Urlacher, Olsen humbled to receive Piccolo Awards

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher and tight end Greg Olsen were presented with 2007 Brian Piccolo Awards during a ceremony Thursday at Halas Hall.

The prestigious honor has been given to a Bears rookie since 1970 and was expanded in 1992 to include a veteran as well. Bears players vote for the rookie and veteran who best exemplify the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late Brian Piccolo, a Bears running back who died from embryonal cell carcinoma on June 16, 1970 at age 26.

“Brian has been described as dedicated, loyal, a great teammate and a tough football player,” said coach Lovie Smith. “You can describe our award winners today in the same light.”

Urlacher became the fifth Bears player to win the award as a rookie and a veteran. Last season he led the team in tackles for the seventh time in nine seasons with 158. 
Olsen, the Bears’ first-round draft pick last year, caught 39 passes for 391 yards and 2 touchdowns as a rookie, joining Hall of Famer Mike Ditka as the only rookie tight ends in team history to amass at least 300 yards receiving. “When you watch Greg Olsen play football, it’s not real difficult to figure out that he’s extremely talented,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “With his size, athleticism, hands, speed and everything that goes with it, it’s obvious he’s a great player. But the thing that makes him special, that makes him the player that he is, are the other things, the intangibles, the things that maybe aren’t quite so easy to see. That’s what separates Greg and puts him in that category.  "His character, his work ethic, his desire to be great, leadership and intelligence are all qualities that maybe you don’t see, but he possesses at a great level.”

Brian Piccolo joined the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 1965.

Olsen also humbly thanked the Piccolo and McCaskey families for the award. He was especially touched that his peers voted for him.

“The greatest honor you can receive as a player is when your teammates recognize the things you do and the way you act,” Olsen said. “I don’t think it gets any better than that.”

Virginia McCaskey attended Thursday's awards ceremony in the Halas Hall auditorium along with Piccolo's widow, Joy, and two of three Piccolo daughters, Traci and Kristi. Patrick McCaskey, the Bears’ senior director of special projects, served as master of ceremonies.
Brian Piccolo joined the Bears in 1965 as an undrafted free agent after leading the nation with 111 points and 1,044 yards rushing as a senior at Wake Forest.

He was in his fourth NFL season when a chest x-ray revealed a malignancy. Piccolo died several months later. His courageous battle was later portrayed in the classic movie "Brian's Song."

When Piccolo died, the disease was 100 percent fatal, but the cure rate today is 95 percent.

Proceeds from the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund benefit breast cancer research at Rush Medical Center and the Clearbrook Center for the developmentally disabled in Arlington Heights. The fund has raised more than $5 million since 1991.

That figure will grow thanks to the NFL, which made a $100,000 donation Thursday, the final installment of a five-year, $500,000 pledge.

“Everything [Brian Piccolo] stood for and everything you  hear about him and the type of man he was and how he was a family man and everything is what everyone tries to be,” Olsen said. “That’s kind of what the whole award stands for, is how you act and how you can become part of something bigger than yourself.”

(chicagobears.com)