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I love Walter Payton....but
1970s
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Let me first say I loved Walter Payton. Greatest back ever. Emmitt Smith said the same. Did I say I love Walter Payton ?
However, I saw "A Football Life" on the NFL network last night about Walter, and something bothered me, and perhaps it shouldn't have.
The show documented how after the Bears won the 1985 Super Bowl that Payton didn't even want to face the cameras. He was so upset about not getting
a touchdown in the blowout against the Pats, that he stood in his corner and sulked after the game. Ditka said on the documentary that he didn't even think of giving the ball
to Walter because his objective was to win the game only, but Walter felt that he was such a hard worker for the Bears organization, that he should have been given the respect of getting the ball close near the goal line to get his touchdown. The Bears used the Fridge on the goal line stands because New England was stopping Walter all day long. He did not
have a good day because NE focused on him the whole time.
How do you feel about this ? Should Walter have been happy for the team accomplishment, or should he have been pissed about not getting the ball for a TD ?
Ditka now says he regrets not giving him the ball. Jim McMahon said Walter should have been given the chance. I don't know.
However, I saw "A Football Life" on the NFL network last night about Walter, and something bothered me, and perhaps it shouldn't have.
The show documented how after the Bears won the 1985 Super Bowl that Payton didn't even want to face the cameras. He was so upset about not getting
a touchdown in the blowout against the Pats, that he stood in his corner and sulked after the game. Ditka said on the documentary that he didn't even think of giving the ball
to Walter because his objective was to win the game only, but Walter felt that he was such a hard worker for the Bears organization, that he should have been given the respect of getting the ball close near the goal line to get his touchdown. The Bears used the Fridge on the goal line stands because New England was stopping Walter all day long. He did not
have a good day because NE focused on him the whole time.
How do you feel about this ? Should Walter have been happy for the team accomplishment, or should he have been pissed about not getting the ball for a TD ?
Ditka now says he regrets not giving him the ball. Jim McMahon said Walter should have been given the chance. I don't know.
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Comments
As a Pats fan I remember being annoyed about this while watching the game. Payton was a great player he deserved a chance to get in the endzone. There was no pressure on the Bears in that game , Ditka was and still is a douche .
Walter Payton also carried the team in the superbowl shuffle video , and doesn't get the recognition he deserves for that either
<< <i>The Bears were up 37-3 when the Fridge got his touchdown (making it 43-3). Ditka saying "all I cared about is winning" is stupid. The game was over. I doubt Ditka was slighting Payton intentionally but that's absolutely what he did. >>
+1
It was a lame move by Ditka in a game that was never in doubt and was a rout at that point. Should Payton have handled it a bit better? Sure, but Ditka handled the situation even worse and is one of the most overrated coaches ever. Buddy Ryan deserved all the credit as a coach for that 85 team.
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<< <i>
<< <i>The Bears were up 37-3 when the Fridge got his touchdown (making it 43-3). Ditka saying "all I cared about is winning" is stupid. The game was over. I doubt Ditka was slighting Payton intentionally but that's absolutely what he did. >>
+1
It was a lame move by Ditka in a game that was never in doubt and was a rout at that point. Should Payton have handled it a bit better? Sure, but Ditka handled the situation even worse and is one of the most overrated coaches ever. Buddy Ryan deserved all the credit as a coach for that 85 team. >>
Agreed 100%
<< <i>Ditka handled the situation even worse and is one of the most overrated coaches ever. >>
Ahhh that makes me all warm and fuzzy. The 86 team was just as good as the 85 team but was one and done in the playoffs. Then he destroys another franchise for an entire decade. Drives me nuts watching people on TV kissing his butt like he's a god.
It sure would have been nice if he at least gave Walter the ball.
Surprises me that Payton was "sulking" after the game. Winning the championship should have meant more than a personal accomplishment. I still think Payton was one of the best of all time.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>The Bears were up 37-3 when the Fridge got his touchdown (making it 43-3). Ditka saying "all I cared about is winning" is stupid. The game was over. I doubt Ditka was slighting Payton intentionally but that's absolutely what he did. >>
+1
It was a lame move by Ditka in a game that was never in doubt and was a rout at that point. Should Payton have handled it a bit better? Sure, but Ditka handled the situation even worse and is one of the most overrated coaches ever. Buddy Ryan deserved all the credit as a coach for that 85 team. >>
Agreed 100% >>
I agree 100% as well but have to add something.
It was a lame move and excuse by Ditka. However Payton was just as lame by sulking because he didn't get a shot at scoring that td. His team just accomplished something that many NFL players never experience. Instead he was selfishly pouting about not achieving a personal goal. Being upset is one thing. If I was in his position I'm sure I would be bothered as well. However I wouldn't show it and let it overshadow what my team just accomplished.
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What many don't realize is that Jim McMahon had two TD runs of one and two yards prior to the Fridge's Nestea Plunge. Even Matt Suhey hit pay dirt (albeit from 11 yards out). In other words, a bevy of opportunities to make something happen that should have. I never blamed Walter because the man deserved it. Sure, his reaction didn't exactly place him in the best possible light, but that just showed me (a 14-yr-old at the time) that this larger-than-life guy I idolized was in fact human. To attach the selfish tag to Sweetness for longer than a few seconds would be doing him a grave disservice, because no one played the game harder and with more passion than he did -- even on some unbearable Bears teams (adjective intended).
On the Perry run, if Ditka had instead used him as a lead blocker, the probability of Walter setting foot in the house with the football in hand would have been very, very high. But with the outcome etched in stone, I'm sure Ditka was practically frothing at the mouth over the potential hysteria surrounding a Fridge touch in the SB. As it turns out, he stopped to think, but forgot to start again.
I seem to recall a headline at the time from either the Chicago Tribune or Chicago Sun-Times, "Payton Starves While Fridge Gets Gravy".
<< <i>Payton was always my favorite, so I will cut him some slack on the immediate reaction after the game. I believe Ditka has said that in the rush and chaos of everything going on during the game, he didn't even realize Payton had not scored until the game was over. >>
He's lying. I guarantee it got mentioned to him on the sidelines.
Matt
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