Why didn't Ditka give Walter Payton the opprtunity to score in SB?

[New England Pride]

Completely off topic but it's the offseason so it doesn't seem wildly inappropriate. Most people like to think that it just slipped Ditkas mind to not get sweetness the ball in a runaway Superbowl. How can this even be a valid excuse? When you give a defensive lineman the ball at the goal line with the game well in hand, it seems pretty obvious there's more to this than Ditka is willing to admit. Thoughts?

 

[Oswlek]

I saw an interview years ago where he explicitly said he thought Payton had already scored when he chose to give The Fridge the ball. He said it was only after the game that he realized Walter didn't get the chance to punch it in.

 

[farn]

On another note : Why the hell was this BS an issue ?

If Payton's goal was to win and be a part of a winning team, it should never have been an issue. Winning is winning. If someone is ALL upset about not scoring a TD in a SB you WON, then to me that person is a loser.

By all accounts, WP was a gentleman and whatnot. And I don't believe he made a stink about it, yet acknowledged it bugged him (am I right?)...

Load of BS. Win the game. The SCORE is the stat to chase. I have NO doubt in my mind that If Brady was told today that NE would win SB50, as long as he accepted to be subpar, that he would immediately ask where to sign.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

On another note : Why the hell was this BS an issue ?

If Payton's goal was to win and be a part of a winning team, it should never have been an issue. Winning is winning. If someone is ALL upset about not scoring a TD in a SB you WON, then to me that person is a loser.

By all accounts, WP was a gentleman and whatnot. And I don't believe he made a stink about it, yet acknowledged it bugged him (am I right?)...

Load of BS. Win the game. The SCORE is the stay to chase. I have NO doubt in my mind that If Brady was told today that NE would win SB50, as long as he accepted to be subpar, that he would immediately ask where to sign.

Agreed. I have always wondered why anyone cares about this. So big whoop, Payton didn't score a TD in the Super Bowl. He did get a ring and will always be known as a key player for one of the greatest teams of all-time. Would he be a happier man today had he just had that one touchdown in a game that was already a blowout?

 

[Jackson 2]

Because he was a dink then and he's a dink now.

 

[Tunescribe]

I saw an interview years ago where he explicitly said he thought Payton had already scored when he chose to give The Fridge the ball.

I think you're misremembering. Either in the SB 20 "America's Game" or the Payton edition of "A Football Life" (perhaps both), Ditka said it just slipped his mind in the heat of the game and he wasn't mindful of how much scoring meant to Walter. He said he otherwise would've made sure he got the ball.

Payton was used as a decoy much of that game. He also pouted a lot afterward over not scoring a touchdown.

 

[Oswlek]

I think you're misremembering. Either in the SB 20 "America's Game" or the Payton edition of "A Football Life" (perhaps both), Ditka said it just slipped his mind in the heat of the game and he wasn't mindful of how much scoring meant to Walter. He said he otherwise would've made sure he got the ball.

Payton was used as a decoy much of that game. He also pouted a lot afterward over not scoring a touchdown.

Thanks, I might be.

 

[farn]

Pouted a lot. Then he is a loser and I am embarassed for the NFL (even more than I did before) for naming an award after him. Doubly so that this award is linked to character...

Complete loser. You WON the freaking SB !!!!!!! Wow.

 

[Tunescribe]

Pouted a lot. Then he is a loser and I am embarassed for the NFL (even more than I did before) for naming an award after him. Doubly so that this award is linked to character... Complete loser. You WON the freaking SB !!!!!!! Wow.

I think you being a bit harsh here. Payton had very strong character and wasn't regarded as a selfish player. In that one instance -- not scoring a Super Bowl touchdown -- he felt let down and was childish about it. He probably felt he was due after carrying the Bears on his shoulders for 11 years up to that point.

 

[farn]

You are a patient and kind person Tune... I am impatient and judgemental. I find it's more fun that way.

WP : go cry over there you loser. Boohoo, you didn't score a TD in a lopsided SB win. The world is full of good guys that are losers. WP was obviously one of them.

 

[Froob]

Doesn't really matter tbh, maybe it matters to Payton but it's pretty funny they let the fridge score (well would have if it was vs somebody else, I wasn't alive that year lol). I so would have run up the score giving it to Vince had we had the chance.

 

[PlainOldEd]

....Would he be a happier man today had he just had that one touchdown in a game that was already a blowout?

Uh.... Am l missing something here?

 

[jmt57]

I can understand why Payton was miffed. It's not as if the Bears just happened to score on other plays. Chicago rushed for four touchdowns in that game, and three were from the one or two yard line - i.e., on plays that they expected to score on. There were multiple opportunities to reward Payton for his eleven years with the Bears; two of those short scores were in the second half, when the game was out of hand.

Payton ran the ball 22 times in that game, twice as many times as any other Bear. It was as if it was fine for him to grind and do all the hard work and run the clock down, but when it came time for some glory the play calls went to the showboats - McMahon twice, and then to Perry.

Ditka was all-in on the persona of he and the Bears being the big tough bully. Having Perry - a guy that wasn't even a running back - run over the Patriots at the goal line fit that profile; it was an exclamation point that shouted 'you can't stop us'. Payton running the ball in would not have accomplished the same thing; consider how often the Perry's touchdown was replayed, yet none of the other TDs are remembered.

Maybe Ditka did indeed not realize that Payton had not scored. But if so, shame on him; he was so focused in making a statement that he completely overlooked the longest tenured player on the club, that had endured a lot of bad years with the team before finally getting a chance at a championship.

 

[Patjew]

You guys realize the man is dead, right? Some weird tenses in this thread.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Uh.... Am l missing something here?

You guys realize the man is dead, right? Some weird tenses in this thread.

I actually forgot...until now.

 

[farn]

I hear what both jmt and patjew are saying. And their comments are logical and clear.

But who cares ? WP is dead. Still a loser if he at all was a cry baby about a damned TD run in a SB victory. To jmt's point I say who cares ? I don't care how many times he ran the ball, whom scored rushing TDs, or about WP's feelings in general.

I would rather be a role player on a winning team than the superstar of a losing squad. Further, if a player is so bent out of shape about a teammate scoring while he doesn't, that person is a loser. WP was a loser.

 

[Patjew]

I hear what both jmt and patjew are saying. And their comments are logical and clear.

But who cares ? WP is dead. Still a loser if he at all was a cry baby about a damned TD run in a SB victory. To jmt's point I say who cares ? I don't care how many times he ran the ball, whom scored rushing TDs, or about WP's feelings in general.

I would rather be a role player on a winning team than the superstar of a losing squad. Further, if a player is so bent out of shape about a teammate scoring while he doesn't, that person is a loser. WP was a loser.

I don't agree that he was a loser but I am not telling people to give him a break just because he's dead. I'm just reminding people that he's dead.

 

[farn]

You are a good guy, Patjew. And, while I recognize that I am being overly judgemental and slightly overboard re the WP hissy fit, I guess I just can't put myself in a place to understand why an athlete would even dare to put this out there, much less ACTUALLY think this way.

Winning is everything. Everything should be about winning. That is all I care about in professional sports.

 

[Patjew]

For years the man carried a moribund franchise on his back and while I'm sure he was extremely happy that he won the Super Bowl it could've been just that much sweeter if he had scored. I can't fault him for being a bit melancholy.

I want the company that I work for to be successful but I also want to feel successful at the same time. I think that's normal.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Because Ditka had a different player on his fantasy football team?