When Brian Urlacher announced his retirement on Wednesday after 13 years with the Chicago Bears, the iconic linebacker spoke with pride about "wearing only one jersey for such a storied franchise."
Was he talking about the Green Bay Packers?
No way, but New England Sports Network thought so after SportsPickle, a satirical site, published a tongue-in-cheek report about Urlacher signing a one-day contract with the Pack in order to "go out a winner."
"I know this may rub some people in the Bears organization the wrong way," Urlacher (definitely never) said, per the article. "And some Bears fans, too, probably. But it's my right to end my career the way I want to end it, and doing it as a member of the Green Bay Packers -- unquestionably the best franchise in the NFC North throughout my career and, really, all of NFC North history -- brings me great joy."
CUT TO: The New England Sports Network nerve center, where some poor soul ate this nonsense up without a second thought and published it to the network's ticker, in screaming capital letters, informing greater New England: "URLACHER SIGNS ONE-DAY CONTRACT WITH PACKERS."
Deadspin naturally zeroed in on the gaffe, and SportsPickle was delighted to discover that it had fooled ... at least one person.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
