Commentary: Butkus statue will always mean more to others and that's okay

Dick Butkus may truly never appreciate his statue as much as others on U of I campus and that's okay.

In a lot of ways, October 11, 2019, may always be remembered by Dick Butkus as a weird, uncomfortable day.

In the mind of the 76-year-old from the south side of Chicago, Butkus will look back and know that is the day his alma mater unveiled the statue of him that he never wanted and may likely never truly appreciate.

“I didn’t come here to play and get a statue after I was done,” Butkus said. “I really wasn’t for it."

The statue embodies everything Butkus can’t stand about the world he currently lives in and the activity of football that he grew up falling in love with. To him, the statue represents him being set apart from his Illini teammates in 1963, which represents a team that embodies the last Rose Bowl winner in school history and makes him individually special.

When Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman approached Butkus with this idea a few years ago at the I Hotel, Butkus had an immediate response.

“Yeah, we’re not doing that,” Butkus said.

Whitman, a former football player who won a Big Ten championship as a member of the Illini program himself, was taken aback by what others might seem as ungrateful.

“What do you mean we’re not doing that?” Whitman immediately said.

For a man like Butkus, the statue isn’t something he would prefer to be alive to see.

“It’s a humbling deal,” Butkus said. “What the hell can you say? It’s usually for some dead people but it’s pretty nice.”

University of Illinois unveils the new Dick Butkus statue today outside the Smith Football Center. #Illini pic.twitter.com/PMawmRWT5b

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) October 11, 2019

On the day of revealment, Butkus admittedly said in his media conference that he doesn’t understand why this was being done in his honor.

“You wonder ‘why’ man,” Butkus said. “I did what I thought I was supposed to do. And shit, I had fun knocking the shit out of people. So if it was that unusual, I’ll take it I guess.”

And he might believe there were a lot of signs pointing to not wanting this day to take place. The weather in Champaign-Urbana couldn’t have been worse with cold temperatures and spitting rain forcing attendees on Fourth Street to be in ponchos and hats and Butkus to be under a temporary tent. The flight from California that was set to transport he and 12 other Butkus family members was cancelled forcing them to not arrive until shortly after 12:30 a.m. Friday.

It was almost until the NFL Hall of Famer stood with Whitman and major U of I athletics donor Matt Joyce, another southside of Chicago native himself, stood together for photos with the statue did he finally get the purpose.

The day, the statue and the appreciation honestly isn’t for Butkus. Nope, not in the least. Why would you continue with a project to honor a man who doesn’t and never wanted it in the first place? You do it when the project isn’t for him. The statue is for the fans that needed to see it. Illinois fans needed to see something good. Illinois fans needed to know greatness can still be recognized and appreciated. Especially since greatness has come in rare occurrences with the football program over the last decade of existence.

The statue of Dick Butkus is unveiled on the campus of the University of Illinois on Oct. 11, 2019.   :: Matthew Stevens/Illini Maven at SI

The statue is for the future players to see as the enter the Smith Football Center.

“Whenever you have a chance to honor one of the all-time living greats, you do that,” Illinois head coach Lovie Smith, who was in attendance for the Friday afternoon ceremony, said. “To have that statue in front of our building after everything he did for the University of Illinois but also for football in general, seems right, just seems right.”

Standing in the crowd Friday afternoon was an Illinois fan dressed in a 1963 Rose Bowl hat.

“Dick Butkus was my roommate here,” the man said with a smile. “We had a good time.”

When the man who claimed to be a Peoria native and former football coach at Peoria Richwoods High School was asked what he thought of the statue, his statement was clear.

“It’s about damn time,” he said. “It’s long past due. He deserves it.”

In his ceremony speech, Joyce said he’s already pushing Josh Whitman and city officials to rename the part of Fourth Street that goes parallel to the statue and the Smith Football Center as “Butkus Way”. And Joyce, Whitman, and others should expect a fight on that too because nothing with that idea also embodies the Butkus Way.