tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893796119628724760.post6088768674072045185..comments2023-07-01T01:52:41.798-07:00Comments on Guys Lit Wire: Are You Ready for some Football?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893796119628724760.post-88282267042851830422008-09-22T12:20:00.000-07:002008-09-22T12:20:00.000-07:00Thanks for the comment, Colleen.I met Payton short...Thanks for the comment, Colleen.<BR/><BR/>I met Payton shortly before he was told that he was ill. He was truly a class act. <BR/><BR/>Though, he was known to be a prankster. I asked him about it, and he told me a story about how he liked to call up his the girlfriends of his teammates and pretend to be the other woman. The players all knew that he did this, so when they'd next see the girlfriend, it was always difficult to explain that it was Walter Payton and not another woman. <BR/><BR/>And he admitted that he didn't think he would have broken the rushing record if he hadn't stretched the ball out. Though, I tend to doubt that. It's amazing the numbers he put up being on a losing team for all those years. (Emmett Smith was on a powerhouse Cowboys team for much of his career.)<BR/><BR/>It is indeed hard to believe that he's gone, but there are few examples of better role models for players today.K. M. Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04747455271109767557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893796119628724760.post-37917957048796280752008-09-15T13:18:00.000-07:002008-09-15T13:18:00.000-07:00I had a #34 jersey when I was in high school - I a...I had a #34 jersey when I was in high school - I adored Walter Payton. One of the things I remember is him saying that everytime he went down he stretched his arm out as far as he could - he figured he picked up an extra thousand yards over the course of his career by doing that. He was always reaching, always working to be better.<BR/><BR/>I still can't believe he is gone. Payton was a class act all the way.Colleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18380722344521975869noreply@blogger.com