At a luncheon a couple days ago, our table was discussing the work of Truth in Accounting and the financial condition of the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. One of the people at the table asked me “Tell me truthfully, Bill, is Illinois the worst state in the nation?”
I was reminded of a great line about Walter Payton, speaking of Chicago and Illinois, and I told the story behind it.
An interviewer went up to a speaker (it was either John Madden or Mike Ditka), and asked whether Walter Payton was the best running back who ever lived.
Madden (or Ditka) took a deep breath, and then said something along the lines of “You know, once you get into that territory, you don’t really want to single people out. Running backs like Walter Payton, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Barry Sanders – they were all great, and special in their own way.”
That perspective can help when comparing the financial condition of states like Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Kentucky. Once you get in that neck of the woods, comparing states, sometimes, you are making a distinction without a difference.
But after the line above, Ditka (or Madden) took another deep breath. And concluded with:
“I just know one thing for sure. Walter Payton was the best football player that ever lived.”