Sweetness_ The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton - Jeff Pearlman [163]
The record-breaking run came with 14:11 remaining in the third quarter, on a second-down-and-nine from the Bears’ twenty-one-yard line. The play, Toss 28 Weak, was a simple one. Payton lined up behind Suhey in the I-formation, tiptoed four steps to his left, and received the pitch from McMahon. Covert, the left tackle, blocked down alongside tight end Emery Moorehead. Mark Bortz, the left guard, pulled while leading Suhey and Payton—who palmed the ball like a basketball in his right hand—into the hole. The only Saint with a shot of dropping Payton for a loss was linebacker Whitney Paul, who charged straight toward the play before being nudged inside by Bortz. Payton burst outside, took about ten rapid-fire steps up the field, and lunged powerfully into linebacker Dennis “Dirt” Winston. Paul, trailing the action, helped bring him down from behind. As soon as Payton landed, six yards from where the play began, CBS announcer Tim Ryan bellowed, “He’s got it!” With the crowd standing and applauding, Payton—football in his left hand—leapt to his feet and extended his right arm to help Paul off the ground. Teammates and opponents rushed to offer hugs and handshakes and Jim Riebandt, the Soldier Field public address announcer, shouted, “Walter Payton has just set a new National Football League career rushing record!” Payton jogged to Saints coach Bum Phillips, shook his hand, and turned back toward Chicago’s sideline, dodging a couple of TV cameramen who had slinked onto the turf. Payton held the ball aloft to even louder cheers, exchanged a leaping high-five with teammate Todd Bell, then found himself engulfed by dozens of Bears. “More than anything, it was surreal,” said Pat Dunsmore, a Chicago tight end. “You realize it’s a big moment, but you don’t realize how big until you look back.” With the fans chanting “Wal-ter! Wal-ter! Wal-ter!” Payton looked for someone with the Bears who could set aside the ball. He ended the festivities by shaking hands with Michael McCaskey, the team’s president, but when Payton turned back to the field he found himself surrounded by photographers and cameramen. “Come on!” he squealed, shaking his arms in disgust. “Get off the field! Get off the field!”
On the New Orleans sideline, members of the Saints stood in wonderment. The moment was special. Not merely for one player or one team, but for football. For sports. “He was the epitome of what our game was all about,” said Jimmy Rogers, a New Orleans running back. “It was an historic event, and we wanted him to be honored.”
Payton returned to the huddle, waving to the fans one last time. He went on to gain 154 yards on thirty-two carries, as Chicago won handily, 20–7. Immediately after the final whistle blew, Payton was brought to the sideline, handed a pair of headphones, and placed on live television with Brent Musburger, host of The NFL Today and the man who, nine years earlier, flew the rookie running back to Chicago for his first televised interview.
“Walter,” Musburger said, “you have been downplaying this record now for some time. But does it mean more to you personally now that you’ve accomplished it? Can you comment on what it means after you’ve surpassed it?”
With his hair wrapped in a white headband, Payton breathed deeply and deliberately. The crowd was still screaming. The air was moist and cold.
“Well, Bret . . .” he began—knowing good and well Musburger’s first name was Brent.
Moments later, Payton accepted a call in a special tent from President Ronald Reagan, who was flying to Louisville on Air Force One. Upon being handed