Walter Payton's Rookie Card - Mike Ditka - Doug Flutie - Gary Fencik - and A Cast of Hundreds

I always enjoyed collecting football cards. When I was a kid, we bought packs of cards with a piece of bubblegum in them. You never knew what players you were going to get. That pink bubblegum was good and had a unique flavor, but it could leave a stain on a valuable card. We didn't collect them to sell them. We traded them. Now you can buy the complete set. Topps were the common cards. I like the Philadelphia cards. Dan told me I should fill up my glove compartment with them.

A student and part time campus guard at the University of Wisconsin Platteville.

She wanted one last picture with Walter. She got it, and a hug below.

She wanted a picture with Walter on his last day ever at Platteville. He surprised her with a big hug.

Walter is, was, and always will be a superstar. Walter Payton was such a great player, but he was cheated out of a few things. He wasn't allowed to start right away, so he didn't start every single game of his career. He was never injured. And he wasn't given the chance to score a touchdown in the Superbowl. The Bears scored 46 points in that game. When Walter started with the Bears, they had an "average" offensive line and no passing game. The other teams knew the Bears had to run and they stacked the line against him. He also had a lot of long runs called back due to stupid penalties, or poor officiating.

Doug Flutie could have been that backup quarterback that led the team to another Superbowl win. McMahon was hurt a lot, and Steve Fuller and Mike Tomczak were not outstanding.

Gary Fencik gives a small boy a friendly greeting.

Gary sporting a mustache.

When you are on a Superbowl winning team and have achieved a certain level of fame, Madison Avenue will come calling. Jim McMahon, William Perry, and Mike Ditka all had advertisements marketing various products and making extra money for themselves.

Mike autographs a jersey for a young boy. I like seeing Mike on ESPN.

Keith Van Horn rides through the campus on a motor scooter. Not safe shoes for biking, just flip flops; no helmet; not paying attention to that rope in the foreground - result, see the picture below.

Ouch!!! Keith hit the rope and got knocked off the scooter. He must have been as much embarrassed as he was injured.