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Urlacher still close to home
New Mexico town beams with pride; Bears star returns the love
By Greg Boeck
USA TODAY
LOVINGTON, N.M. - Main Street in this five-stop light oil town, tucked 18 miles from the west Texas border, will be deserted Sunday. Most of the 9,600 locals will be glued to their televisions watching the person Gina Hutchins of the Chamber of Commerce says "put us on the map."
Their favorite son. Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, will be playing in Super Bowl XLI. This is where it all started for Urlacher, the football hero of Lovington High School's 1995 state 3A championship team and star basketball player in a town better known for producing seven world champion calf and team ropers.
His improbable journey from middle of nowhere to center stage in the biggest game in sports is rooted in this tired, blue-collar town badly in need of a paint job and so isolated the nearest major airport is 110 miles northeast in Lubbock, Texas. Even news is scarce; the newspaper publishes only three times a week.
This week Urlacher is 1,785 miles away in Miami, preparing for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts. But his presence is felt here, from the second graders wearing his No. 54 jersey to school to the radio DJ who dissed the Colts the other day by referring to them as "those horses" to the old-timers who gather every morning for coffee at the Main Street Cafe.
Oil wells, ranches and farmland circle the outskirts of a town where the median cost of a home is about $74,800, according to author-demographer Bert Sperling, and green fees at Lovington Country Club top out at $32. The oil wells gave the town a much-needed economic shot in the arm in the 1950s.
Now, unemployment is at 5.4%, the people are friendly, the streets are uncrowded, the town is safe. The 17-man police force reported no murders, one rape and two robberies in 2005.
Life revolves around the wells and football. The Lovington Wildcats are so big the water tower hovering over town bears their name.
"Here," sophomore lineman Chantz Clayton says, "you play football or watch people play football. There's nothing else to do."
Lovington's proud football history includes 15 state titles, the second most in New Mexico.
The program is defined by Urlacher, who grew from a 5-10 165-pound sophomore wide receiver-safety offered only two scholarships upon graduation into a 6-4, 258-pound five-time Pro Bowler. Born in Pasco, Wash., in 1978, Urlacher moved here with his divorced mother, Lavoyda, in the late 1980s.
He is one of three players at the start of the season to make the NFL out of New Mexico high schools. The others: Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hand Baskett (Clovis, about 100 miles north of Lovington) and Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Ryan Cook (Albuquerque). Only one player from the state - kicker Erik Hinterbichler (2001) of Albuquerque - has made USA TODAY's All USA first team, which totals 607 players since 1982.
"He proved to us, we may life in a small town, but we can make it to the big time," says senior defensive tackle Kathel Ochoa, who hangs Urlacher's signed No. 54 jersey in his bedroom. "He's an inspiration."
Urlacher says his nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic is rooted here. "You know, growing up in the oil fields, seeing everyone work (there)... My (stepfather) was at work at 5 in the morning every day. I saw that growing up. That was just the No. 1 thing."
When the wind howls through this nondescript flatlands, the pungent smell of burning natural gas from the nearby refineries permeates the town. These days, however, Urlacher fever has taken over. His name is everywhere. Nike even painted a giant mural of Urlacher on the side of a building.
Since leaving for the University of New Mexico in 1996 - he had wanted to go to Texas Tech but didn't get a scholarship - Urlacher has evolved into a local hero who hasn't forgotten his roots.
He returns to Lovington every year with several NFL players for a basketball game that benefits the high school athletic program and is part-owner of a used-car dealership in town. The basketball game, always sold out, is as big as the annual Lea County Fair and Rodeo.
An assistant football coach at Lovington, Jaime Quinones, now the head coach, stayed with Urlacher and his three kids when the Bears played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 17. "The money hasn't changed him," Quinones says. "He's still low-key, humble and very giving."
After shooting a Campbell's Soup commercial earlier in his career, Urlacher donated two $25,000 scholarships to male and female athletes. In 2002, after a deal with Hammer Strength, he ordered $40,000 of weightlifting equipment for the school. The field house is now the Brian Urlacher Training Center.
For the last three years, Urlacher has contributed $7,500 each spring toward the senior after-graduation trip to Lubbock. His latest gift: Nike shoes for every athlete for the next five years (221 this year at $100 a pair), huge savings for a school with a $100,000 athletic budget.
"All that is coming out of Brian's pocket," says Chief Bridgforth, the school's athletics director and assistant principal. "He wants to do I, and he doesn't bat an eye."
The school retired his No. 11 in 2001, the only athlete so honored. A billboard at the south end of town says, "Welcome to Lovington / Home of Brian Urlacher."
"He done good," says Ammol Burkey, owner of a repair shop in town.
Gerald Phillips vividly recalls Urlacher's feats on the football field. "He was the best football player I ever saw," the retired oilman says. "Nice kid."
"Go Brian / Our Good News Bear" reads the marquee at Sonic, one of Urlacher's favorite haunts in high school. "Just Do It / Go Bears" reads the marquee at Burger Builders, where an order of Urlacher brings out a double beef, bacon and cheeseburger served with "#54" written on the wrapper.
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New Mexico town beams with pride; Bears star returns the love
By Greg Boeck
USA TODAY
LOVINGTON, N.M. - Main Street in this five-stop light oil town, tucked 18 miles from the west Texas border, will be deserted Sunday. Most of the 9,600 locals will be glued to their televisions watching the person Gina Hutchins of the Chamber of Commerce says "put us on the map."
Their favorite son. Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, will be playing in Super Bowl XLI. This is where it all started for Urlacher, the football hero of Lovington High School's 1995 state 3A championship team and star basketball player in a town better known for producing seven world champion calf and team ropers.
His improbable journey from middle of nowhere to center stage in the biggest game in sports is rooted in this tired, blue-collar town badly in need of a paint job and so isolated the nearest major airport is 110 miles northeast in Lubbock, Texas. Even news is scarce; the newspaper publishes only three times a week.
This week Urlacher is 1,785 miles away in Miami, preparing for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts. But his presence is felt here, from the second graders wearing his No. 54 jersey to school to the radio DJ who dissed the Colts the other day by referring to them as "those horses" to the old-timers who gather every morning for coffee at the Main Street Cafe.
Oil wells, ranches and farmland circle the outskirts of a town where the median cost of a home is about $74,800, according to author-demographer Bert Sperling, and green fees at Lovington Country Club top out at $32. The oil wells gave the town a much-needed economic shot in the arm in the 1950s.
Now, unemployment is at 5.4%, the people are friendly, the streets are uncrowded, the town is safe. The 17-man police force reported no murders, one rape and two robberies in 2005.
Life revolves around the wells and football. The Lovington Wildcats are so big the water tower hovering over town bears their name.
"Here," sophomore lineman Chantz Clayton says, "you play football or watch people play football. There's nothing else to do."
Lovington's proud football history includes 15 state titles, the second most in New Mexico.
The program is defined by Urlacher, who grew from a 5-10 165-pound sophomore wide receiver-safety offered only two scholarships upon graduation into a 6-4, 258-pound five-time Pro Bowler. Born in Pasco, Wash., in 1978, Urlacher moved here with his divorced mother, Lavoyda, in the late 1980s.
He is one of three players at the start of the season to make the NFL out of New Mexico high schools. The others: Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hand Baskett (Clovis, about 100 miles north of Lovington) and Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Ryan Cook (Albuquerque). Only one player from the state - kicker Erik Hinterbichler (2001) of Albuquerque - has made USA TODAY's All USA first team, which totals 607 players since 1982.
"He proved to us, we may life in a small town, but we can make it to the big time," says senior defensive tackle Kathel Ochoa, who hangs Urlacher's signed No. 54 jersey in his bedroom. "He's an inspiration."
Urlacher says his nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic is rooted here. "You know, growing up in the oil fields, seeing everyone work (there)... My (stepfather) was at work at 5 in the morning every day. I saw that growing up. That was just the No. 1 thing."
When the wind howls through this nondescript flatlands, the pungent smell of burning natural gas from the nearby refineries permeates the town. These days, however, Urlacher fever has taken over. His name is everywhere. Nike even painted a giant mural of Urlacher on the side of a building.
Since leaving for the University of New Mexico in 1996 - he had wanted to go to Texas Tech but didn't get a scholarship - Urlacher has evolved into a local hero who hasn't forgotten his roots.
He returns to Lovington every year with several NFL players for a basketball game that benefits the high school athletic program and is part-owner of a used-car dealership in town. The basketball game, always sold out, is as big as the annual Lea County Fair and Rodeo.
An assistant football coach at Lovington, Jaime Quinones, now the head coach, stayed with Urlacher and his three kids when the Bears played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 17. "The money hasn't changed him," Quinones says. "He's still low-key, humble and very giving."
After shooting a Campbell's Soup commercial earlier in his career, Urlacher donated two $25,000 scholarships to male and female athletes. In 2002, after a deal with Hammer Strength, he ordered $40,000 of weightlifting equipment for the school. The field house is now the Brian Urlacher Training Center.
For the last three years, Urlacher has contributed $7,500 each spring toward the senior after-graduation trip to Lubbock. His latest gift: Nike shoes for every athlete for the next five years (221 this year at $100 a pair), huge savings for a school with a $100,000 athletic budget.
"All that is coming out of Brian's pocket," says Chief Bridgforth, the school's athletics director and assistant principal. "He wants to do I, and he doesn't bat an eye."
The school retired his No. 11 in 2001, the only athlete so honored. A billboard at the south end of town says, "Welcome to Lovington / Home of Brian Urlacher."
"He done good," says Ammol Burkey, owner of a repair shop in town.
Gerald Phillips vividly recalls Urlacher's feats on the football field. "He was the best football player I ever saw," the retired oilman says. "Nice kid."
"Go Brian / Our Good News Bear" reads the marquee at Sonic, one of Urlacher's favorite haunts in high school. "Just Do It / Go Bears" reads the marquee at Burger Builders, where an order of Urlacher brings out a double beef, bacon and cheeseburger served with "#54" written on the wrapper.
Back to Stewart Signs in the News
To receive pricing information and a FREE artistic rendering of a sign designed for your needs,
just Request a Quote!