Brian Urlacher
Brian Keith Urlacher (born May 25, 1978) is an American football player for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. Urlacher, a decorated four-time Probowler, has established himself as one of the League’s most productive linebackers. Additionally his distinctive leadership, aggressive playing style, and humble mentality have made him a quintessential icon for the Chicago Bears.
Early life
Brian Urlacher was born to Brad and Lavoyda Urlacher in Pasco, Washington. The family broke apart in the late 1980s, and Lavoyda gained custody of Urlacher and his siblings. Lavoyda then moved the family to Lovington, New Mexico, where she was eager to give the family a new start.
While his mother worked several jobs to keep the family afloat, Urlacher spent his free time exercising or playing various sports. Over time, Urlacher developed a sincere interest in football, which culminated in high school. Urlacher combined his brute force, agility, and speed to lead his high school’s team to an unbeaten 14-0 season. Urlacher had established himself as a double threat as a receiver and safety.
Urlacher’s successful athletic career made him a hometown hero in Lovington. Despite his newfound glory, Urlacher refused to exploit his popularity. Urlacher refused to drink or abuse substances during his youth, and often avoided attending late night parties. [1]
College career
Although Urlacher was partial to attending Texas Tech University, his dreams were cut short after the university failed to offer him a much-needed scholarship. The only two Division I schools that expressed genuine interests in him were the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State. Urlacher ultimately chose to attend the University of New Mexico.
After playing only limited time during his early years at the University of New Mexico, Urlacher was converted into a linebacker. Dennis Franchione, the head coach of New Mexico’s football team, had left the team in much disarray after hoping to reconstruct the team. Franchione heavily relied on his upperclassmen to do his bidding on the football field, and often left Urlacher sidelined during most games. After a well-fought season, the University of New Mexico lost a decisive game to the Colorado State University. Despite the loss, the team was invited to play in the Insight.com Bowl, where they lost to the University of Arizona.
Following the 1997 season, Franchione then left the University of New Mexico, and was replaced by Rocky Long, the former defensive coordinator of UCLA. While Long failed to distinguish the University of New Mexico as a premier football team, he helped Urlacher earn nationwide attention. By being used as a free safety, receiver, and return specialist, Urlacher was able to re-enter the football scene. Despite having to cope with a losing season, Brian had finished his college football career as one of the most talented players in the nation.
Professional career
On the rise
During the 2000 NFL Draft, Urlacher was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round. With such infamous names as Cade McNown and Curtis Enis, the 2000 Bears were almost bound to have a rough season. At first, Urlacher fell victim to numerous venial errors, which caused him to lose his starting position to Rosevelt Colvin. However, an injury to Barry Minter forced Urlacher to fill in as the team’s starting middle linebacker. After a productive performance against the New York Giants, he became an instant hit, recording over 15 tackles in each of his next two games. Not even a minor injury could prevent Urlacher from claiming the 2000 NFL Rookie of the Year Award , along with an invite to his first Pro Bowl.
Under the leadership of new coach Dick Jauron, the Bears surprised many with their performance during the 2001 NFL season. Urlacher helped lead the Bears to three come from behind victories, and two shut-outs. Despite their extremely productive defense, the Bears lost the divisional playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, the Bears’ 2001 winning season would soon be overshadowed by three years of mediocrity. Prior to the 2004 NFL season, the Bears’ organization fired coach Dick Jauron, and then hired Lovie Smith. After starting the season on the lower rungs of the NFC North, Urlacher suffered an injury that sidelined him for a majority of the season.
Monster of the gridiron
Despite starting the 2005 NFL season on a disastrous note, Urlacher helped the Bears rebound by winning eight straight games, and eventually clinching a playoff berth against the Green Bay Packers on Christmas Day. By the time the season ended, Urlacher and the Bears had boasted the best defense in the entire NFL. Before the regular season’s end, Urlacher was awarded with the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award, and an invitation to the Pro Bowl. The following week, the Carolina Panthers defeated the Bears with a score of 29-21 in the divisional playoffs.
The Bears started the 2006 season by winning nine out of ten games. Urlacher had a prodigious performance against the Arizona Cardinals during a week six Monday Night Football game. After trailing the Cardinals by twenty points, Urlacher helped the Bears engineer a late comeback, by stripping the ball from Edgerrin James, which lead to a pivotal Bears’ recovery and touchdown. The Bears went on to win, 24-23, while Urlacher recorded nineteen solo tackles. Later, Urlacher went on to overcome a "sprained toe" injury to lead the Bears to a 38-20 victory over the New York Giants, and made a clutch interception the following week to solidify a shutout against the New York Jets.
Reputation
Following his successful rookie season, Urlacher was able to fetch a healthy popularity within the Chicagoland area. Undoubtedly, he is still one of the most popular current Chicago Bears players. Bears’ fans consider Urlacher to be one of the "Monsters of the Midway", a "Valhalla" of Bears’ icons including Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka, and “Samurai” Mike Singletary. On a national level, Urlacher’s jersey sales have rivaled those of other NFL icons, such as Michael Vick and Brett Favre.[2] Football fans across the nation have also voted Urlacher into four Pro Bowls.
However, many skeptics and critics have considered Urlacher to be overrated. Urlacher’s injury woes in 2004 earned him the infamous honor as the NFL’s most overrated player in 2004. [3] Even after recovering from his injury, and winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award for the 2005 season, a 2006 Sports Illustrated poll in named Urlacher to be the second most overrated player in the league. Urlacher was unfazed by the poll’s results. During an interview, he said, “Just watch the film... I don’t know what people are saying, but I’m not too worried about it anymore. All I can do is go out there and play hard and try and help my team win, and that’s what I’m going to keep doing.” [4]
Personal life
Although Urlacher may appear to be intimidating, his teammates often criticize him for not being “mean” enough [5]. Urlacher has a soft side, which is often exposed through his compassion for helping others. In 2002, Brian Urlacher appeared on Wheel of Fortune, and won over $47,000, which he donated to charity. Urlacher, along with other Chicago Bears players, have sold autographed sports memorabilia to help fund the Special Olympics. Furthermore, Urlacher has been involved with charity work since his days at the University of New Mexico, where he volunteered countless hours for the Special Olympics and Ronald McDonald House.
In June 2005, Urlacher filed suit to establish paternity of a child. Genetic testing was completed to prove that he is the father. Although Urlacher was more than willing to help the child, he was worried about supplying money to the mother, Tyna Robertson. A former stripper, Robertson was already well-known to the media, having made unsuccessful claims of sexual assault against famed dancer Michael Flatley and a doctor from Naperville, Illinois. Both cases were thrown out, and Flatley is in the process of counter-suing Robertson for defamation of character.
Urlacher was married, but later divorced by his ex-wife, Laure. While married to Laure, the couple had one daughter named Pamela. After the divorce, Urlacher briefly dated Paris Hilton[6]. Urlacher's younger brother, Casey Urlacher, lived with him before beginning his professional career in the Arena Football League. Urlacher currently lives with his three children, Pamela, Riley, and Kennedy.
Urlacher is also a prosperous businessman. He is the owner of an auto dealership in Lovington, New Mexico, and has appeared in several commercials for McDonald's, Domino's Pizza, Nike, and Campbell's Chunky soup. Nike aired special commercials about Urlacher's high school career which contained clips and commentary of great plays he made in high school. However, Urlacher would later go on to say that he feels "uncomfortable" appearing in commercials [7]. Urlacher was also the cover athlete and spokesperson for Sega Sports' NFL 2K3. Outside of football, Urlacher is die-hard Chicago Cubs fan, and was once invited to sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the Seventh-inning stretch. He also enjoys watching professional wrestling, and even wrestled under the name “The Worm”. When the Bears' organization discovered this, they forced Urlacher to stop wrestling. [8]
Urlacher enjoys golfing during his spare time. During an episode of AT&T’s Home Turf, Urlacher revealed a room in his mansion which contained a plethora of golf paraphernalia. When home, Urlacher revealed that he enjoys watching the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and HBO’s Entourage. Urlacher enjoys listening to a wide variety of music, including country music, hip-hop, rap, and rock.[9]
References
- ^ "JockBio: Brian Urlacher".
- ^ "Top 10 NFL Player Jerseys".
- ^ "'Overrated' Urlacher could be NFL MVP".
- ^ "Adversity not slowing Urlacher's meteoric rise".
- ^ "JockBio: Brian Urlacher".
- ^ "A Royal Disaster".
- ^ "JockBio: Brian Urlacher "My Say"".
- ^ "JockBio: Brian Urlacher Facts".
- ^ "AT&T's Home Turf".