Great, Legendary, and Unforgettable are words that come to mind when talking about Walter Payton. His elusive and unstoppable running style sets him apart from many other athletes that have played in the NFL. Aside from Walter’s athletic abilities, he has helped the world in ways such as charity and huge donations. “Running alone is the toughest. You get to the point where you have to keep pushing yourself.” After Walter Payton passed away the ‘Player of the Year’ award was named the ‘Walter Payton Man of the Year’ award. To be one of the NFL’s leading rushers it isn’t easy, it took hard work, which Walter was determined to do. It all started when Walter was a young boy playing tag, he didn’t like to get tagged and be ‘it’ so he found ways …show more content…
There are many reasons that help prove that Walter Payton has displayed skill on and off the field in his lifetime. One example of how he displays skill is “He went on to become a highly successful businessman and owned and operated several companies in the Chicagoland area.”(Proquest). This exemplifies skill because after he retired from the NFL he continued to work and succeed in a different field. After retiring many star players don't do anything and rely on their endorsements and money from the NFL. Another example of how Walter displays skill is “Payton attended Jackson State University, where he set a college football record for points scored and earned his degree in special education”(U.S. History in Context). That shows skill because he set a college football record for points scored and received his degree in special education, which means he wasn't only good at playing football. He also planned ahead to make sure he had something to rely on when his time in the NFL was over. On the field Walter displayed a lot of skill as well. For example, “He was the NFL’s career leader in rushing yards(16,726), rushing touchdowns(110) and total yards gained (21,264)”(U.S. History In Context). He led the entire NFL in three different categories and held records in all of them. This was very rare to occur at the time,to be able to hold records in all three categories. The last example of how he displayed skill is “Payton was …show more content…
There are many reasons that prove Walter is a dedicated athlete. One example that shows how he was a dedicated athlete is ¨His dedication, integrity, and generosity made him one of the most admired men in history of Professional sports¨(U.S History in Context). He displayed the ‘dedication’ trait which many people saw in him and admired. It clearly states he was dedicated which makes the example powerful. Another strong example that proves Walter payton was a dedicated man and athlete is “Payton had been long and constantly dedicated to charity work”(U.S History in Context). This exhibits that he didn’t only dedicate himself to be a great athlete but also with charity work, which supports why he was a dedicated man and athlete. It also clearly states that he was dedicated which also makes this powerful. “If you ask me how I want to be remembered it is as a winner. You know what a winner is? A winner is somebody who has given his best effort”(Lee). This adds on to the reasons of why he was dedicated. He dedicated himself to being remembered as a winner after everything that he’d done in his lifetime. The fourth example I found to exemplify Walter Payton’s dedication is “You didn’t have a lot of room to move around, so you had to learn to shed tackles, dodge guys or go right over them”(Lee). On the football field there aren’t many ways to score except the obvious that he listed so he committed himself to learning