No Clubhouse Tonight

 

Gale Sayers (40) addresses the Chicago Bears locker room

"The Clubhouse" was supposed to return tonight but we had a hiccup, so we'll begin the show in April.

I'm home watching TV instead. Not ideal, but so it goes.

The four of us -- me, Mark Jeffers, Dave Torromeo, and Bob Small -- have bonded over all kinds of things that keep us laughing and talking each time we get together.

You're not allowed to join us, for instance, unless you're ready to sing a TV theme song.

Yes, that's our initiation.

But we talk old TV and movies and pop culture and, of course, sports.

Piccolo (James Caan) and Sayers (Billy Dee Williams)

In that marriage of sport, movies, TV, and masculinity is Brian's Song.

The movie -- a TV movie -- tells the story of Brian Piccolo and his friendship with Gale Sayers. The two were members of the Chicago Bears from 1966 to 1969.

Interspersed in the movie is a story of two men of very different backgrounds coming together to make each other better and become close friends.

Piccolo was a white man from the East Coast who attended Wake Forest. Sayers was a Black man from Kansas.

Piccolo was boisterous. Sayers was quiet and shy.

Brian Piccolo

Sayers was a superstar and would ultimately become a Hall of Famer despite playing just seven seasons. He played in over nine games just five times. But he was magnificent.

Piccolo was a grunter. He was a fine college player, finishing 10th in the Heisman Trophy in 1964, ahead of Sayers.

But the movie depicts Piccolo as an underdog, coming off as a beloved teammate more than a great player.

Piccolo struggled to breathe during the 1969 season and was sent to the doctor. 

He had cancer -- embryonal cell carcinoma. 

Piccolo underwent rounds of surgery but the cancer returned.

Brian Piccolo died on June 16, 1970. He was 26.

A month before, Sayers was given the George S. Halas Most Courageous Player Award, in recognition of his returning from a knee injury. In his acceptance speech, Sayers insisted that nobody was more courageous than Piccolo.

"I love Brian Piccolo," Sayers said, "and I'd like all of you to love him, too. And tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him."

The scene is portrayed in the movie as it begins to pull the heartstrings.

The movie has sat near the top of the list of tearjerkers -- especially for men.

Of course, for me, it's Field of Dreams.

Even now, 53 years after its release, Brian's Song still evokes tremendous emotion. The performances, led by Billy Dee Williams (Sayers) and James Caan (Piccolo) strike the perfect notes of humor and sadness.

The end is gut-wrenching. 

The football action uses real NFL footage and that adds a level of authenticity.

Let's be clear: it's a TV movie and not a documentary. It's not 100% accurate.

Among my "The Clubhouse" colleagues, we do the typical man thing: we laugh. As such, "I love Brian Piccolo" has become a badge of honor among the four of us.

And so, friends, as I sit home on a Wednesday night when I was supposed to be hosting "The Clubhouse" what do you think I found on TV?

Brian's Song, of course.

And did I watch it? You bet I did.

Yet, even as my eyes moistened, I soothed myself by...

BY?

By writing this post.

I love Brian Piccolo.