It was the fans’ turn to say goodbye.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 flocked to a memorial service at Chicago’s Soldier Field on Saturday, where football great Walter Payton played all 13 years of his professional career.
With the 50,000 toys they brought for one of Payton’s charities, they also brought stories of how the football player personally inspired them or someone they knew.
Sue Canada, of St. Charles, recalled one of Payton’s random acts of kindness: Her neighbor wrote Payton a letter asking him to send an autographed picture of himself for her son, who was dying of cancer.
Instead of sending the photo, Payton showed up on their doorstep. He spent time with the young man, who later was buried with the football signed by the former Bear.
Other stories like Canada’s circulated throughout the stadium where Payton always left fans awestruck. But with every yard he gained on the field, Payton gained respect for his fans, said NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
"You gave Walter Payton a home and he moved in next door," he said.
Fans carried signs Saturday that read, "Thanks, Payton for the sweet memories," "You’ve touched so many," or they proudly wore Chicago Bears jerseys emblazoned with No. 34.
They chanted "Walter! Walter!" and applauded mightily after each tribute.
They were visibly miffed, yelling "34! 34!" when Cook County Commissioner John Daley mistakenly referred to Payton as No. 33, as he read a statement proclaiming Nov. 6, 1999, "Walter Payton Day" in Chicago.
Saturday also was a chance for Payton fans to show support for his family and remember together how special he was to them.
As Payton’s widow, Connie, and his children, Brittney and Jarrett, prepared to leave the field Saturday, a lone fan yelled, "We love you, Payton family!"
The crowd erupted in applause.
Later some would complain that too few people came out to honor Payton, but former Chicago Bear Chris Zorich put the turnout into perspective.
"Everybody deals with death differently," he said. "I know there were plenty of people watching this at home, and they loved Walter just as much."
For those who did make the trek to Soldier Field, Saturday’s ceremony brought closure to their grief over the demise of "Sweetness," the man who could run and block better than anyone they’d ever seen.
These diehard fans cheered Payton to a Super Bowl victory, nodded approvingly as he was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame, and watched in disbelief as their hero announced in February he was battling a rare liver disease and needed a transplant.
The news of his death on Monday came as a shock to most who also had learned that day he had bile duct cancer, which complicated his chances for a transplant. He was 45.
On a jumbo screen prior to the memorial service, fans were treated to snippets of the private ceremony held Friday in Barrington Hills.
But it was the final video montage that brought it all home.
Slow-motion images of Payton on the football field, running up a hill in Arlington Heights, shooting hoops in his South Barrington back yard and playing with his children painted a complete picture of the Payton they will continue to love and respect.
It was Payton’s approachability and visibility in the community that allowed him to stand apart from other sports stars.
"His personality … just the way that he was, made us all love him," said Connie Netherton, of Prospect Heights.
LaDon Silas, of Rolling Meadows, remembers meeting Payton at a Hoffman Estates car wash where he worked in 1988. "I was star-struck," said Silas, who got his hero’s autograph that day. "(Payton) was joking around with us and just being normal."
Bryan Walter, who recently moved to Batavia from Glen Ellyn, had a chance to rub elbows with Payton on a weekly basis during the NFL season. A full-time community service officer with the Hanover Park police, he worked as a Bears’ locker room usher at Soldier Field during most of Payton’s career.
One day, without Walter asking, Payton signed the "C" on his Bears jacket.
