When I think of the Chicago Bears and their history, I often think of Super Bowl XX, George Halas, Mike Ditka and William Perry. I also remember some of those Bears' players who have made an impact in my life, including Walter Payton and Brian Piccolo.

After watching Payton play for so many seasons and seeing him be the type of player he was, on and off the field, I felt inspired to be the best person that I could be in the things in which I wanted to excel. He was not a selfish person, he always did whatever he could do and put out 110% percent effort at all times.

Prior to Payton coming to Chicago, there was another Bears running back that had come to the team to try to make it at the position. Brian Piccolo, a promising running back from Wake Forrest University, had come to the Bears as an undrafted free agent hoping to make the team and make a name for himself.

Piccolo had a great chance of making the team until a player from Kansas named Gayle Sayers came onto the team and both players found themselves in competition with one another for a starting spot. It would have been tough for Piccolo to remain on the roster and honestly, he was a long shot to make it with Sayers on the team, but in what would be a very good indication of the type of person Piccolo was, he managed to persevere and stick with the team during his first season in 1965. During that season, he sat on the team's practice squad as Sayers went on to be the rookie of the year.

Piccolo managed to play in each game for the Bears in 1966, while in 1967 he played extensively. Prior to the start of the 1967 season, the Bears organization thought that both Sayers and Piccolo should become roommates, making them the NFL's first interracial roommates. Their friendship blossomed from that point on and would last until the end.

In 1969, Piccolo came back to training camp ready to take the back seat role to Sayers once again, but he had been told by Halas that he would be able to try out for the fullback position and would most likely have succeeded at the position had it not been for a cough that had sent him to the doctor for tests.

As it turned out, Piccolo had a rare form of cancer known as embryonal cell carcinoma after doctors found a tumor in his chest. The tumor was removed and all was thought to be well.

Feeling better and ready to get back into playing shape, Piccolo started working out and preparing himself for the season. However, after discovering a lump on his chest, Piccolo went back to the doctor to see what was wrong. What he found out was devastating.

As it turned out, Piccolo had several spots on his left lung and chest muscle. Once again, this turned out to be cancer and he underwent treatment yet again. Surgery followed that removed his pectoral muscle and some of the lymph nodes that were cancerous and, not too long after that, Piccolo's left lung was removed. The removal of the lung was the final blow to his career – he would never be able to play football again.

Piccolo's cancer never went away as it had spread to his liver and, in June 1970, he passed away. His courage and determination to overcome the cancer that eventually took his life is well documented and has been featured in the movie "Brian's Song" and is still alive today as the Bears, annually, present the Brian Piccolo Award to the veteran and the rookie that display the courage and determination that Piccolo displayed.

Everyone should take a step back and learn from Piccolo and strive to live life making every attempt possible to overcome adversity like he tried to do. Even though his fight was against an enemy that at that time was almost impossible to defeat he still made every attempt to overcome it. He is definitely someone to admire.

A few years after the passing of Piccolo, another running back came to the Chicago Bears out of Jackson State University as a first round draft pick in 1975. Payton's first season with the Bears was less than stellar as he rushed for just 679 yards and seven touchdowns, but he would see much better days with the Bears.

In fact, in his second season with the Bears, he rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. He also started to collect many accolades from the press and others for his actions on the field.

Payton ended up breaking the all time rushing record (held at the time by Jim Brown) and went to several Pro Bowls as well as the Super Bowl and many playoff games. He was both a leader on the field and off and was known for many things while he played with the Bears.

Payton ended his career with the Bears following the 1987 season and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Early in 1999, Payton told the world that he had contracted a disease known as scleroising cholangitis, which affects the liver. Not too long after, it was discovered that he had a cancerous tumor on his liver and he soon succumbed to the disease. Payton passed away on November 1, 1999.

Much like Piccolo, Payton was a real fighter, right up until the end, and he displayed this kind of tenacity throughout his entire life. He never gave up at the end and left a legacy that many look at today with awe.

Since the passing of both Piccolo and Payton, there has been much done to help contribute to the cure of their respective diseases. Both families have foundations established to help research diseases such as the ones that took their lives. Their legacies live on in books, a movie ("Brian's Song") and functions attended by family members of the two departed athletes.

When you think that things are at their worst and that nothing is ever going to go right, think of what Piccolo and Payton had to go through in an attempt to overcome the diseases that eventually took their lives. Going against insurmountable odds was something that they both had to try to do and, despite the fact that in the end they lost their hard fought battles, they still kept on fighting. So no matter how bad it gets, you should never let anything go without putting up a fight.