Danek said:
Damn, that's cool. When I was five the only famous person I got to meet was Margaret Thatcher. She was terrifying.
Margaret Thatcher would even scare me now!!! I'll tell you the rest of my Walter Story....
What was funny was that he was going to be in that small room with about 15 people for about 15 minutes or so. I was the only child there. Even at the age of 5, I knew that Walter was just having me guard his coat so that I wouldn't be bored for the time he was there talking to the adults and wouldn't be bugging him. Though in truth I was too in awe to think about making a pest of myself. Deep down, I knew it was just a silly little way for Walter to keep me out of his hair. Nevertheless, when Walter Payton asked *me* to do something for him, I did it. No questions asked. If anybody else asked me to do the same, it would've felt cheesy.
So yeah, if it was anybody OTHER than the world's greatest running back, it would have been cheesy. But with Walter Payton? No question it was cool. Hell, even at the age of 30, if someone of Michael/Walter/Tiger's stature asked me to do the same thing, I would do it.... No questions asked. Hey, it's cooler than just standing around asking some lame question that he's been asked a hundred times before.
I remember, during that time, he also spotted the biggest guy in the room, probably about 6'4" or so (clearly bigger in every dimension than Walter himself) and he snuck up behind him and lifted the guy clear up off the ground in the biggest Bear hug you've seen. The look on the guy's face was priceless. I'm sure it had been 30 years or more since he was last off his feet like that.
The time ended when Walter said good bye to the adults, then shook my hand and thanked me for guarding his jacket. He then had me help him put it on. Then he started to walk out the door.... stopped at the threshold, turned around, knelt down, shook my hand a second time with a big smile on his face, and walked out.
Class Act all the way. People cried when Elvis died and the Beatles broke up. They were cool, but they were just creative people. Walter is the only celebrity I have ever really missed.... it's not just that I met him and he was cool, it was that wherever I go in Chicago, I can walk into any bar, and somebody else will have a similar Walter Payton story.
Once I made a bet with a bartender at a small neighborhood bar... I told him my Walter story, and being from out of town, he kind of doubted that my story wasn't unusual or unique. I told him it happened to people in Chicago every day, that nearly EVERYBODY in the city knew a couple people with similar stories. Walter just happened to know everybody. So I set up a bet. I bet the bartender double or nothing on my tab that somebody at that bar, at that moment, had a personal story about meeting Walter that was just about as cool as mine...
I drank for free that night. Two other people in that bar had met, and had a moment with, Walter. They remembered him fondly. What other celebrity, can you say that about? The guy just enjoyed life and enjoyed people. He was a HOF athlete and a stand up guy who became friends with nearly everyone he met and that's why I miss him.
Next time you find yourself at a neighborhood bar in Chicago, the kind of bar that 30 and 40 somethings hang out at, stand up and ask, "Did anybody here ever meet Walter Payton?". I guarantee someone in that bar will raise their hand and have a story to tell.
[/hero worship]
