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Back in the 1980's, before Fox Sports transitioned sports broadcasts into nearly unwatchable conglomerations of random noises, banal commentary, and horrid camera angles, CBS Sports set a gold standard for broadcasts. Each week NFL broadcasts would start with an intro segment that set the story for the game.

On January 12, 1986, here's how CBS started their broadcast:


It's hard to imagine that over 21 years have passed since that time. That's nearly as long as the last gap between title seasons. January 1986 marked 22 years and a few days after the Bears previous title, won on December 29, 1963 (the last World Title won by any professional team in Wrigley Field).

So, were we to get Pat Summerall to re-record the intro for the NFC Title Game this week, who would he say this game be for?

Part of the problem with coming up with names for the gap between 1985 and 2006 is that the Bears were not only pretty awful, but they had pretty awful players. There were no Dick Butkus and Gayle Sayers type players. But there were a few good players. Summerall might come up with this.

Sunday, January 21, 2007 is for Neal Anderson. His fleet feet ablely succeed Walter Payton with four Pro Bowls, three one thousand yard seasons. But hamstring injuries forced him to leave the game too soon to be remembered as the outstanding running back he was.

Sunday, January 21, 2007 is for Trace Armstrong. He tried to become the new face of the defense after the retirement of Dan Hampton. For many years, he tried to have fun on a team that saw fewer and fewer good times. Eventually, he was unceremoniously run out of town by Dave Wannstedt.

Sunday, January 21, 2007 is for Donnell Woolford. The only true lockdown cornerback the Bears have had since Leslie Frazier. He played in the early days of the "new breed" of trash talking cornerbacks with a quiet professionalism that many people have forgotten.

Among the current Bears, Sunday, January 21, 2007 is for Olin Kreutz, Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown. These players deserve the one more game that a Super Bowl berth would bring.

But Sunday, January 21, 2007 is mostly for Walter Payton. The man who was the most complete football player ever to lace up cleats in NFL history was taken at far too young of an age. While his career is unparalleled, Walter did have an open regret: That he did not have a great Super Bowl game. Walter wanted to get back to the Super Bowl. His last game, the 1987 Divisional Playoff loss to the Washington Redskins, ended with Walter on the bench, head in hands, reflecting in silence. He wanted to get back. To have one last game. As he told in an interview before that final game, Walter wanted to have the ball, down five points, time running out. He takes the ball, makes all kinds of crazy moves and jukes, barrels into the endzone, puts the ball down. And flies away.

Somewhere beyond the horizon of Lake Michigan, Walter Payton wants that one more game, too.