December 17, 2014: Another One of a Kind

There’s only one Payton…

I shouted this at the Saints coach Sean Payton on Monday Night after he called a timeout in the 1st quarter.  Around these parts, we only know of one Payton, and that’s Walter.

In these rough times as Bears fans, we hearken back to a greater time.  We rely on our vivid memories.  We remember all the fabulous players that proudly represented the Chicago Bears.  And when you think of Chicago Bears, there really is only one.  Actually, there are many great Chicago Bears, but one player stands above all.  Sweetness.

OK, so it was a no brainer to have Michael Jordan as the unanimous #1 athlete in Chicago sports history, right?  Yes, if it wasn’t for this guy.  Just as I’d argue Jordan was the best athlete ever, period, I could make that same argument for this man.  This man is the 2nd entry into the Players Club; that new feature birthed from an idea by my marketing manager (my wife).  Welcome to Walter Payton.  He sits at the same table with MJ.

Just saying his name brings a prideful feeling in my chest.  I’ve wrote about him here before, actually a pretty damn good article on the anniversary of his birthday back in July.  I’ll post that link in the Players Club feature as well.  Yet, is there really ever enough you could say about the man?  Here’s another guy cut from a certain cloth that I don’t think they make any more, in fact I know they don’t.  Another one of a kind athlete that we had for 13 years in Chicago.  My favorite Bear of all time, and there have been a lot, Sweetness was the ultimate.

I just watched a Payton special on Comcast.  I still love watching his old videos and highlights on YouTube.  I’m upset that I was too young to watch him play all those tough years in Chicago.  Drafted the year before I was born, Payton played on some bad Bear teams, yet you could never tell by looking at his numbers.   I have a throwback jersey of Payton’s from his rookie year that I still wear proudly, in fact, it was the choice of gear on this past Monday night.  He had his own flu game in 1977, rushing for a then NFL record 275 yards against the Vikings.  He paid all his dues during the early years, until the Bears finally started to put a team around him.  He got what he deserved with a Super Bowl ring; he deserved that ring more than anybody.

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…And a hell of a nice guy too.  I told the story about how I met him as a kid at the Auto Show, when my Dad stopped him to shake my hand.  Here’s this legend stopping to shake some young, wide-eyed kid’s hand.  I’ll always be thankful for that too.

I would love to sit at that table with both MJ and Walter.  The question is, if you could, who would you love to meet in history?  For me, definitely Jesus Christ, but after Him, it would be these 2.  It would be these 2 guys that I would love to sit down and talk to…  Heck, just be a fly on a wall, and hear these guys talk.  One legend to another.  Both could be given the title greatest athlete ever, let alone greatest Chicago athlete ever.  What would they talk about?  Their competitive spirit, their toughness, their love for the game, how it felt to play in front of the world’s greatest fans.  What would they think about the current teams?  MJ could still voice his opinion; I would hate to hear what Walter thought about this 2014 Bears team. 

Chicago was lucky to have both of them.  They sit head and shoulders above all others in the Windy City.  As for me, I honor them in my own way, at the roulette table every time I gamble.  Yep, 34 and 23 are numbers that are ALWAYS played.  I’ve hit more on 34 than 23, but they’ve both been good to me.  I always play 22 too…  Not until recently, did I find out that this number is also tied to Walter Payton.  He wore this number in High School.  Just another reason for me to like that number…

Well, Walter died way too young at the age of 45.  He would be 60 years old today if he was still alive.  He wanted to get into NFL ownership, and was loved by the McCaskeys… only if he could have taken the Bears over one day; we may have welcomed more than just the one Super Bowl that he was a part of, to this franchise.  Wishful thinking… would he have been a better owner than MJ is?

We’ll never know, but I do know that he was the best RB of all time, and athlete #1A in Chicago next to Jordan.  Welcome in #34… watching him run the ball was like making romance.