Day 318: The Day that the Stars Aligned

     The year is 1988. The Chicago Cubs are 4 years removed from their first postseason appearance since 1945, the Cubs Convention has been going on for 4 years, later that year Wrigley Field will be under the lights for the first time ever, and Harry Caray is well on his way to becoming a local legend. The Chicago Bears are 2 years removed from their Super Bowl win, which has vaulted the entire team to knighthood, and practically made Ditka a saint. The Chicago Bulls have just started to make a splash with their new point guard Michael Jordan, but he will soon lead the team to the promised land six times over.hj

     Anyway, in that year, the Chicago Times contacted local photographer Marc Hauser with a crazy plan. They wanted him to get a picture of Andre Dawson, Michael Jordan, AND Walter Payton all together in the same room.  Now technically, this feat had already been accomplished partially when Jordan and Payton rolled up together at the 1987 Auto Show.  But, the shot of the three of them would have to wait until then.   And so in January of 1988, it happened. The three biggest names in Chicago at the time all came over to Hauser's studio. And they weren't the only ones either. Needless to say, the media caught wind of this and were converging on Hauser's studio in droves.

     Once the shoot started, the tomfoolery began in earnest. Jordan and Payton were trading insults like it was going out of style, Payton was engaging in classically impish behavior(including running up behind Hauser and playing numerous pranks to throw him off focus), and Dawson was just kind of standing in the background out of the way. According to Hauser, "[Dawson] was kind of ignored. But they both were saying "You're the quiet guy, but you're as up there as we are." He was just as big as them." In general, the day was not soon forgotten. "It was just amazing energy in the room. Everybody in the room was in awe. They just couldn't believe that these three guys were standing right there. You know, all of these people are just regular human beings...but...they have a thing about them. There's an aura, I'm telling you...When Walter Payton is in the room, you know it."