by Sam

Sunday, November 1st, will be the ten year anniversary of Walter Payton's passing. It sure doesn't seem like ten years, does it?

I wasn't around for the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but folks who were tell me that they still remember exactly what they were doing when they heard the news. The same can be said for me of learning the news of Payton's death.

I remember tuning in to ESPN to find out the score of a game long since forgotten. I remember the 'breaking news' about Payton's death. I remember thinking 'this can't be real' and 'he was waiting on a transplant. What happened?' I remember tears streaming down my face as it finally sunk in. I remember having to drive to an old hang-out of mine just to be around other people because I was sad and didn't want to be alone. I remember my buddy Rob, who isn't a Bears fan, at first teasing me about being upset and then being there for me when he realized how hard it had hit me.

And although I remember the records Sweetness broke and the way he played, there will always be one memory I'll never forget. This image accompanied an article titled 'Payton's Career Ends One Yard Short' in my local newspaper. I'll never forget that. I'll never forget that picture of him sitting there on the sidelines, head in his hands, thinking about what might have been.

Maybe it's because that's the way I felt that day, too. Or maybe that shot of him made me feel that way. Or maybe it was a little of both.

The point is, I felt where he was coming from. I knew he wanted to win the game. You could see it in his body language. He didn't want his career to end like that...one yard short.

And that's why I still miss him, because of how much he cared. Because of his appreciation of the game. Sweetness left it all on the field. And while I won't say that today's atheletes don't care, sometimes it's hard to tell.

You never had that question with Sweetness.

It's been ten years, Sweetness, and I still miss you like you left us yesterday. May the greatest football player to ever take the field continue to rest in peace.