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ROSEMONT, Ill. – Gale Sayers received an extra ovation from the Chicago crowd.
Six Hall of Fame members and 230 past and present players and coaches were present as the Chicago Bears kicked off their 100th anniversary weekend on Friday. When Sayers was brought on the scene, the roar of the crowd could have drowned the jets from the nearby O 'Hare International Airport.
Weakened by the dementia diagnosed five years ago, Sayers still travels 130 km from his home in Wakarusa, Indiana.
He showed up with his Hall of Fame gold jacket and his blue and white cap with number 40. He wiped his left eye while his former teammate Dick Butkus, Dan Hampton and Richard Dent cheered on the stage.
Moments later, Mike Singletary came out. And with Mike Ditka also present, the Bears had six Hall of Famers on stage at a time.
A few minutes later, as he left the group, Sayers curled up as Singletary chased him away. It was hard to tell if he was crying. But some tears could have flowed into the room.
"It's a tough thing," Butkus said. "I call him and I watch him often enough, and it's a sad deal.You just have to be thankful with what you have.I have my neuropathy problems and my balance.But I I have no pain At least, I always know who I am, I'm happy about that. "
Sayers' situation makes this weekend, in some ways, a bittersweet day.
The "Kansas Comet" was an All-American All-American twice for the Jayhawks and was dazzled by the Bears in a career that lasted only seven seasons due to knee injuries. Quintuple All-Pro, he remains the youngest player to be inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame, dedicated at the age of 34 in 1977.
He was named rookie of the year in 1965 after being drafted to a place behind Butkus with No. 4 pick. He scored six touchdowns in a muddy win over Wrigley Field against San Francisco that season and made four Pro Bowls before hanging up in 1971.
"He seemed to be hovering," Ditka said. "I mean, the pitch was muddy, everyone slipped and slid, except for him – it was the most incredible exposure I've ever seen in the history of the game." There was probably no such thing – just a great, awesome guy, Gale was humble, he never said anything, but he was a great footballer. "
Ditka was happy to be part of the festivities. A Hall of Fame member and Super Bowl champion coach in 1985, Bears suffered a heart attack on a golf course in November.
He stated that he had reduced the number of cigar cigarettes, often preferring to chew an unlit one.
"Life is a gift from God, and what we do with it, it will give you back," Ditka said. "I hope that it will give me a few more years, and I will try to do my best with it."
For Gary Fencik, the Pro Bowl doubles security player on the Super Bowl Championship team, attending an event like this is special. He is from Chicago and holds the Bears subscriptions.
"That's it," he says. "And you do not really think you're part of the story of any organization … It's not that I have not read the story. Bears or the NFL, but it puts you a little more in the center of attention – and you're part of a very important fabric for the city and the NFL. "
Jim McMahon, the "QB Punky" of the 1985 team, called Chicago a "special place".
"I've always loved this city, I lived there for 28 years, almost half of my life," he said. "All my children were born and raised here, it's a special place, and it was a special team I was involved with."
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