Another thing I missed when I was out of the country \u2013 the death of the only sports figure I ever actually wanted to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dick Butkus, Chicago Bears legend and the man who defined the position of middle linebacker, died last week at the age of 80:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nA ferocious tackler drafted out of the University of Illinois, Butkus<\/a> was an imposing force as the Bears\u2019 middle linebacker for his nine NFL seasons in the 1960s and 1970s, and made eight Pro Bowls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Butkus thought his intensity on the field was simply how the game should be played, according to an article on the Bears\u2019 website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought that was the way that everybody should have played, but I guess they didn\u2019t because they were claiming that I had a special way of playing,\u201d he said when asked about his ferocity, according to the article.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
No one remembers when I became a Chicago Bears fan – it was almost certainly before I knew what football was \u2013 but as long as anyone could remember, I knew who Dick Butkus was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n