Bears Blitz

Published by Bob Warja on September 16, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Joseph Stalin once said, “The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.”

While that may be true to some, Soldier Field was erected, in part, so that the memory of those men and women who fought for our country and shed their blood and their lives would have a place to be remembered.

It is with this thought in mind that the Chicago park district and some military veterans oppose the attempts by the “Friends of Walter Payton” committee to have a statue in his honor out in front of Solider Field.

The bronze statue, being constructed in Wasilla, AK, with a foundry in Utah, will be slightly larger than 6’0″ tall and life size. The base will be about five to six feet tall. The sculptor is Stan Watts, who specializes in life-size bronzes.

While it’s the home of the Chicago Bears, Soldier Field serves as a memorial to American soldiers who died in wars.

If one is to put up a statue of a football player, it is argued, then where are the statues of the real heroes, the fallen war soldiers?

It was media mogul Ted Turner who said, “Sports is like a war without the killing.” But does such sentiment demean the memory of those who defended their country so bravely?

Look, this isn’t a debate over whether Payton deserves a statue in this town. Of course he does. There is a statue for Michael Jordan and Ernie Banks. Heck, there are even statues for Irv Kupcinet, Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse, among others.

Rather, this argument centers around the placement of the statue.

Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune reports that, “According to a Payton family spokeswoman, park district officials explained that Soldier Field and the area surrounding it is to be preserved strictly as a memorial to war veterans. There also is concern a Payton statue outside of Soldier Field might diminish the stature of other former Bears Hall of Famers.”

That last part is interesting. For while Payton was certainly one of the greatest players of all time, there have been plenty of Hall of Fame Chicago Bears and none of them have a statue.

The last time I checked, there were no statues for “Da Coach” Mike Ditka, Bill George, Red Grange, Bronco Nagurski, Sid Luckman, Dick Butkus, or Gale Sayers, among other Bear greats.

Several years ago, however, the Bears unveiled a 26.5-foot tall granite sculpture, depicting a timeline describing Halas’ contribution to professional football and the history of the Bears. It is located inside Soldier Field’s Bear Den, in the west concourse.

Walter Payton, who set the record for career rushing yards before he retired, a mark since broken, died on Nov. 1, 1999, from complications of liver cancer.

I don’t believe that many people would have a problem with a statue in Payton’s honor. According to the Tribune report, the park district offered to have the statue placed in any other Chicago park.  But Connie Payton, wife of the late great Bear running back, hopes a compromise can be reached.

To me, all of this discussion is trumped by the fact that the Bears decided to put a space ship atop of the stadium in 2003. If Soldier Field is such a legendary memorial, why were they allowed to do that?

So go ahead and place that statue there, I say. Walter was not only a great football player, he was a warrior. Not to be confused, in any way, with those who fought in wars, but a warrior nonetheless.

Yes, sports is just sports while war is truly life and death. But the lines of distinction have been blurred before, come to think of it.

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