Chicago Mount Rushmore of Sports Michael

Some cities in our Mt. Rushmore series produced heated debates on which athletes should be included, creeping into every office conversation for weeks (Im looking at you, Philadelphia). Chicagos lasted about 15 minutes. Producing some Nelson Agholor Jersey of the greatest profe sional athletes of all time can have that effect.Jerry Reinsdorf may have gotten Harold Baines into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but no amount of lobbying from the Bulls and White Sox owner was going to change our top four.MORE: Michael Jordan is more synonymous with Chicago than deep dish pizza. Walter Payton has spawned half a century of Chicago children stutter-stepping and stiff-arming friends in neighborhood football games. Even those who mi sed seeing him play by decades know the name Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. And Bobby Hull ended a 22-year Stanley Cup drought for an original six franchise with his dominance in the 1960s.Chicago is one of the best sports cities in the world. Its only fitting that these four premier athletes grace its Mount Rushmore. Everyone knows that Jordan was a magical athlete and maniacal competitor. The list of accomplishments goes on and on 6-0 record in the NBA Finals, six Finals MVPs, five regular season MVPs, 14 All-Star games, 10 scoring titles. Those accolades only scratch the surface of the man who many deem to be the best athlete of all time.Beyond the freak athleticism, what sticks out to KC Johnson, who covered Jordan on a daily basis for the Chicago Tribune during the Bulls second three-peat, was how well Jordan understood the mental side of the game.I think of just how smart of a basketball player he was," Johnson says. "I think that sometimes gets overlooked because everyone just looks at his talent and his competitivene s. But his basketball IQ was ridiculous as well, and I think thats one reason why he connected so well with his coaches. If you look at the relationships he had not only with Phil Jackson , but dating back to college with Dean Smith, he always held the coaching position in such high regard because of his respect for the game and his ability to see the game.Jordans Bulls 3-peated to start the 90s thanks Alshon Jeffery Jersey to his incredible scoring and high-flying dunks. The second three-peat was driven more by that genius basketball acumen rather than pure physical talent.Jordan kept his perch as the best scorer in the league, but he did most of his damage in the post. He used superb footwork and an unstoppable fadeaway jump shot to dominate the league.He completely transformed his game with that back-to-the-basket and post arsenal that he had," Johnson says. "He still had that athleticism, and would remind you of how great he was at that. But his ability to economically shift his game to a different skill set is really noteworthy. Not a lot of players do that."It was obvious to anyone who watched Jordan during that time that you were witne sing history. He took the game to places it had never dreamed of, and the outcome of the games were never in doubt when he was at his peak.I remember distinctly reminding myself to soak it in , covering him, because you just saw such greatne s and such succe s on such consistent levels that you never wanted to take it for granted," Johnson says. "You want it to remind yourself that this was incredible stuff you were witne sing.Michael Jordan By The NumbersNBA Championships6Finals MVP awards6All-NBA teams11All-Defensive teams9MVP awards5TSN ARCHIVES: Sweetne s set a number of records during his career. His 16,726 yards, since broken by Emmitt Smith, came off then-records of 10 seasons of 1,000 or more yards rushing and 77 games of 100 Malik Jackson Jersey or more yards.His 275 yards rushing against the Minnesota Vikings in 1977 also set the single-game record at the time, and it came off a week of battling the flu. Its a game Johnson remembers well. Thats because he was in the stands as a distre sed 10-year-old, broken-hearted seeing the vaunted Purple People Eaters Vikings defense unable to stop Payton.Whats crazy about it is I grew up a Viking fan in Evanston. So I was openly angry that Walter Payton was making NFL history.Not even the elite defenses could stop Payton. They could get in his way, but they couldnt bring him down.His running style was a big reason to me why he connected with the Chicago fandom as well as he did, because while graceful, it also had quite a bit of power and strength and undeniability to it," Johnson says. "He had so many runs where he'd be dragging one, two tacklers."Back in those days, Chicago cherished its reputation as a tough, hard-nosed city. The 1985 Bears, the last team to win the Super Bowl, featured a rugged defense and Payton pounding the ball 4.8 yards per carry on offense.He was blue collar, and connected with the city in that realm," Johnson says. "His offseason workouts were legendary. He used to go to this hill and train and run up and down the hill to the point where he would puke. And he was very stoic. He could get in the end zone. And he just slipped the ball to the official, like, hey, I've been here before. He didn't JJ Arcega-Whiteside Jersey have a lot of celebratory nature to him. He just got the work done. And that's one reason beyond his talent that the fan base loves him so much. He just fit the franchise to a tee.Paytons legacy as a humanitarian remains. The NFLs Man of the Year award, given to the player who demonstrates outstanding contributions to society off-the-field while handling himself in an exemplary fashion in uniform, was renamed to the Walter Payton Award after his pa sing in 1999.His son Jarrett is a local media member now," Johnson says. "Hes always at the Super Bowl for the presentation. Thats been a neat aspect to continue the legacy that Walter created here.Paytons legacy lives on through the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, which aids the emotional healing of neglected, abused and underprivileged children by providing tools and opportunities to build self-esteem and encouragement.Walter Payton By The NumbersPro Bowls9All-Pro teams5Rushing yards16,7261,000-yard rushing seasons10Super Bowl titles1TSN ARCHIVES: There is no Mr. Bull or Mr. Bear. There is no Mr. Blackhawk or Mr. White Sox.There is Mr. Cub and there certainly is no Chicago Mt. Rushmore without the citys most beloved baseball player.If you grew up in the midwest before the advent of streaming television, you remember watching the Cubs play day games on TV. Johnson was part of that generation.I used to run home from school and watch Cubs games on Channel nine, WGN, he says.The biggest knock on Banks? Over his 19-year career, he never played in the postseason. But Banks was still a great player and infused the franchise with joy.Ernie was such a gregarious guy, Jake Elliott Jersey " Johnson says. "The 'lets play two' trademark, always talking about how great it was to be at the ballpark