Imrem: What would Walter Payton be like today?

Tell me whether you ever wonder about Walter Payton these days.

Like last week when the 1985 Chicago Bears were celebrated on the 30th anniversary of their Super Bowl victory.

Especially like this Thursday night when ESPN's "30 on 30" will chronicle those Super Bowl XX champions.

A lot of sports stories ask, "Where are they now?" How about one that asks, "Where would he have been?"

He being Payton, the legendary Sweetness who died in 1999 at 46 from a rare liver disease and bile duct cancer.

Payton was six years younger than Michael Jordan is today. It has been interesting to witness Jordan's evolution and hopefully will be the next few decades as well.

Payton's death deprived us of following more of his life story, more of the ups and downs we all experience.

The '85 Bears featured Pro Football Hall of Famers Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary, Richard Dent and Mike Ditka.

Oh, and Walter Payton, the Hall of Famer's Hall of Famer, the running back's running back and the football player's football player.

As with most reunions there were absences, notable among them the late Dave Duerson, a Pro Bowl safety, and Ron Rivera, a backup linebacker who as Carolina's head coach is preparing the Panthers for Super Bowl 50.

Then there was - or more precisely wasn't - Walter Payton.

If he were around to walk into the reunion, Payton would have been the person fans looked at and former teammates looked up to.

Payton likely wouldn't have enjoyed that. He always appeared to be uncomfortable receiving the attention he earned.

It's easy to think that Payton today at 62 would be the superhero he was in football, but that's unrealistic.

Like many of the best in any field, Payton was a complicated man with complicated personal issues and inner demons … so who knows what he would have been like now?

A good guess is that Payton the businessman still would be a successful restaurateur who also might have fulfilled his ambition to own and operate an NFL team the way Jordan does an NBA team.

Consider this: If Payton decided to embrace the spotlight for a change, well, he was a longtime terrific dancer who easily could have won "Dancing with the Stars."

Ah, yes, what might have been?

Unfortunately, my recent curiosity centered on Payton in relation to his sport's consuming subject: concussions.

Duerson and some other prominent former NFL players committed suicide with the suspected cause being brain damage from football's pounding.

Walter Payton, a remarkable human physical specimen, for a long time seemed like the least likely former player to eventually suffer the game's aftershocks.

Upon further review, however, Payton might have been a prime candidate because he rarely went out of bounds or in any way out of his way to avoid a collision.

There's no telling how many undiagnosed concussions Payton incurred during his 13 NFL seasons, but it's possible if not probable he would suffer them now.

It would be awfully distressing to see this particular former player endure the agony that too many others experience after their careers.

So, what would Walter Payton have been like at last week's reunion? What kind of person would he have been at 62? What kind of toll would football have taken on him?

As much as the questions are intriguing, maybe it's better not to know the answers.

mimrem@dailyherald.com