Sweetness (82 page)

Read Sweetness Online

Authors: Jeff Pearlman

283
“I asked Ed [Hughes, the offensive coordinator]”
: Pierson, “Fresh out of Luckmans,”
Chicago Tribune
, February 16, 1997.

283
“If Rusty Lisch were the little Dutch boy”
: Lincicome, “Lisch second best in battle of third stringers,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 10, 1984.

284
The Bears were listed as
: Verdi, “It’s a Tale of Two Cities,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 6, 1985.

284
“We’re not going to lose the game”
: Pierson, “‘We’re Not Going to Lose,’ ”
Chicago Tribune
, January 6, 1985.

284
“We know what we have to do to win”
: “Payton Might Be Punter Against San Francisco,”
The Washington Post
, January 1, 1985.

285
“What stood out,” wrote Christine Brennan
: Christine Brennan, “Bears Are Sacked Nine Times en Route To a 23–0 Defeat,”
The Washington Post
, January 7, 1985.

285
San Francisco coach Bill Walsh termed it
: Rich Roberts, “For Once, Two Favorites in Super Bowl,”
Los Angeles Times
, January 7, 1985.

285
“When you wait ten years”
: Verdi, “Payton is Brought Down—Hard,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 7, 1985.

285
On the morning of February 25, 1985
: Della L. Palmer, “NFL Star Walter Payton Wins Black Athlete Award,”
Jet
, February 25, 1985.

288
“This is my eleventh year, and nobody”
: Robert W. Creamer, “Payton’s Place,”
Sports Illustrated
, September 9, 1985.

289
What irked Payton most was the emergence
: Mike Berardino, “Refrigerator Chilling Out in Aiken,”
The Augusta Chronicle
, January 28, 1996.

289
He had a twenty-two-inch neck
: Delsohn,
Da Bears!
, 18.

290
“Unfortunately, when the 49ers beat us”
: William D. Murray, “Sports News,”
United Press International
, October 14, 1985.

290
Here was a coach who, two years earlier
: Gary Pomerantz, “Bears Have Found the Right Mix,”
The Washington Post
, October 15, 1985.

291
He inserted Perry, thus far
: Pierson, “Look Out! Bears May Run Perry Again,”
Chicago Tribune
, October 15, 1985.

291
Chris Cobbs of the
Los Angeles Times: Chris Cobbs, “‘The Refrigerator’ Falls on Packers, 23–7,”
Los Angeles Times
, October 22, 1985.

291
“Can McPerry be far behind?”
: “Executives Going After Bears for Endorsements,”
Los Angeles Times
, December 15, 1985.

291
Far from trying to make a fashion
: Kevin Cook, “Playboy Interview: Jim McMahon,”
Playboy
, October 1, 1986.

294
“This team has not reached”
: “Bears Roll On, 36-0, Over Falcons,”
The Washington Post
, November 25, 1985.

294
“We aren’t satisfied yet”
: Verdi, “ ‘We Aren’t Satisfied Yet,’ ”
Chicago Tribune
, November 25, 1985.

294
“We are going to kick the Bears’ butts”
: Delsohn,
Da Bears!
, 162.

295
“Every time we had a game in Florida”
: Steve McMichael with Phil Arvia,
Steve McMichael’s Tales from the Chicago Bears Sideline
(Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 2004), 98.

295
A Miami radio station came up
: John Mullin,
The Rise and Self-Destruction of the Greatest Football Team in History
(Chicago, Triumph Books, 2005), 104–105.

295
“Reporters fell from the sky like a seven-inch snow”
: Mike Singletary with Armen Keteyian,
Calling the Shots
(Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1986), 175.

295
“It was like they were trying to put the voodoo on us”
: Delsohn,
Da Bears!
, 165.

295
Back at the University of Pittsburgh, Marino had roomed
: Ibid., 169–171.

296
Early in the fourth quarter, with the score 38–24
: Ibid., 172–173.

298
“Willie Gault? When he was traded”
: Fred Mitchell, “Bears Forget Gault Already,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 14, 1988.

298
“We told them we weren’t coming”
: Jon Greenberg, “Shuffling down memory lane,”
ESPN.com
, January 15, 2010.

299
The “Shuffle” went on to become a smash hit
: Delsohn,
Da Bears!
, 180.

299
“The guy had the balls to come back”
: Ibid., 181.

300
“Dealing with the media has been”
: Pierson, “AP Honors Singletary,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 1, 1986.

301
Payton desired more acclaim
: Ken McKee, “Bears’ Walter Payton admits he needs acclaim,”
Toronto Sun
, January 5, 1986.

302
“For me, the Super Bowl would”
: Ed Sherman, “Payton Running Out of Time,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 9, 1986.

303
As was tradition, the Bears spent
: Sherman, “Payton’s Day Finally Arrives,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 13, 1986.

303
With 4:26 remaining in the
first quarter: Pierson, “Superb Bears in Super Bowl,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 13, 1986.

303
Over the past decade, he had attended
: Jim Proudfoot, “Only Super Bowls for Payton were as a spectator,”
The Toronto Star
, January 24, 1986.

CHAPTER 20

305
Weeks before kickoff, NFL Films
: Roberts, “Bears Favored to Shuffle Past Patriots Today,”
Los Angeles Times
, January 26, 1986.

305
Some 175 journalists from across
: Ira Berkow, “Secrecy at Bears’ Workout,”
The New York Times
, January 17, 1986.

306
“We got on the buses from the airport”
: Delsohn,
Da Bears!
, 201.

313
“I ain’t no damned monkey on a string”
: McGrane,
Sweetness
, 12.

315
“When they called the play for Perry”
: Verdi, “No-TD Payton Admits he was ‘Upset,’ ”
Chicago Tribune
, January 30, 1986.

CHAPTER 21

316
He was asked to attend
: Larry Black, “Reagan joshes ‘Kid’ Mulroney at dazzling White House bash,”
The Canadian Press
, March 19, 1986.

316
As always, he appeared at the annual
: John Holland, “There’ll be Enough Bears to Field a Team, and Others,”
Chicago Tribune
, February 9, 1986.

316
Both the Cubs and White Sox
: Skip Myslenski and Linda Kay, “Popular Guy,”
Chicago Tribune
, March 21, 1986.

316
He participated in Hands Across America
: Charles Krauthammer, “Celebrities in Politics,”
Time
, April 21, 1986.

316
And was saluted by Jackson, Mississippi
: David Beard, “Walter Payton Day,”
Associated Press
, May 12, 1986.

316–17
Bob Richards, Brice Jenner, Mary Lou Retton and Pete Rose
: “Wheaties puts Payton on cover,”
USA Today
, May 6, 1986.

317
“To be on the box”
: William C. Trott, “Wheaties Cover Boy,”
United Press International
, May 7, 1986.

317
Take two football stars
: “News,”
PR Newswire
, February 7, 1986.

318
“He’s a scholar”
: Pierson, “Bears Tab Anderson of Florida,”
Chicago Tribune
, April 30, 1986.

318
When he finally signed
: Pierson, “It’s sign-up day in the NFL,”
Chicago Tribune
, August 14, 1986.

318
Throughout the season stories were
: Ron Borges, “Anderson Surviving in Payton Place,”
The Boston Globe
, November 9, 1988.

319
Even Ditka, Payton’s biggest
: Pierson, “Ditka May Slow Payton,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 4, 1986.

319
Unlike Anderson, whose absence
: Pierson, “Payton lands with Class at Bears Camp,”
Chicago Tribune
, July 18, 1986.

319
From the commercialism
: Sally Jenkins, “With the Chicago Bears, Things Never Are Boring,”
The Washington Post
, January 1, 1987.

320
“My arm was coming out of the socket”
: Pierson, “Bringing in Flutie Helped Bring Down Club,”
Chicago Tribune
, August 16, 1995.

321
On the day after the trade
: Pomerantz, “As Flutie May Learn, Bears Are a Team of Rugged Individualists,”
The Washington Post
, October 19, 1986.

322
With the Redskins leading
: Pierson, “Bears’ Super Rule Ends at XX,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 7, 1987.

323
“Instead of appearing like the old”
: Pomerantz, “Time Could Be Running Out for a Finally Run-Down Payton,”
The Washington Post
, January 7, 1987.

323
“My goal is sixteen hundred”
: Pierson, “‘I’m Going for 18,000. Life Changes Every Day. Maybe Next Week It might Be 20,000,’ ”
Chicago Tribune
, November 7, 1999.

323
Why, in the February 1 Pro Bowl
: Brennan, “NFC Mistake-Prone in 10-6 Loss,”
The Washington Post
, February 2, 1987.

324
Thanks to the efforts of Jesse
: Frank Dexter Brown, “Jesse Vs. The Big Leagues,”
Black Enterprise
, July 1987.

326
“Nothing is final”
: Pierson, “ ‘The Best Way to Go Out,’ ”
Chicago Tribune
, July 29, 1987.

328
Much was made of the Herculean matchup
: Pierson, “And Now, the Game,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 14, 1987.

328
The next day’s
St. Petersburg Times: Bruce Lowitt, “End Near for Payton?”
St. Petersburg Times
, September 15, 1987.

328
“The Bears were so good in every way”
: Michael Wilbon, “Bears’ Defenders Sack Giants, 34–19,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 15, 1987.

328
Neither did the following week’s triumph
: Mooshil, “Bears 20, Buccaneers 3,”
Associated Press
, September 20, 1987.

329
“They’re keying on Walter”
: Lincicome, “The Game Should Matter, But . . . ,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 21, 1987.

329
“You can tell he’s upset”
: Mike Kiley, “Anderson Answers Call of Duty,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 21, 1987.

329
“Like the way John Havlicek did it”
: Mike Conklin and Rich Lorenz, “Dr. J has Some Advice for Payton: Say Farewell,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 22, 1987.

329
On the day after the Tampa game
: James Warren, “NFL Clock Runs Out,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 23, 1987.

330
Meanwhile, three games were played
: Pierson, “Bears Forge on with New Faces,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 23, 1987.

330
“I had little to gain out of this strike”
: David Steele, “Payton’s Place,”
St. Petersburg Times
, October 22, 1987.

330
Before the game Payton agreed to meet
: “Angry teen says there’s more to story of fairy-tale Bear meeting,”
St. Petersburg Times
, October 30, 1987. 331
“I know what’s going on”
: Jay Lawrence, “Little sweetness for Payton,”
Orange County Register
, November 1, 1987.

331
“There are ample examples of all-time great professional”
: Randy Minkoff, “Payton’s numbers drop in 13th season,”
United Press International
, November 14, 1987.

331
The Bears were scheduled to play at San Francisco on
: Wilbon, “49ers Pelt Bears with Rice, 41–0,”
The Washington Post
, December 15, 1987.

332
Mayor Eugene Sawyer presented
: Kiley, “Walter’s Time, Win or Lose,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 21, 1987.

333
Throughout the season
: Linda Kay and Mike Conklin, “Year-end report,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 29, 1987.

333
“Three seconds left”
: Clark Judge, “49ers not yet legend, says a critical Ditka,”
The San Diego Union-Tribune
, January 8, 1988.

334
“We haven’t played [the 46 Defense]”
: Ralph Wiley, “Hats off to the Redskins,”
Sports Illustrated
, January 18, 1988.

334
“I think we’ll win it all”
: Pierson, “Ditka Defiant: ‘We’ll Win it All,’”
Chicago Tribune
, January 5, 1988.

334–35
“Sometimes I feel I’m the problem”
: Tom Friend, “Payton: The Hard Way Out,”
The Washington Post
, January 10, 1988.

335–36
“All my life, I’ve wanted to be on the same field”
: Wiley, “Hats off to the Redskins,”
Sports Illustrated
, January 18, 1988.

336
“One more year, Walter!”
: Dave Anderson, “Walter Payton’s Last Time,”
The New York Times
, January 11, 1988.

336
“I was just recapping some of the great moments”
:
Pure Payton,
VHS (PolyGram USA Video, 1997).

Other books

Warszawa II by Bacyk, Norbert
Emily Hendrickson by The Unexpected Wife
Hopscotch by Kevin J. Anderson
The Bay of Foxes by Sheila Kohler
The Phantom King (The Kings) by Killough-Walden, Heather
My Beautiful Failure by Janet Ruth Young
The Platform by Jones, D G
His For The Taking by Channing, Harris
Anne Barbour by Lord Glenravens Return