It's been 20 years since Walter Payton passed away

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AZ_Bearfan
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One of the first Bears games I ever saw was Bryan Robinson's block to beat the Packers.

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Otis Day
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I remember where I was and what I was doing. I was in the Warren County Courthouse and someone came in and reported that Walter had died. I didn't believe the person, at my age of 36, I still believed Walter was was a super hero. As I left work, I turned on WGN and had to hear the somber voices of the afternoon drive people, commiserating about this unfortunate occurrence. I couldn't believe it. I cried on my drive home, approx 30 min. Story after story of callers and from the DJs.

As I walked in the door, I was crying my eyes out. I was crying so hard I couldn't even talk. That freaked my wife out and she was frantic asking me what was wrong. My 6 yr old son, 3 yr old daughter were just staring at me. At the same time my mom just happened to call. My wife tried to hand me the phone and I couldn't even talk. It hit me hard. He was the first athlete I really admired and wanted to be. I still had/have the jersey my parents bought me in 1977.

I remember watching the the celebration of his life that took place in Soldier Field. When Hampton got up and spoke on what he would tell his daughter when she got older, damn, I still tear up when I see and hear that, this morning.

Sweetness was the man.



Short blip of Hamp at about the 3:25 mark.
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The Marshall Plan
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He was one of my three childhood heroes.

Walter Payton
Michael Jordan
Mike Tyson

Who knows how many posters of them I had up at one point or another in my room. All of them larger than life. Weird that Jordan was the only one that got through pretty unscathed. What a blessing to have watched Payton every Sunday as a kid. I was little when the Bears lost to the Redskins in the playoffs and when they showed the look on Payton's face I cried. I also had no understanding of why he retired. Again, I was a little kid. Why couldn't he have played forever? He does now, it's just up there.

Never Die Easy.
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Someone's cutting onions in here.
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Dardango
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It feels longer than 20 years. He'll forever be a legend.
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Ormazd
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Otis Day wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 3:17 pm I remember where I was and what I was doing. I was in the Warren County Courthouse and someone came in and reported that Walter had died. I didn't believe the person, at my age of 36, I still believed Walter was was a super hero. As I left work, I turned on WGN and had to hear the somber voices of the afternoon drive people, commiserating about this unfortunate occurrence. I couldn't believe it. I cried on my drive home, approx 30 min. Story after story of callers and from the DJs.

As I walked in the door, I was crying my eyes out. I was crying so hard I couldn't even talk. That freaked my wife out and she was frantic asking me what was wrong. My 6 yr old son, 3 yr old daughter were just staring at me. At the same time my mom just happened to call. My wife tried to hand me the phone and I couldn't even talk. It hit me hard. He was the first athlete I really admired and wanted to be. I still had/have the jersey my parents bought me in 1977.

I remember watching the the celebration of his life that took place in Soldier Field. When Hampton got up and spoke on what he would tell his daughter when she got older, damn, I still tear up when I see and hear that, this morning.

Sweetness was the man.



Short blip of Hamp at about the 3:25 mark.
I'm with you, bro. That might be the last time I really cried.
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I cried and I cried again reading Never Die Easy. That book also made me love Matt Suehy
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KOP_Snake
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There's only a couple of Bears games that I remember seeing before 2001 when I started watching every game. When the beat the Vikings in the wild card in '95 (Hell I didn't even realize it was a playoff game at that time), the time they beat the Cowboys opening week on Monday night after the last time they won the Superbowl, the Monday night game when the fan jumped out of the stands and caught a field goal… and this here Walter Payton game.
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Xee
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KOP_Snake wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2019 4:16 am There's only a couple of Bears games that I remember seeing before 2001 when I started watching every game. When the beat the Vikings in the wild card in '95 (Hell I didn't even realize it was a playoff game at that time), the time they beat the Cowboys opening week on Monday night after the last time they won the Superbowl, the Monday night game when the fan jumped out of the stands and caught a field goal… and this here Walter Payton game.
Guess we got into the Bears at the same time. I had no interest in playing/watching sports besides watching Jordan's Bulls for most of my youth. My dad told me he would watch Bears games when I was younger but he either never tried to include me or my brothers in it or we just didn't care. If it was the former, I really wish he had tried so I could have memories of watching Payton play. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I was in college that the Bears had that magical 2001 season that I got hooked.

Now that I have my own son, I do everything I can to bring him up a Bears fan (though I won't hold it against him if he chooses another team). He's only 3 but he's now able to watch parts of the game undistracted and before every game starts, I ask him who he thinks is going to win. So far he's picked the Bears to lose every game and as of yesterday, he's gotten more of his picks right than I have. haha
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KOP_Snake wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2019 4:16 am There's only a couple of Bears games that I remember seeing before 2001 when I started watching every game. When the beat the Vikings in the wild card in '95 (Hell I didn't even realize it was a playoff game at that time), the time they beat the Cowboys opening week on Monday night after the last time they won the Superbowl, the Monday night game when the fan jumped out of the stands and caught a field goal… and this here Walter Payton game.
Yeah, 2001 was when I got hooked too. I liked watching the Bears with my dad but like most young kids; I did not have a long attention span for losing seasons. The Payton game and Robinson's blocked field goal is among the first that I really recall. I also recall when the Bears beat Ditka and the Saints. My first game in-person was when the Bears upset Barry Sanders and the Lions at Soldier field in 97 or 98. So, there's some legitimate pieces before 2001. But the Payton game really stands out. I remember finding out Payton had passed too.
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wab
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The first Bears game I ever went to was October 14th 1984 - in fact it was the first football game I'd ever watched in my life. They played the Cardinals in St. Louis. My entire family rooted for the Cardinals but I could not stop watching Payton. Even thought they lost, I was hooked. Payton is why I'm a Bears fan.

Ironically I was in Circuit City in St. Louis when the the news broke that Payton had passed away. It was on like 50 televisions all at once. The entire store went silent. It was heartbreaking.
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