The 22nd of May 2013 a great Bears Legend retired. I am of course referring to The Great 54. Brian Urlacher played Linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 2000 to 2012, and left the Bears for free agency in 2013. But after not getting a new deal with the Bears, Brian found it very difficult to find a new team. A sad thing for Brian who probably could have played for a few more years, and, in my opinion, should have been with the Bears for at least two more years before retiring. Unfortunately he was not signed to a new deal, and his last memories of his Bears career will not be good. He’ll remember the firing of Lovie Smith, and he’ll remember a, somewhat, poor treatment from the General Manager, Phil Emery.
However, he’ll also remember a great career with a storied franchise – my favorite NFL team, the Chicago Bears. Now, I’ll find it very difficult to say Brian Urlacher is the best Linebacker to ever play the game, and possibly even as hard to say he’s the best Linebacker in Bears’ History – but I won’t do that. Instead, I’ll tell you that Urlacher is the greatest Linebacker I’ve ever seen play. Keep in mind that I was born in 1993, and was introduced to the game around 2005-2007. So I haven’t seen Dick Butkus or Mike Singletary play – sad, but true.
Thankfully, I got to see Brian Urlacher – the best Bears player I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing play. Some would argue that he isn’t nearly as good as other Bears Legends like Mike Ditka, Gale Sayers, Walter Payton or the aforementioned Linebacker Legends – but he is the best Bears player I have ever seen play. And that’s good enough for me.
Thanks for everything, Brian. I’m glad you only ever wore a Bears jersey.
– I’m Jeffrey Rex.
Post Scriptum: Please don’t do a “Brett Favre”.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 