| Title | : | Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 159240653X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781592406531 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 496 |
| Publication | : | First published September 29, 2011 |
Crafted from interviews with more than 700 sources, acclaimed sportswriter Jeff Pearlman has produced the first definitive biography of Payton. Sweetness at last brings fans a detailed, scrupulously researched, all-encompassing account of the legend's rise to greatness. From Payton's childhood in segregated Mississippi, where he ended a racial war by becoming the star of his integrated high school's football team, to his college years and his twelve-year NFL career, Sweetness brims with stories of all-American heroism, and covers Payton's life off the field as well. Set against the backdrop of the tragic illness that cut his life short at just forty- six years of age, this is a stirring tribute to a singular icon and the lasting legacy he made.
Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton Reviews
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Philanthropist. Philander. Family man. Aloof husband. Loyal and selfless teammate. Prankster who requested his stats at halftime. Walter Payton was a man who was many things and one who meant the world to many people. This biography, “Sweetness”, captures Payton as the complex man that he was.
The author of this work, Jeff Pearlman, attempts to capture a man who is both tangible and mythical in nature. The joy and gregariousness during his playing career is presented along with the depression and self-doubt that plagued him during retirement. For someone who was beloved by so many people, who embodied the spirit of, “the city of broad shoulders”, he was so often a mystery to those around him. His wife, Connie who stayed married to him despite the countless affairs and cold shoulder, seemed to have almost zero understanding of him. His kids, Jarrett, Brittney and an out-of-wedlock son “Nigel” were largely on the periphery, which makes sense. The people who seemed to be closest to Walter were his personal assistant, Ginny Quirk and his longtime agent, Bud Holmes.
This book takes us through the journey that was Payton’s extraordinary life. From his humble upbringing in Mississippi to his decorated college and pro football career to his death from liver disease we get an unvarnished look into his life. Some may question why Pearlman delves so deep into his personal life and even I admit after the third or fourth detailed dalliance it was getting to be overkill. Even with that disclaimer, the breadth and research is awe inspiring. Without, having the ability to interview the subject himself due to his untimely death, Pearlman is able to bring Payton alive in all of his glory. An assist to the performer, Malcolm Hillgartner who capably handles the various inflections of those he intones, including difficult Mississippi delta accents.
At just 5 feet 10 inches and under 200 pounds, Walter was not equipped with super hero size nor was he particularly fast. His grit and determination on the gridiron was heroic though. Through sheer will and an ability to wring out everything that he could from his heart, body and soul, he propelled himself into the conversation of greatest player in NFL history. His physical prowess and most importantly mental fortitude allowed him to play in 186 consecutive games. He was able to combine violence and beauty into a package that has never since been replicated. Renowned for unselfish things like being a devastating blocker and spatting, the term used for taping up ankles and feet, he could seamlessly do anything required on the field of play.
That is not to say that Payton was strictly an athlete without any personality. He was a man who liked fast cars and women. Who finished in second place in a national dance competition while attending Jackson State. He would prank his teammates in many ways including calling their wives and using his ubiquitous high-pitched voice, act like a floosy that was having an affair. He was able to balance some of these more ribald acts with a human quality that is often lacking from people in general but especially those in exalted positions. He would lend support to those players who were unlikely to make the roster, giving them a kind word or a reassuring pep talk. He also spent many a day visiting children in hospitals and for the most part did it without publicity. Even as a college student he took his studies seriously, attending graduate level classes in education for the deaf. He was one of those rare sorts of people who even when they reached a high level of fame was most happy making those around him comfortable and feeling important.
This book has done something truly unique in transforming the man, Walter Payton while not laying to waste the myth. Even with its many controversial moments it is deserving of a 5 star rating. Could I have done without some of the salacious details? Sure, but those moments do not detract from anything that he accomplished or even what he embodied. He is much more than just the name on the trophy for top player in Division II or the NFL Man of the Year. The way he struggled for every yard he gained, churning his magnificent legs like the pistons of a high performance vehicle, clubbing defenders away with a stiff arm, despite not being the biggest, strongest or fastest, he was the toughest. Much like his adopted city of Chicago, he radiated steel on the outside and charm on the inside. The duality of Walter Payton is best personified in his performance during his only Super Bowl appearance, number XX. In the twilight of his career, Payton led the Bears offense throughout the year but was held scoreless in the final game of his season. Though his team won handily, he was not accorded the catharsis of finding the end zone. Unfortunately, this cruelty would not be his last. The ultimate cruelty awaited, a man who was built out of granite succumbed to an illness that left him a shriveled up cusp of his former self. Even in the throes of liver disease, he lent his considerable voice and fame to drum up support for organ transplants. Strangely emotional after listening to this audiobook, even months later, I can understand perfectly why both Walter the man and the myth are held in such high regard. -
At one point in this bio, author Jeff Pearlman says Payton cherished the love his fans gave to him but believed it was not real because they did not know the "real" Walter Payton. After getting to know the real Walter Payton through Pearlman's work, I have to say I was shocked at times to see some of the less than heroic behavior of my childhood hero. There are many things I would not have wanted to know as a child. As an adult, however, I am glad to know that Payton was as fallible and as human as the rest of us, yet he still possessed those heroic qualities that made him stand out as something special, as someone who was unforgettable, and not just as a football talent.
This book may tarnish Payton's legacy in the eyes of some, but that wasn't Pearlman's goal. He may not be as beloved in the eyes of some because of some of this book's content, but that's not fair. Those who judge Payton harshly should think of what their own biographies would look like, assuming they were important enough to have biographies written about them.
As for me, Walter Payton is still one of my heroes. -
It’s because of Texas that I fell in love with Walter Payton. I had one of those crushes that women often have on sports celebrities, but rarely ever admit to. Yes, I dreamed about Sweetness and me often even as (or perhaps because I was) a married woman with three young children. It was 1985 and I lived in Louisville Kentucky, a wonderful place for fantasies.
Except for a break of three years living in Europe, I spent the first half of my life trying to get the h*ll out of Texas. My childhood consisted of dreaming of NYC, and my adulthood nagging my husband at the time to take the kids and me out of that Godforsaken place. Finally success—we were moving! Well, Kentucky isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but at that point anything would do.
If you’ve not been raised in Texas, or probably anywhere in the southern U.S., you have to know that American football is in your genes. It has to be genetic because there’s no cure for it. I’ve tried; doesn’t work. Not only do you love football, but supporting your HOME TEAM is imperative. If you live near Houston, you are an Oilers fan (Ooops, just told my age!), and if you live near Dallas, you are a Cowboys fan. You are born to a football team, just as you are born to a family. Texans believe that they are born with an invisible tattoo that delineates “Cowboys,” or “Texans” so that when they come to the pearly gates St. Peter can shine his magic light on them and know which line to put them in. Anyway, Kentucky does not have a professional football team.
I don’t remember the exact moment that realized that there was no HOME TEAM, but I do remember that I was just giddy with excitement. Why? Because, for the first time in my life I wasn’t attached at the hip to a specific team. I was going to get to pick any team that I wanted to support. You have no idea how liberated and free that made me feel. After much research and thought, I picked the Chicago Bears, who just happened to win the Super Bowl that season. This was the year of Sweetness, The Refrigerator, Jim McMahon, Mike Singletary (who I called Teddy Ruxpin because that’s who he looked like with his helmet on), Mike Ditka, Buddy Ryan, and others. My Sunday afternoons were spent watching ‘Da Bears, and my Sunday nights were spent dreaming about me and Sweetness. When I heard that Walter Payton had died “waiting for a kidney transplant,” I cried, really cried. It was so sad to me. When I heard about this book, I picked it up because I was hoping that I wouldn’t be so sad anymore. Didn’t work.
First, I kicked myself for not researching his death more. Walter Payton did not die waiting for a liver transplant. He died because he had a rare autoimmune kidney disease which probably lead to bile duct cancer. Once you have bile duct cancer, you are no longer a candidate for transplant. The book does not make it clear whether Payton realized that he was not even on the list, or even if his doctors told him that kidney transplant was not an option! He often spoke in support of organ transplant, leaving one to wonder. The sad part is that he could possibly have had the kidney disease for years before it was discovered, but because he was Walter Payton, ultimate athlete, no one...not his doctors, not himself, not his friends...paid attention to any of the symptoms that he may have had. Even abnormal test results, which usually would set off alarms, were discounted. Sad.
Mr. Pearlman does not sugarcoat Walter Payton, the man, who was moody at best, and definitely not the person you’d expect after seeing that beautiful smile. Apparently he went back and forth between being a happy jokester and a volatile person, between manic and depressive, and always, always insecure, constantly complaining about not being appreciated. Having said that, I have to add that he was also the man that we wanted him to be, loyal and helpful, generous to a fault with his fans, especially the kids, and most especially to the kids who were going through bad times. In the end Walter Payton was human, and a great one at that, which just makes his death all the more sad for me. -
I really enjoyed this book about Walter Payton. I learned a lot about the man and his life and I felt the author did a great job telling both the positive and negative. Highly recommended for any football or sports fan.
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Oscar Wilde wrote “The truth about the life of a man is not what he does, but the legend which he creates around himself” certainly pertains to the life of Walter Payton as he worked hard and succeeded to be a nearly perfect football hero and role model to millions of fans throughout the nation (especially Chicagoland). Jeff Pearlman shines a bright light in his unflattering biography of a boy raised in poverty ‘rising’ to the highest achievements as a running back for Jackson State and the Chicago Bears before dying a premature death at age 45 from primary sclerosis cholangitis. The author describes Payton’s ‘enigmatic’ personality and behavior as an imperfect man trying to be the perfect role model image and ‘hero’ to his fans, family, and supporters. Despite these imperfections, the author not only gives us an opportunity to know Walter Payton but he gives us reason to ‘love’ Sweetness as the human being and super star he truly was.
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This book is not for everyone, though it is very much for me, a trip down Memory Lane. I lived in the Chicago suburbs as a teen, moving there around the time Walter Payton began his career. He occupied an outsized share of mind for me and many peers. I still can hear the game announcer calling, "Payton up the middle for three," followed on the next play with "Payton up the middle for three." I lived in Lake Forest, home to the Bears training camp. "Did you hear Walter Payton got caught speeding on Old Elm Rd. in his Porsche?" The air was infused with positive Walter Payton energy, a good thing because there wasn't much positive on offer in those teenage years.
Jeff Pearlman is a talented author, writing an engaging text. I believe he's constructed a well-balanced narrative of Payton's life, one I enjoyed. I never thought of Walter Payton as a deity, just a great athlete. Mr. Pearlman reveals Walter Payton as very much the human, subject to the rainbow of goods and bads that afflict our species, particularly men. How we respond to those orthogonal urges, desires, and cravings visited upon a life seems an individual experience. Thanks to Mr. Pearlman's effort we have good insight into Walter Payton's choices.
For those who've embraced careerism in their lives, me for one, Mr. Pearlman's tale offers some candid insight into the possible bewilderment, or worse depression, of life post career, something all-too-many of us seem ill-equipped to encounter. Only in recent centuries has this been an issue for humanity, an issue absent elegant solution, it seems. A big thank you to Mr. Pearlman, and Walter Payton, for the memories. -
Whenever a biography like this one is released, where the subject is no longer living to dispute the sometimes sordid tales within, it will be immediately dismissed by many as gossip trash. For those of you who did that with this book, without taking the time to read it, you are making a huge mistake. My father is quoted several times in this book. He and Walter were great friends when I was a child in Chicago, and I knew many of these controversial revelations at the time they were occurring.
Like many famous athletes, Walter Payton wasn't an angel. He was, however, an incredible athlete and a legendary football player. Ironically, Jeff Pearlman caught a lot of unwarranted flak when he should have been praised for responsibly reporting the facts of Walter's life.
I came away from this book with even more of an appreciation for how hard he worked to become a great player, how much the game has changed, and how all people are flawed in one way or another.
Obviously this book was special for me personally, since I lived through a lot of it. But, if you are a football fan, and especially a Bears fan, I can definitely recommend this book to you. -
At the moment I am giving this three stars.
The problem is I don't know how I feel about this book, mostly because I grew up (in Chicago) watching Walter Payton as soon as I was able to comprehend what football was. To me Walter Payton was what football meant as the definition to the actual word. That being said, I didn't go into this book with rose colored glasses on, I knew I was probably going to learn some information that would have been hard to take.
The life of Walter Payton is a very interesting one and the story that unfolds is this book is really well written, but in this day and age of biographies and memoirs that are fabricated and embellished how do we not take the information with a grain of salt? Do we know that every source is being forthright? Is the author asking the right questions? Is he capable of understanding if he is being lied to or not? Are old grudges and animosities coloring the discussion? Are people only speaking because they are trying to defend his legacy or taint it? Is this about truth or legacy, because those two things hardly ever go hand in hand.
I want to believe the information in this book is accurate and that it was put together to show that the legend and the truth are not always the same but also not as bad as we fear. I believe that the author had the best intentions when writing this book, and that he only set out to write a biography of the real Walter Payton, flaws and all.
In doing so I must accept the idea that the Walter Payton within these pages was a man of immense talent and immense immaturity. A person with a childlike spirit as well as a childlike impulse control. A person with natural gifts, an immense work ethic and a drive that made him the best in his field, but also a person insecure and selfish. A person with a me first, gotta-get-my stats attitude, but also a fiercely competitive athlete who hated to lose. A person who made terrible decisions, and maybe didn't appreciate just how amazingly good he had it. There were things in the book that left me awed and there are things in this book that left me flabbergasted.
I guess that is what Walter Payton actually was, an amazing athlete who became a symbol that defined the spirit of competition, a person with a good heart and a good reputation that he was determined to protect everyday even when he was making decision that would have tarnished that reputation if ever discovered. A human being who tried to hide his flaws, who fought for every thing (and yard) he ever got and a man who died far to young - but for some of us will live forever.
Still, the ten-year-old Bears fan in me is having a hard time today. -
Sometimes I think I engage sports biographies so I can huffily complain about how mediocre they are. As a rule, they don't portray the depth and contradictions inside their subject. As a rule, they survey seasons about as compellingly as a football card or baseball card as they begin to rattle off numbers. Generally, they don't capture scenes that make particular moments stand out.
This one gives me no room for complaint in any of those respects. Walter Payton comes through as a real person, at once wise and immature, giving and selfish, pious and adulterous. The author allows the reader to move behind Walter Payton in certain of his memorable runs, and the opponents, because of the author's devotion to his craft, are not one-dimensional cutouts who exist to make Walter Payton look spectacular. Because the author is willing to pause long enough to tell us that the guy Walter Payton just ran over is one of the most solid hitters in the game, or even a Hall of Famer, we get a more palpable sense of the strength of Sweetness. This kind of descriptive objectivity extends to force the reader to be present for Walter Payton's father's autopsy and for his own physical demise, but the overall work is moving as a result. -
Once again Jeff Pearlman delivers a great book, this time on the great running back Walter Payton, who may very well be the best football player of all time, but he was far from perfect as a person. Very, very well researched and a heartbreaking story in that Payton was not ALWAYS the great person I've thought he was in the past. This book brings some things to life that were not always known by fans. Pearlman doesn't really offer his opinion though, he constantly backs up facts with quotes from other people, whether it be family, friends, teammates, buisness partners or someone else to prove his point. Pearlman caught some flak from writing this story, but I'm still glad there are reporters out there who will dig where nobody else will did and tell a story that hasn't been told or people have been too afraid to tell. A must for football fans, although Bears fans may want to stay away from if they want to continue to believe Walter Payton was perfect. Nobody is perfect. Can't wait to read the next one by Pearlman, who has also written great ones like "The Bad Guys Won" and "Boys will be Boys."
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A good solid history of Walter Payton's life and death. It details his own personal struggles with anxiety, drugs, and depression. It also details the racism and death threats that Payton had to face as a star athlete. Payton is an enigmatic walking ambivalence; a pendulum swinging from compassion to selfishness. Pearlman details Payton's sad decline from cancer as well.
If you are a fan of Football, the Bears, or complex characters, then you should pick up this book. You may find some comfort as well knowing that even larger than life personalities struggle with the same issues of worth and place as everyone else. -
This book was honest and real. Everyone has darkness and secrets, while this book opened my eyes to one of my favorite sports stars, it also made me respect him a bit more because he wasn't perfect. He struggled deeply but it still one of my hero's!
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Pearlman expends so much time and effort conjuring Payton's dark side and personal eccentricities that he shortchanges Payton's (possible the greatest all-around football player to ever play the game)singular genius as a player.
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a raw, incredibly honest look at one of the greatest football players of all-time who died way too soon. while not as scandalous as his other books, it was so beautiful at the end
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Rating:
4 1/2 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
Having seen Walter Payton play football in his prime and admiring what he did on the field, I was interested in reading this biography written by a well-known and respected writer for Sports Illustrated. It turns out there was a lot more to the man than the image that was portrayed as the hard-working football player and dedicated Christian and family man.
The research and detail in this book was very good. Pearlman talked to many of Payton’s teammates in high school and college. The section on Payton’s time at Jackson State was quite impressive in its detail – such as the details of some of the practices endured by the players. When he turns pro with the Chicago Bears, the ups and downs of not only Payton but the entire team is well researched as well. The reader learns why Payton struggled at times because the Bears team was not very good.
What makes the book even better, however, is Pearlman’s account of Payton’s life off the field, both during his youth and his adulthood. Very often biographies of professional athletes will reveal unknown characteristics about the athlete that most fans did not know existed. This is no exception. The best way to describe this aspect of the book is conflicting. Payton is trying to live the proper Christian life, but has many sessions of infidelity, including fathering a child with someone other than his wife. He is at times portrayed as an egomaniac, but yet will always visit sick children in hospitals when called upon. He is often portrayed as a great team player, yet is shown to be sulking about individual slights, whether real or perceived. The best story of that was during Super Bowl XX, when he was livid that William “Refrigerator” Perry, a defensive lineman, was given the ball to score the last touchdown of that game instead of him.
This is a well researched, well written biography of the running back who many believe to be the greatest to ever play in the NFL.
Did I skim?
No.
Did I learn something new?
Yes. The most interesting (or shocking, depending on your viewpoint) was the revelation of Payton’s infidelity and hard-partying lifestyle well after his playing days were over. It is not all that shocking when any athlete lives like that while playing and especially when on the road, but that Payton did this while being portrayed as an ideal family man was quite eye-opening.
Pace of the book:
Excellent. The transitions between football and off-the-field portions were smooth and the book was told in chronological order.
Positives:
The research and detail are the outstanding aspects of this book, but in addition, I believed the manner in which Pearlman presented topics that could be controversial or troubling, such as Payton’s cheating, the way in which he treated his assistants, or his drug and alcohol use, was done with sensitivity and in a non-judgmental manner.
Negatives:
There weren’t any glaring negatives about the book. The closest I could come to one was that at times, the reader could believe that the author is bashing Payton too much on his lifestyle choices, especially concerning the lack of time he spent with his son born out of wedlock. However, once the reader finishes the book and everything is covered, this turns out to be simply another chapter in a complicated life of a complicated man.
Do I recommend?
Yes, for any football fan or reader who enjoys biographies. -
“Sweetness” (The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton) by Jeff Pearlman, published by Gotham Books.
Category – Sports/Biography
Walter Payton was born in segregated rural Mississippi. It is strange that football was really an afterthought. His brother Eddie was the football player, Walter played drums in the band. It was not until his junior year in High School that Walter grabbed a football and was on his way to making sports history.
Many big name colleges did everything to sign Walter but he decided to go to Jackson State College where his brother Eddie was a standout player. After completing college Walter entered the NFL draft. He was picked by the lowly Chicago Bears. Most of the players on the Bears team were never to be’s or has been’s. They relegated playing football secondary to having a good time. Walter quickly became a stand out for the Bears, even though losing came more often than winning. Payton was able to accumulate yardage when the offensive line did little to open up running room for him.
George Halas, the Bears owner, was known for his miserly ways and player’s salaries were low and the facilities were horrible. Walter, because he was the Chicago Bears did better than most when it came to pay checks. He was also adored by the Bears supporters and found that meals, drinks, and women were free. Payton, and this is not unusual, succumbed to the temptation of being a super star. Although he was married and had several children (one out of wedlock) he was never truly a husband or father. It is ironic that he was awarded Chicago’s Father of the Year by the Illinois Fatherhood Institute.
Walter only got to the Super Bowl once and it was a disappointment to him. With all records he amassed he was unable to score a touchdown in his one Super Bowl appearance.
This is a well done biography that should be read by everyone, not just the sports fan. It is without a doubt and absolute must for the Chicago Bear football fan. The story is told with compassion and honesty. -
Reading through the entirety of this book, along with many of the points being disputed by the family, it's hard to tell how accurate all these stories were. Like most contrasting stories, I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
If you haven't read the book, Pearlman paints a picture of a flawed, insecure, somewhat selfish, and womanizing profile of one of the greatest athletes of our generation. With his shining, friendly and caring persona always being portrayed by the media, this is a side the general public has never heard of, and reserved for only a select few who knew Payton best (of which, Pearlman is convinced that wasn't many).
I could go on and on about this book, but I won't......cause it's late, and I'm tired....but reading that Payton was just as flawed as the rest of us (and more so, according to this book) throws a dose of reality at the reader, and looks to remind us that even the "greats" aren't perfect, and are susceptible to many of the faults that many of the shit bag athletes today have.
Regardless of these, Walter Payton has, and always will be my favorite athlete of all time, across all sports genres, not because of his records, but because of his tenacity to be the best if all time......the have been plenty of running backs that are faster (OJ and Sayers) stronger (Jim Brown), more elusive (B. sanders, Faulk).....but NONE put all that together and became the greatest football player of all time....with a combination of talent, drive, and character......even after the "above average" Emmit Smith broke his all time rushing record.......the majority of average, everyday fans continue to think that Payton still is the NFLs all time leader in rushing.....and that tells a story all in itself........ -
I wanted to hate this book. I certainly wasn't going to buy it. I grew up with Walter Payton as my greatest hero. His portraits adorn my law office today. When this book came out, I read about the backlash against the book, about how it dug up dirt on my hero. But this Christmas, the book was given to my a friend who didn't know my revulsion to the book. So what do I do? Trash it?
No, I took it on vacation and started reading it, curious about just how distasteful it was. And to my surprise, it wasn't. The author, Pearlman, is clearly a fan just as myself. He saw the same wonderful things in the man as I saw when I was eight and watching Payton give his all every play. So I read through the whole thing, hating to put it down.
But ... Pearlman paints a whole picture. At times he told me things I don't think I needed to know, but overall, it made me understand Payton much more than I ever did. And even at that, he's hard to understand. Some contrasts in his behavior defy my amateur understanding of psychology. But as Pearlman stated at the end of the book, the most remarkable thing about Payton was despite all the turmoil going on inside him, he never lost sight of his responsibility towards fans. He didn't just indulge their requests, he went so far and beyond their expectations regularly. Pearlman includes many examples of this, and I cannot imagine how many other examples were left on the cutting room floor.
I'd encourage people to read this book. Having written one published book myself, I can appreciate to work and care Pearlman put into this publication. I regret resisting it for so long. -
i never try to expect too much out of a sports book -- but some proper grammar, an editor with a sense of spelling, and more dispassion would have been welcome... nevertheless, there's nothing in here that deserved excoriation from a content perspective -- as much as my wide-eyed 10 year old self would have hated to learn that my idol on the football field wasn't god reincarnate, my grown-up 37 year old self would have hated it much more if he had been...
walter payton, like many of us, was a complex person who happened to excel in a discipline that demanded a certain image... he cultivated the image and often lived the part -- but, again, like many of us, was fallible... is it nice to cheat on your wife? no, but if the marriage had disintegrated, there are lots of shades of grey in which both parties can make do... is it nice not to acknowledge a child born out of wedlock? no, but again, complex people have complex motives... none of this is an excuse -- all of it is a statement of the fact that walter payton was just flesh and blood like the rest of us...
i cried the day he died -- i remember what i was wearing, where i heard, what the light in the room was like, everything -- and i often mist up when reminded of his death... we all have childhood idols, and he was mine... when he died, i was forced to realize time moves on for all of us, and not for the first or last time... he deserved a better executed biography than this -- but for now, it's all we've got... -
A better title might have been Sweetness: The Boring Sports Illustrated Version of Walter Payton's Life With An Unbelievably Detailed Focus On Mississippi High School Football, His Coaches' Irrelevant Life Stories, and Other Minutiae.
I love a good biography and I love football and I am a die-hard Chicago Bears fan, so this book should have been right up my alley. It was part what you would expect from a celebrity biography and partly an expose of Payton's shortcomings as a person, partner, parent, and athlete, none of which were shocking or brand-new information. Athletes cheat on their wives! Sometimes rich and famous people struggle with fame!
The parts that I liked were really good (Mississippi high school integration, his college decision-making process, the influence of his older brother throughout his life and career), but the rest was hard to read for a number of reasons. Payton was long ago revealed to be a flawed hero, so I would have liked to read more about his influence on the game and less about his personal demons as described by anonymous sources. -
I enjoyed Sweetness--The Enigmatic Life Of Walter Payton a lot! It tells the story of the life of Walter Payton aka Sweetness, a football player. I especially liked hearing from all the players he played with and against as well as the details of his life off the field were fantastic and enjoyable. It must have taken a lot of research to write such a book. It seemed he left nothing out! If you are a football fan, I think you will love this book!
(Gerard's review) -
Two things were factual before I began reading this book. One, that I was never really interested in Walter Payton, despite his immense popularity and lasting legacy. Two, there was a group of people, be it teammates or fans, that had excommunicated this book as a slandering, cheap attempt of the author (one I assume to be one of the best in his craft) to earn a quick buck from defaming one of the most beloved football icons.
The latter allegation couldn't be further from the truth. Pearlman puts all of his love, admiration and respect into this biography, offered for both the subject of discussion and his profession. Which led me, someone previously uninterested in Payton, to fully appreciate and admire what type of person and athlete he was.
Over 600 interviews were conducted for the purposes of this biography, from family members, school and professional colleagues, to friends, enemies, fans and close acquaintances of Payton. Pearlman begins by profiling Payton through the tumultuous era of desegregation, an era in which he would act as a bridge to form relationships between black and white people, something that carried over to his late life. We see him competing with his elder brother for athletic attention, ultimately staying loyal to his roots and choosing small Jackson University over the likes of Kansas. There, under strict coaching from Bob Hill, Payton would transform into the punishing beast of a running back he would be soon known as.
The most interesting part of the book begins as soon as Payton joins the Chicago Bears in 1975. Becoming a part of a mediocre team is never easy, but he managed to flourish and distinguish himself despite the lack of talent around him. He became an icon to a city starving for one. He got married with a girl that would prove to be his confidant in lonely times, and nothing else. And when Chicago would evolve into a legitimate contender, almost eight years since he joined the team, Payton's full pride and selfish need to be in the spotlight would be at its highest. Some consider this to be a bad thing; I think this is what made Payton something more than an icon. It made him human, accessible.
The second half of the book is devoted to narrating the unknown and, often, unpublished struggles of people in their post career lives. The all too normal feeling of wandering through activities to fill in the void such an accomplished career can create. Payton struggled with his unfulfilling marriage, his failed (though not always by his fault) business endeavours and his own insecurities. I was surprised to see that he suffered, in his darkest times, from suicidal depression.
To my greatest shock, I found myself crying profusely when I read the chapter of untimely death. The hardships he went through, the unrealised hope for a transplant that would never come, how he knew, deep inside, that he was going to die. Despite that, he kept going until he no longer could. He contacted old teammates and friends. He faced everything as he always did, with pride and determination.
I came away from this book feeling much, much closer to Walter Payton the man, than the icon that many admired. And that's what's great about this biography. If you can look up to someone with the flaws and insecurities Walter Payton had, it means that this person wasn't just good. He was great, and that's what I learnt Payton was. A great athlete, an outstanding football player, a flawed human being who lived his life to its fullest.
This is one of the best biographies you could possibly read on such a fascinating person. I used to think that Gunslinger was Pearlman's magnum opus. I was wrong. -
Perelman is one of the best sports writers in the business. The research is excellent and his detail is mind-boggling. The book's title is based on Payton's nickname, "Sweetness".
This book delivers the good and bad side of Walter Payton's life. As a child, Payton was blessed with athletic talent but all throughout life, he failed to mature into a man. His sports career was fiercely competitive and was full of terrible decisions.
The spoiler includes a few random thoughts about this book:
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Somebody asked me recently who I thought was the greatest running back I ever saw. I simply said, "Walter Payton." My response was interesting because I didn't think about it at all despite me having seen a fair share of great running backs. But there hasn't been another Walter Payton and won't happen. He was the greatest all-around football player.
Maybe the most shocking event for me as a sports spectator was the press conference for Walter Payton when he announced that he was dying and had months to live. That day, I was thinking that Walter was the most-conditioned athlete in the world and made everything to look so easy. Sadly, he looked gaunt and very jaundiced despite being heavily draped in black during the press conference.
For years, I had heard about the book by Jeff Pearlman and how it was routinely slammed by many in the football community, but I didn't finally read it until now. Afterwards, I can understand why. Walter Payton was no longer a superman but a mere mortal with terrible flaws.
Sweetness is absolutely one of the most fascinating biographies I've read; it's just a strange and puzzling journey of his life, thus becoming a simply can't-put down book. Notwithstanding his occasional spelling mistakes, the author has done an outstanding job of solving the enigmatic puzzle that is Walter Payton who probably suffered from many symptoms of CTE.
All in all, prepare to be shocked by Sweetness. -
I listened to the audio book and while long it's well researched and well written. The book starts in Payton's hometown of Columbia, Mississippi and most of the first part I admit is boring and the rest is interesting and engaging.
At times the book is funny and hysterical even from sheer dumb luck or from Payton's antics.
The book exposes the drug culture that is part of the dark side of the NFL that they don't want exposed. It was also interesting to learn how much players were paid in the 1970's, 1980's and into the 1990's. I believe a whole book should be devoted to the pro-athlete salary and providing the reader of such a book the exact date(s) of when player salaries skyrocketed and exposing the true financials of a professional team as well as the government a.k.a. taxpayer funded incentives packages team owners receive.
This book also reads like a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy, hero rises to the pinnacle, only to crash and burn (genital herpes, infidelity, vitamins which likely led to liver failure and possibly cancer, divorce, estranged husband and father, etc.) and that is the truly sad part.
Payton was a larger than life person and is portrayed and seemed to be a genuinely kind person who would go out of his way to help a struggling or sick young fan, teammate, or even a complete stranger.
This book reads more like a memoir than a Biography and is the type of book I really enjoy.
I highly recommend this book. -
As with any human being, Walter Payton had things in his life that were off putting, to say the least. He treated women badly, he had a child that he never acknowledged and never met, he had no truly close friends until the end of his life, etc. He was not a perfect person. He wasn't even the greatest player to ever play his position in football. What Walter Payton excelled at was being the hardest working player to ever play the game. I live in Indianapolis and before we had the Colts, I was a Bears fan and Walter Payton was my favorite player in the NFL. It says a lot that I am picking up a book about a running back who has been dead since 1999. He never met a fan that he didn't acknowledge, especially a child. He gave of his time and money to many charities, and he offered support and encouragement to his fellow players. Most of all, he was out there every game playing through injuries and pain and never complaining. I loved Walter for that because he made the game fun, and you could always depend on him to play his best. There were many things in this book that I had not been aware of. I did not know how upset he was after winning the Super Bowl or what a difficult night it was for him when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Read the book to find out why and to find out numerous other nuggets that tell the story of Walter Payton. You won't be disappointed.
