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Twenty years ago today we lost the greatest football player that ever lived, Walter Payton.
There wasn’t anything on the football field that “Sweetness” couldn’t do, and anyone that was a Chicago Bears’ fan during his thirteen years in the Windy City (1975–1987) came to love the passion he played the game with.
Watching the relentless way he ran is the reason I became a Bears fan and it’s why to this day he’s still my favorite professional athlete.
During February of 1999, he announced that he had a rare liver disease, and even though his condition was too far gone for a transplant, he spent his last months encouraging people to become organ donors. He was only 45-years-old when he lost his battle with cancer.
I wanted to share a couple quotes of Walter’s that always resonated with me.
“If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner. You know what a winner is? A winner is somebody who has given his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can, who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something. It doesn’t mean that they accomplished it or failed, it means that they’ve given it their best. That’s a winner.” ~ Walter Payton
“Never die easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries into all facets of your life. It’s okay to lose, to die, but don’t die without trying, without giving it your best.” ~ Walter Payton
I also wanted to share a Twitter thread from earlier this year about Payton form our own Jack M Silverstein, because I know not all of you do the social media thing, and Jack has mastered the medium as a way to tell stories.
Also, Jack captures the way we all feel about Walter Payton better than I ever could.
No Chicago athlete was more beloved than Walter Payton.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
His death 20 years ago shook Chicago, and led to one of the most emotional, stunning, Bears games ever.
This is the true story of Sweetness, Bryan Robinson, and The Block.
A Thread.#BearsPackers #SavoringSweetness pic.twitter.com/kvNPkiYjlZ
Walter Payton’s skillset was as vast as it was deep. Yet that is not what defined him as a football player. What defined him were his intangibles:
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
His heart, his will, his leadership, his toughness.
His spirit. pic.twitter.com/h9xcjS39R0
When the Bears drafted him in 1975, he boldly — and rightly — made this declaration:
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
“When I get through with Chicago, they’ll be loving me.”
It happened much sooner than that :)https://t.co/CqODe6lwxw
From the Flu Game and his MVP in 1977, to the NFL’s rushing record in 1984, to leading the greatest team ever to a Super Bowl victory, Walter Payton gave everyone who watched him and loved him a lifetime of memories.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
And anyone who was there knows that “love” is not hyperbole. pic.twitter.com/ffir3r5LCb
Deepening the city’s love of Walter — beyond his personal skills, achievement, personality and character — was his team.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
Generally speaking, Chicago sports fans root for one baseball team and one Chicago Stadium / U.C. team.
But we all root for the Bears.
(photo: M. Hauser) pic.twitter.com/z55V1BbebC
Even the term “Chicago sports fan” has fissures, with the sometimes strained relationships between the city and the suburbs, Chicagoland and downstate, Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
With Walter, none of those splits mattered. For 13 years, Sweetness was central. pic.twitter.com/drDw1fpcrz
That’s why, more than any other athlete, the news of Walter’s illness shook us. He held a press conference February 2, 1999, to announce that he had a rare liver disease and was on a transplant list.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
“It’s out of my hands,” he said in a tearful address. “It’s in God’s hands.” pic.twitter.com/Ns6LgcZMqk
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know that during 1999, I was concerned for Walter, yet never ever thought he would pass. For one thing, he was Walter Payton. For another, the survival rate after a transplant was reported as 90%.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
Lastly, Walter was in the news that year for a lot of reasons that had nothing to do with his illness. He became the co-owner of Chicago’s expansion Arena Football League team. He and Ernie Banks made news about opening a casino in Rosemont. pic.twitter.com/9G5b2R5bnd
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
And then also that summer, Barry Sanders, less than 1500 yards from Walter’s rushing record, retired. That kept the conversation around Payton the football player, and frankly, it made me feel as if he was even more untouchable. pic.twitter.com/Z1PJDpmrVy
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
All the while, the Bears were in a transition period. A week before Payton’s announcement of his disease, the Bears hired Dick Jauron as their new head coach. pic.twitter.com/pCAi6gMZqp
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
When the ‘99 season arrived, the team had its most promising offense since the Payton days: recent 1st rounders at QB (Cade McNown) and RB (Curtis Enis), a deep receiving corps (led by Conway and Engram), an x-factor return man (Glyn Milburn) and a daring coordinator (Crowton). pic.twitter.com/Gd5jH9ZvYZ
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
The Bears opened the season Sept. 12, beginning one of the oddest, most thrilling, most touching, most emotional seasons of Bears football I’ve ever seen. The team started 3-2, with last second losses to the Seahawks and Raiders, and a ridiculous comeback against the Saints. pic.twitter.com/mKzA81zk03
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
All the while, Payton was out of the limelight. Then in the last week of October, word came out that Payton’s condition had significantly worsened. pic.twitter.com/EbX6GB2A1M
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
And just as sudden, the worst news. Nov. 1, 1999: Walter Payton had died. pic.twitter.com/FeAiL3zXMJ
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
Payton died of bile duct cancer, brought on by his liver disease. The city was wrecked. The state was wrecked. The Bears, the NFL, the sports world. Walter’s passing touched us all. pic.twitter.com/coRkYZRiKk
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
Payton died on a Monday. The Bears were 3-5, riding a three-game losing streak, with a trip to Lambeau Field coming up that Sunday. The team announced that Saturday, Nov. 6, a memorial to Payton would be held at noon at Soldier Field.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
The week was filled with stories of Payton’s intangibles: his heart, his will, his toughness, his spirit, his leadership.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
Even facing death, he embodied his motto: Never die easy. pic.twitter.com/7Df96mdWoM
Attendance at Payton’s memorial was estimated at 15,000 to 20,000. The team added a patch on the left shoulder: a football with “34” in it. The next day, a Bears team in mourning, with a roster in flux, took the field in Green Bay to face the Packers.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
This was the 158th game of the rivalry, and it was the height of Brett Favre’s dominance over the Bears. The Packers entered that game with 10 straight wins against the Bears. They were 12-2 against the Bears with Brett Favre as their starter. pic.twitter.com/cyIb4ptKSi
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
Yet 1999 had its own electric, bizarre feeling. Shane Matthews and rookie Cade McNown had started games at quarterback. Curtis Conway was having a dominant year, got injured, and then backup Marcus Robinson plugged in and soared to stardom.https://t.co/LpMdKZEDLM
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
Meanwhile, the Bears had a kicking problem. By Week 6, we were on their 3rd kicker: Brian Gowins, veteran Jeff Jaeger, and finally former Cowboys and Eagles kicker Chris Boniol. The three kickers were 10-20 on field goals to that point. Gowins had missed a game-winner.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
So that's where we stood.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
The Packers scored first, a 3-0 lead. Then McNown got injured and with Matthews already hurt, Jim Miller came in and changed the whole season. Miller steered two touchdown drives, and brought the Bears into the 4th quarter leading 14-10. pic.twitter.com/ngwomc68Wb
The Packers got a field goal in the 4th to make it 14-13, and Miller drove the team to the 16 with 11 minutes left. After two incomplete passes from Miller, Boniol came out to give the Bears a four-point lead, setting up for, of all distances, a 34-yard field goal! pic.twitter.com/dG0hKKNBAP
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
AND HE MISSED IT.https://t.co/6X9lmEN0sd
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
So now the Bears clung to a 14-13 lead, and after the teams traded punts, Favre took over to, once again, ruin the Bears.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
Remember, Favre at this point had won 10 straight games over the Bears, and was very recently the NFL’s three-time reigning MVP.
With 3:19 remaining, Favre took over. He took 13 plays to drive from the GB 17 to the Bears 16, coaxed the Bears into two P.I. penalties, and left the field on 4th and 4 with 7 seconds remaining, leaving the game in the trusted foot of Ryan Longwell, for a 28-yard field goal. pic.twitter.com/KvDGLC3TZI
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
I’m telling you — I could feel the collective breath-holding of my fellow Bears fans as Longwell lined up for this field goal.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
On the sideline, Big Cat Williams said to Jauron, “We’ve got to block it.”
Jauron responded as calm as can be. “Don’t worry, we will.”
AND WE DID! pic.twitter.com/IRq0HfLwC4
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
It had happened! Bryan Robinson elevated and blocked the field goal, which Tony Parrish recovered. The clock was all zeroes. The team erupted — the game was over! We did it! WE DID IT FOR WALTER! pic.twitter.com/6Tq189gSrk
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
“Walter Payton picked me up in the air,” Robinson said after the game. “I can’t jump that high.”
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
That day, he picked us all up. pic.twitter.com/xdDSCg8JCZ
When Dan Pompei and Don Pierson were working on their Bears Centennial Scrapbook, and compiling their list of the top 100 Bears, they asked Virginia McCaskey for her pick.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
That was easy.
Walter Payton.
Here she is after that incredible game following his passing: pic.twitter.com/nj838ryYIj
Today, the team’s 100th season begins with a game against the Green Bay Packers. This week, we celebrate Walter Payton, with a new statue at Soldier Field. Walter will always be with us. He makes us happier sports fans. We can’t jump that high.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
We love you Walter! pic.twitter.com/doL7PHhJUG
This thread is dedicated to Walter.
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
This thread is dedicated to Bryan Robinson.
This thread is dedicated to the Payton family.
And it’s for the Bears family, the McCaskeys, and Bears fans everywhere.
Here’s to 34 :)
Bear Down!https://t.co/dw8YxB0HLP
Want more on Walter’s career? What made Walter, WALTER?
— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 5, 2019
This thread is a start:https://t.co/a9VxkqszZN