have determined that the root of his problems "is in his cervical spine and not so much his brain. It's the result of repeated concussions, but we are the first crew, I believe, to actually go and show the treatment that he is getting and has been getting for a couple of years now. And it's completely revolutionized the way that people are starting to look at the concussion issue."
That's a bold statement.
And the documentary that he's made — executive produced by Bears fan/actor Vince Vaughn — is going to be more about the triumph 30 years ago and less about the troubles that followed. More about the iconic Super Bowl shuffle video and less about the consequences of all those on-field injuries.
"There's obviously a lot of out there" about the lingering effects of concussions and other injuries, Vaughn said. But that's not the documentary he and Heir set out to make for "30 for 30."
"I think what was really striking with these guys is the bond and the experiences everyone talks about," Vaughn said.
"One of the fears that I had going in was, A, that this was going to be half happy and half sad. Like — oh, those poor Bears. What happened to them?" Hehir said. "And, B, obviously, that the cultural climate is so saturated with discussions of concussions and the dangers of football and the consequences, how do we tell that in a fresh way?"
And the filmmaker went on to insist that McMahon's treatments are "not quackery."
"We show him in an MRI machine. And we show you the scans, and the scans don't lie," he said. "It's how his brain was before these treatments and how it is after. So his condition has improved immensely."
And, as a result, McMahon is a "major character" in the documentary, "The '85 Bears," which is scheduled to air on Feb. 4 on ESPN.
"I'm happy to report that, by and large, these guys are doing a lot better than the media narrative would have you believing," Hehir said.
And Vaughn remains a big McMahon fan.
"I've gotten to know him over the years fairly well and really enjoy him," he said. "I always found him to be very funny and very kind of bright and all of those things. I think he's one of those great personalities that were on the team. One of many, but definitely one of the brightest."
Twitter @ScottDPierce