Not So Golden Rule Book -- Bear Thrills Paralyzed Fan, Draws Fine

GARY, Ind. - Every Chicago Bear fan probably dreams of going to a game, sitting behind the bench and getting a football and a high-five from the players.

Two weeks ago, that dream came true for Keith Patz of Lowell, Ind. And there were millions of eyewitnesses - via national TV.

He's the talk of the town in Lowell after being seen by most of the townfolk - and millions nationwide - during the Bears' dramatic 20-17 victory over the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints.

Patz's mother, Pat, said he was "shocked" when Bear safety Mark Carrier ran off the field and handed the wheelchair-bound Patz the football Carrier had just recovered after a fumble by the Saints.

"We were surprised, shocked, to see him on TV," Pat Patz said later. "My husband (Edwin) said they're giving the ball to Keith.

"He called us right away after the game to ask if we had taped it. Keith was very excited. He asked if I saw him. We told him we hadn't taped the game, but found a friend who had."

Pat Patz said a friend saw a TV clip in which Carrier was asked why he did that - gave Keith the ball - and he said because his father is in a wheelchair and he knows how hard that can be.

Carrier led the NFL and set a team record with 10 interceptions last season, his first after leaving Southern California. The Bears' media guide says he chose USC to stay near his father, Willie, who was paralyzed in a 1979 auto accident.

"You could see Keith was in shock when he got the ball," his mother said.

Keith stood out for two reasons - first, the wheelchair, and second, he was wearing a jersey with the number 50, that of the Bears' all-pro middle linebacker, Mike Singletary, his favorite player.

"I bought him that Singletary jersey for his birthday March 20," said Keith's first cousin, Bill Krieter of Merrillville. "Mike is Keith's favorite player, definitely."

A big reason is that Keith, like Singletary, once played linebacker. "He won the Headhunter Award three years as the top tackler at Lowell High School," Krieter said.

Pat Patz said her son was always involved in sports, and good at most he tried. "He was Mr. Football at Lowell, and the leading hitter on the school baseball team. He also played basketball when he was younger."

An accident returning from a sports tournament ended Keith's active sports participation. He was paralyzed from the waist down in an auto crash.

Keith's team had won the state C-division softball title in September 1986 and was driving home late that night. They nearly made it. About eight miles south of Lowell, his friend, who was driving, fell asleep and the car ran off the road.

"Keith was thrown from the back seat into the front and a knob hit his spinal cord," said Pat Patz. Partially paralyzed, he was taken to a Chicago hospital for treatment.

"After one week there, and being told repeatedly that people like him don't have to stay home, he went on the Mike Ditka (TV) Show.

"He's been a fighter ever since the accident," said his mother.

Before that night, Keith had been a pipefitter/welder. After recovering, he went back to school and studied accounting. He's now a bookkeeper for a Merrillville company. Single, he lives with his parents.

"Of course the whole town of Lowell was surprised; they all started calling," said Pat Patz. "A lot of folks said the guy in the wheelchair looked familiar. They didn't know that Keith was in New Orleans.

"Keith has lots of friends. He's very well liked."

And as befits a former standout athlete and competitor, he rebounded from his tragedy to become a super sports fan, his mother said.

He goes to one or two Bears' home games each season. After Chicago's 1988 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, he met Bear lineman Dan Hampton and another teammate at Ditka's Restaurant in Chicago.

Each year he joins his old friends in the pipefitters' union to fly south to see the Bears play, usually in Tampa Bay. This year, it was New Orleans. Because of his wheelchair, he gets to sit on the sidelines.

He also went to 13 White Sox games the past summer, and goes to Indiana University home football and basketball games frequently.

"But this is the first time he's been on TV at a game," said Krieter. "Everybody recognized Keith and called me or his folks."

Another friend, Terry Shocaroff of Merrillville, said, "Carrier ran right straight for him and, when Keith held up the ball, he looked like he'd just won the million-dollar lottery."

Said Krieter: "For a guy in a wheelchair, you'll never meet anybody like Keith. He's just a super guy with a great attitude."

Pat Patz said her son lost his wallet the day before the game in New Orleans, but someone found it and called to say they'd mailed it home. "So getting the football really helped bring his spirits up after losing his wallet," she said.

Keith also received one more intangible, but unforgettable, item at the game in New Orleans. As the weary, victorious Bears walked off the Super Dome field, gruff, tough lineman Steve McMichael gave Keith a high-five.

"He'll never forget that, for sure," said his mom.