That's his promise. In his new role as the Bears starting quarterback, Orton has sworn that he's all business and that his hard-partying days of internet lore are long behind him. He's a new man — a married man — who won't give his teammates a reason to question his leadership abilities this time around. He's more mature and refined; he's a man with a plan, a 50-cent razor and 10-cent arm. But he's the Bears quarterback:
"I'm still the same guy," Orton said. "I'm still a fun guy and like to hang with my teammates. It's not like I'm trying to live in a hole or anything. But [I] certainly have to be careful and not put myself or my family in jeopardy."
Besides football and his family, Orton has another reason to play it a little safer in his latest stint as starting quarterback — his burgeoning left-leaning political aspirations.
Still, Orton enjoyed watching last week's Democratic National Convention, even though he missed Barack Obama accepting his party's presidential nomination because of the Bears' exhibition finale in Cleveland. And occasionally, Orton's social conscience screams too loudly for him to ignore it. Orton emceed an Earth Day event at Lincoln Park Zoo that combined two of his passions: rock 'n' roll and global awareness. A few weeks earlier, Orton also served as a celebrity spokesman for a statewide initiative asking residents to turn off lights for one hour to raise awareness about climate change.
Given the candidates we have running for political office this year, is it that far-fetched to imagine a country one day led by the likes of Kyle Orton? Kyle Orton Is A New Man [Chicago Tribune]