I Love Brian Piccolo

In 1967, the Chicago Bears paired Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo as the NFL's first interracial roommates. One was Black, one was White, in an America still raw from the Civil Rights struggle. What grew between them in hotel rooms and training camps was something neither had planned for: genuine friendship — the kind that holds when everything else falls apart.

In 1969, Piccolo received a devastating diagnosis — embryonal cell carcinoma, a fast-moving cancer of the chest. Sayers visited constantly, refusing to let his friend face it alone. Then in February 1970, standing before the Professional Football Writers of America to accept the George Halas Award for Courage, Sayers held up the trophy and stunned the room. "I accept this award for Brian Piccolo," he said. "I love Brian Piccolo, and I'd like all of you to love him, too. Tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him."

Brian Piccolo died four months later.

That speech still stops people cold — not because of its polish, but because of its honesty. In a world that taught men to keep their hearts guarded, a two-time All-Pro running back stood before a crowded banquet hall and said what was simply, plainly true: I love him.