The big problem with Urlacher is that because he is so good, he was
asked to be a locker room leader. By nature, he is a quiet guy who lets
his playing do the talking. But being asked to lead a bunch of blacks is a
different story. Outside of the normal team socializing, it means building
realationships with the other memebers of the defense. My take is that
he started emulating the blacks in order to fit in and become personally
popular as a leader. He is white, after all. Only one other white starts on
defense, Hunter Hillenmeyer (Todd Johnson is a sub for Mike Brown). He
hangs out with the blacks, and as far as that goes, sees way too many.
He got caught up with a woman who is notorious for trying to seduce
black ball players in order to hit the baby jackpot. And she took him to
the cleaners. As old as he is, he should know better.
This is another problem of socializing with blacks that I have personally
experienced when I was younger--they try to change you into one of
them, while whites are way too deferential. I just stopped socializing with
them, but players like Urlacher can't do that. If you don't play along, you
don't fit in and have no credibility with them. I'm sure a Bill Romanowski
had no leadership potential with the blacks--he gave it right back to
them and wouldn't ever become ghetto.
Urlacher is a white player, a tremendous player. I fault him for not being
smart enough to see what trying to fit in with blacks results in--
becoming a follower rather than a leader. Hopefully, he will change in the
future, now that he got burned. But I doubt it. And that's why I don't
really root for him much anymore.
