Sweetness

[TeaLeaf]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]957[/ATTACH]

1st November 2011 is the 12th anniversary of the death of Walter 'Sweetness' Payton and NFL Films last night broadcast a documentary about Walter and his football life:  Walter Payton, A Football Life.   The documentary is now available on the NFL website (see link above) and is broken up into several parts but click on the link, ignore the adverts and autoplay will load each segment one after the other.  It's well worth watching.

In my youth I was lucky enough to visit the USA and see what we know as 'american' football.  My fascination with the sport eventually led me to 12 years playing it, but in my teenage years and without the benefit of today's internet I remember cycling into the local town centre every Wednesday morning and spending my pocket money to buy two newspapers which I had on weekly order at WH Smith:  the Monday editions of The Herald Tribune and the Chicago Tribune which were flown over and available on Wednesday in the UK.  These two 'football bibles' gave me a weekly injection of US football sporting news and allowed me to follow Walter's Sunday exploits & the team I still support, the Chicago Bears.

I followed 'Da Bears' throughout their cellar (not stellar) years, well before their dominating football of the mid-eighties, and was privileged to read about and know of Walter Payton and the way he played the game well before the antics of William 'The Refridgerator' Perry brought the Chicago Bears to international notice.

Walter was incredible to watch when he ran the ball and I have never, ever, seen anyone run the ball the way he did in his Roos.  When he was up to speed he seemed to almost float above the ground and when he hit a tackler he somehow managed to keep his legs moving and his momentum going forwards - the documentary has some breath-taking examples of his running style.  

Walter played for just one team, the Chicago Bears, which was one of the worst teams in the NFL for the majority of that period (and still is), yet he somehow still managed to become the NFL's all-time leading rusher.   In an era when teams relied on one back to last the entire season, Walter missed only one game through injury during a punishing 13 year career.  Walter held the NFL Rushing Record until it was broken by Emmitt Smith in 2002, but Emmitt played on a team that was the most successful of the nineties and with whom he won a stunning 3 Superbowls.  When asked who the NFL's greatest rusher is,  Emmitt says without a moment's hesitation:  Walter Payton.  

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Walter wasn't perfect, but he inspired not just one generation but more with the way he played the game.  The documentary is highly recommended to anyone who has an NFL interest.

[smilodon]

Will watch over the next few nights.

[target]

One for TL - Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Chicago Bears at Wembley Stadium on 23rd October... http://www.guardiantickets.co.uk/tampa-bay-buccaneers-tickets/wembley-stadium-london/23-Oct-2011/E-928163/?INTCMP=ILCSPTTXT3412