Surgery was the price Dan Hampton paid to play 12 seasons for the Bears. He endured 12 knee operations — six on the left and six on the right — but through it all he always came to play.
As a four-time Pro Bowl defen-sive lineman, Hampton said it all with his play on the field. At Satur-day’s memorial service for his former teammate Walter Payton, Hampton said it all in just a couple of minutes.
"I’ve got a little girl, she’s 4 years old," said Hampton, who played for nine years with Payton. "Ten years from now, when she asks me about the Chicago Bears, I’ll tell her about a championship.
"And I’ll tell her about great teams and great teammates and great coaches and how great it was to be a part of it," Hampton contin-ued as his voice became choked with emotion. "But the first thing I’ll tell her about is Walter Payton."
Known for his toughness on and off the field, Hampton displayed a tenderness at Soldier Field on Saturday that no opponent would have ever guessed he was capable of possessing.
"We know what he was as a player, the greatest of all time," Hampton said of Payton. "We know what he was as a man, as good as you’ll ever find on the face of the planet. We know that he’s been a great, great man, we know the in-credible legacy he leaves behind in his family, (wife) Connie and the kids (Jarrett and Brittney). But I’ve got to tell you something, I re-member this guy playing on this field and leaving it on this field time after time."
Hampton was inspired by Pay-ton’s work ethic, his pride, his toughness and his talent. He be-lieves all those characteristics are so enduring, they can still serve as an example.
Especially for the current Bears as they prepared to leave the Soldier Field cere-mony and head up to Green Bay for a game today against the Packers, a rivalry that always brought out the competitor in Payton.
"I’m very happy that the Chicago Bears team of 1999 is here today because you have to understand how special it is to be a Chicago Bear," Hampton said.
"Walter Pay-ton always did. And if he could say one thing about going up to Green Bay, I know what it would be, be-cause he used to tell us that every week: ‘Play your (butt) off.’ That’s all he ever wanted from us, play your butts off."
The Bears-Packers rivalry is one of the oldest and fiercest in all of professional sports. But Payton’s effect on an entire generation of children who worshipped him and the way he played and what he stood for on the field transcended partisan borders.
"Walter Payton had an effect on my life before I became a part of the Chicago Bears organization," said Jim Flanigan, a current mem-ber of the Bears who grew up near Green Bay because his father played for the Packers. Neverthe-less, Flanigan proudly displayed a Bears poster featuring Payton on his bedroom wall.
"Growing up in northeastern Wisconsin in the middle of Packerland," Flanigan said to a chorus of boos, "I remember see-ing films of Walter Payton running up hills and training harder than anybody else in the NFL. That’s something that even in middle school had an effect on me.
"There was a ski hill near my house, and I went there and I tried to emulate Walter Payton, and I just have to think that there are countless stories like that from current players in the NFL and football players across the country who saw Walter Payton as a great example as an inspiration and as somebody to try to emulate."
After Saturday’s service, Payton still serves as an inspiration to Flanigan and his teammates.
"I think speaking for the players in our locker room, the men in our locker room," Flanigan said. "We will do our best to uphold Walter’s legacy, to honor his memory in our fight, our pride and our intensity."
Flanigan’s teammate, offensive tackle James "Big Cat" Williams, regretted that he came along too late to block for Sweetness, but said his memory and the legacy he left would serve him well.
"For the rest of this season, I play for Walter and his family and his ex-teammates," Williams said. "I keep them all in my heart and in my head."
