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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Urlacher wrestles
with successFAME is a funny thing. Brian Urlacher grew up in a small New Mexico town of about 8,000 people, the kind of place where crowds just aren't an everyday occurrence, and he might have lived a quiet life. But he can run 40 yards in about 4.5 seconds and pack 244 pounds on a 6-3 frame and it turns out he's a great, great football player. And so the next thing you know he's living in the City of Broad Shoulders, Chicago, and everybody wants something. Everybody wants a piece.
The last time I saw Urlacher was two years ago and I was chasing after him, because everyone was chasing after him then. He was going to be the NFL's next big star, and you could almost actually physically feel it. You could sense the push of humanity surging toward him wherever he walked.
His then-teammate Ted Washington put it best, as if asking why anyone would bother to interview any other Bear.
"Urlacher's outside," Ted said, as if that said it all. And it did.
A star had been born.
It was like Elvis.
"Me?" Urlacher asked then.
Yes, he seemed very soft-spoken and humble, even in the face of this madness. He said these Pro Bowl autograph tsunamis were everyday life back in Chicago. But he was matter-of-fact unfazed by it, and as we walked from the locker room to the bus Urlacher talked about how he and his wife had gotten used to this new life, how they would handle it together. How they had done a good job facing fame.
I'm sure Elvis said stuff like that in the beginning, too.
So now it's two years later, and Urlacher is still soft-spoken, still comes across humble and sincere.
But the national newspapers have told us stories about filing for divorce, about a fling with Paris Hilton. (Yes, that Paris Hilton.)
And now, pro wrestling. (Yes, "Let me tell you something, Mean Gene! Woo!" pro wrestling.)
Against a guy from "Survivor."
(Apparently, when told about Urlacher's wrestling debut, Bears' defensive coordinator Ron Rivera's first response was, "Did he win?")
So he must have gotten caught up in all this stuff. He was a great middle linebacker in a city that loves them, and the rest of the nation was ready to go along for the ride. And now he's along for it, too. He's been swept away by it all. Another claimed by fame.
But here's the funny thing. Urlacher says no.
Has he changed? Has his life? "I'm the same guy," he said. "I've got the same group of friends and my family's the same. I feel like I'm the same guy. Even a little bit more mature."
I guess. Hey, if a guy likes wrestling, he likes wrestling.
Still, you have to think all this has been enough to make a person's head spin.
"You know, at first it was," he said. "Because it all just happened so fast. You never know what's going to happen. Everything happened so quick when I got into the league, my first couple years. But now, I take it all in. I've just taken a step back, and I'm hanging out now!"
Mean Gene, he certainly is.
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Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com