Former Chicago Bears great Brian Urlacher was one of the most feared linebackers in his career. He led the Bears defense for a better part of his NFL career and was a part of the 2006-2007 team that made it to the Super Bowl.
However, throughout his career one this escaped him—a ring.
In a recent interview, according to NFL.com, he said he might not be totally on board with his former team winning it all now that he’s gone.
"I'm going for them," Urlacher said discussing rooting for the Bears with Dave Dameshek. "A lot of my friends are still on the team. A lot of my good friends -- guys I played with for 10, 11 years -- so I'm still rooting for them. I hope they do well. They better not win the championship without me, 'cause then I'll be really pissed."
Now, upon reading this the initially thought may be, “Well, he’s gotta be joking.”
If you listen for yourself here, he doesn’t really smile and his tone of voice doesn’t really change.
However, this is understandable. Most likely, many newly-retired players still feel like they’re apart of the team soon after retirement. It probably stings a little if your team goes on to become Super Bowl champs right after you leave—especially for someone like Urlacher who never won a ring.
"Like I said, I've got a lot of friends on the team, but I don't want them to win the Super Bowl without me," he echoed. He added that it would hurt if his team went all the way to the top just a year after his exit.
Urlacher finished his career with 41.5 sacks, 1353 combined tackles and 22 interceptions.
Dameshek asked Urlacher if he would come out retirement to play for a Bears team that looked to be on its way to a Super Bowl.
He replied, “There’s nothing that could bring me back.”
Urlacher played all 12 season with the Chicago Bears.