He would be 150 days older than Michael Jordan was when Jordan brought Chicago his first championship in 1991, but Brian Urlacher isn’t counting. A Super Bowl XLI title next month drives the city’s most beloved sports idol since the Jordan Era but hardly obsesses him.
At 28 and having just completed his seventh season, the same stage Jordan was at in his career when the ’91 Bulls began the playoffs, Urlacher disputes any premise of this being a chance that never may come to him again.
“Everyone wants to win a ring, and that’s how I want to be remembered, a championship football player and stuff like that, but I don’t think if you don’t do it, you failed in your career,” Urlacher said Thursday.
He remains too young to let thoughts of joining Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers in Bears history as great players who never played in a Super Bowl keep him up at night. He concerns himself more with leaving an impression on Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck’s chest Sunday than on a football city that will adore him long after his last tackle.
“Some of the big names in this organization, the great ones, never won a Super Bowl, so it would definitely set Brian apart,” teammate Lance Briggs said.
“It didn’t happen for me, but it didn’t happen for Jim Brown or O.J. Simpson either,” Gale Sayers said. “To say I didn’t go to the Super Bowl and Franco Harris did, so was he better than me? No, I don’t think so. And whether [Urlacher] goes to the Super Bowl doesn’t reflect on how great a player he is.”
Sarcasm dripped from Urlacher’s words as he stood at the podium Thursday during his weekly news conference, which he typically enjoys as much as getting blocked.
How will the Bears combat versatile tight end Jerramy Stevens?
“What do you want to know? He has played all season, right? He had a good game last week,” Urlacher said, the implication of Stevens’ inconsistency obvious.
Could the Seahawks’ Super Bowl experience 11 months ago give them an edge?
“Last year … last year’s over,” Urlacher said.
Surely the prospect of facing 2005 NFL MVP Shaun Alexander concerns Urlacher, right?
“I think they’ll try to run the ball more with him in there,” he said. “He was a good running back last year, but last year’s over.”
A day earlier in a teleconference with Seattle media, Urlacher surprised some with his bluntness when asked to compare the Seahawks linebacker corps with the Bears.
“We think we’re the best,” he said.
It has nothing to with talking trash about Seattle and everything to do with the animosity building all season among Bears who have used perceived disrespect as motivation, and apparently still are using it.
“The media has been consistent all year long, people have been on our backs all year long, so that has been nice,” said Urlacher, tongue firmly in cheek. “We’re the worst 13-3 team of all time. We still have a home game in the playoffs somehow.”
The Bears also enjoyed home-field advantage last season but blew it against the Carolina Panthers, the biggest source of the past 16 weeks of skepticism. Urlacher was asked if that unexpected flop a year ago made him even more committed to not letting the defense be the reason for an early exit this season.
“Thanks for bringing that up,” he answered.
The fact is, Urlacher is not getting younger, and that reality has not been lost on his linebacker buddies.
“I think our drive starts with [coach Lovie Smith], but his window is going to be a lot bigger than Brian’s, so there is a sense of urgency for Brian,” outside linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo said. “This is his third opportunity as a Bear [in the playoffs], and it’s right there at the tip of his finger. You can’t assume that he’ll be back in this situation again.”
