Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports
Although the news isn’t as surprising as it would have been a year ago today, Brian Urlacher‘s retirement announcement on Wednesday morning was nothing short of classy. He showed his respect for the Chicago Bears and they should, in turn, show their respect for the legendary linebacker.
It was an honor to play my entire career for the @chicagobears say.ly/GOh5Sxs
— Brian Urlacher (@BUrlacher54) May 22, 2013
Urlacher’s retirement decision was announced on Twitter by the soon-to-be 35-year old NFL legend. He talked about how it was an honor to play for such a great franchise in Chicago and would like to retire having played every snap with the one team he broke into the league with.
Chicago was lucky to have such a stand-up guy and linebacker that got them over 1,350 tackles and 22 interceptions in 13 years.
This retirement announcement shows how much respect Urlacher still has for the Bears, even after they let him go following the 2012 season.
He played an injury-riddled 2012 season and played with passion like he always did. It’s not easy to have so much love for a team that let you go, but that’s exactly why Urlacher is who he is and why he is so highly respected by everyone in the NFL.
It was also very respectable how he did everyone a favor in retiring. No, I’m not saying he would have caused a distraction for another team or would have turned another team’s season awry, but he said that he didn’t think he would play with as much passion as he had with the Bears.
To say this and retire on a high note is one of the best things he could do. He will have a retired number on a Bears’ jersey soon enough.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
