Nov
02
2009
Monday Morning Memories
I’ve been a Chicago Bears fan my whole life. I memorized all the words to the Super Bowl Shuffle when I was in third grade. I still wear a Bears hat from circa 1985. My trip to the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors was (to my embarrassment) almost ruined a few years ago when the Bears lost to the Colts the night before. Yes, I know, I have a problem.
But whether you’re a Bears fan or not, or even a sports fan for that matter, you’ve got to love Walter Payton. Sweetness, as Payton was called, was a great running back (the best ever in my opinion) and well-loved by all who knew him. He was also a committed Christian.
Sadly, Payton died from a rare liver disease on November 1, 1999 at the age 45. Yesterday at the halftime of the Bears-Browns game, the Chicago Bears once again honored their most famous player.
You can watch a short bio of Payton here:
If you want to watch an official highlight reel go here (I took the embedded video down because it started automatically every time you opened this blog).
If you want to see highlights set to some Creed music you can watch the video below. I don’t know about you, but I find it strangely inspiring to see Walter run through all those tackles and plow his head into his opponents.
5 Comments
Amazing! I am a Steelers fan, and feel fortunate that I can at least watch the super bowl here in Stockholm, but I really miss watching REAL football, not what people here call football… soccer..ughh! Thanks for the memories, I think I will go look-up the unbeatable team of Bradshaw-Swann.
Although I was not a Bears fan , I loved watching Payton play . In my mind he is the greatest running back the game has ever saw.He was a class act and a rare athlete.
i read your blog pretty regularly – its funny that this post is the one i would comment on… im a lifelong bears fan too – my dad and i watched every game we could get growing up (before the days of nfl packages…) and walter payton was so much fun to watch, such an inspiration. im not ashamed to admit that i cried the day he died.
i lost my dad very suddenly a few months ago and this was a nice way to start my day. remembering a sports hero and my one true role model and hero. thanks.
I am not a Bears fan either (way too many Redskins in those highlights) but watching this I was reminded of a comment a TV sports analyst made. He noted that Payton rushed for something over nine miles (16,726 yards) in his career. His color analyst agreed and then noted he got knocked down every 5 yards of that total. It kind of says something about perseverance.
Do you like Mike Singletary? He’s a committed Christian too and former middle linebacker for the Bears who’s now the head coach of the 49ers.