16,743 and Counting

What began as a run for immortality yet sometimes felt more like a crawl -- an inch-by-inch odyssey -- ended Sunday when Dallas Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith passed the late Walter Payton to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.

Needing 93 yards to eclipse Payton’s mark of 16,726 yards, Smith came through with a season-best 109, thanks in part to a Seattle defense ranked last against the run.

The record-breaking ramble came on a play called “15-lead” in the fourth quarter, when Smith burst through the left side of the line, spun out of an arm tackle and twisted forward for an 11-yard gain. The capacity crowd erupted in cheers, hundreds of silver and blue balloons were released into the Texas sky, and cannon blasts shook the stadium to its rafters. That giddiness lingered, even after the Cowboys wound up losing, 17-14, when Seattle’s Rian Lindell kicked a 20-yard field goal with 25 seconds to play.

In fact, after the game, it was almost as if the Seahawks had lost. Seattle players were especially somber because of a season-ending injury to quarterback Trent Dilfer, who suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon, and a concussion to receiver Darrell Jackson that led to a seizure in the locker room. Jackson was taken by ambulance to Baylor Medical Center and was in stable condition Sunday night.

The Cowboys celebrated Smith’s record with a postgame celebration that included appearances by Marcus Allen, Daryl Johnston, Michael Irvin and Pat Summerall, as well as Payton’s brother, Eddie, and mother, Alyne.

“I am so proud of you, Emmitt,” Walter’s widow, Connie, said in a videotaped message. “Your hard work and determination, your being true to the game, are a part of your success. I feel we’re truly blessed having you as a friend and part of our life.”

As plumes of smoke rose around a giant inflatable Cowboy helmet, Smith made a postgame curtain call wearing a white cap with “16,727” scrawled on the side. He ran along the wall that rings the field, slapping hands with fans, then made his way to a star-shaped platform at midfield.

Cowboy owner Jerry Jones presented him with a silver football and announced: “There’s only one NFL rushing champion, and there’s only one Emmitt Smith.”

Smith, who broke down in tears this summer when the Payton family presented him the “Spirit of Sweetness” award, dabbed at his eyes. Later, he never stopped smiling as he answered reporters’ questions inside a giant tent erected in the parking lot. He was joined on the dais by his wife, Pat, their three young children and Jones. Thousands of fans waited outside, hoping for a glimpse of the star running back.

“Making history of this magnitude is such a special thing,” said Smith, 33, whose last 100-yard game came 10 months ago. “I’ve learned how special it is when I saw Cal Ripken go through what he went through, and I saw Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa go through what they went through, and then I saw Barry Bonds do what he did.”

Smith set the record with Payton’s mother and brother watching from a luxury box. About 200 of Smith’s family members and friends attended the game, and play was stopped for five minutes after the record-breaking run.

Midway through his 13th season, Smith has 16,743 yards in 193 games; Payton played 190. That said, lots of people rank Smith down the list when it comes to the best backs in league history. He’s seen by many as a survivor as much as a superstar, an exceptional talent who was surrounded for much of his career by exceptional teammates -- players such as Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and an offensive line loaded with Pro Bowl behemoths.

“From a media standpoint, I’m very confident that I’m one of the best that ever played the game,” he said. “But when you start talking about the greatest of all time, how can you define the greatest? Everybody has a unique skill.”

It’s unclear how the Cowboys plan to use Smith’s unique skill after this season. There is very little chance the franchise will keep him under the terms of his current contract. He’s due to make a base salary of $7 million next season, and his salary-cap number is $9.8 million, so the team has a much cheaper and younger alternative in 25-year-old Troy Hambrick.

In the meantime, the Cowboys and Smith will find a way to squeeze every possible buck out of the landmark accomplishment. Starting this week, up to 6 million cans of Pepsi bearing Smith’s likeness will hit the shelves in Texas and the surrounding states. Motorola will use Smith to sell telephones and high-speed modems.

There will be Wheaties boxes too and $10,000 autographed sterling silver Cowboy helmets -- only 22 of them, matching his jersey number. For fans of more modest means, there are 50,000 shirts and 50,000 hats commemorating the feat, as well as 16,727 bobble-head Smith dolls, equal to the yardage needed to pass Payton.

Jones said a flag marking Smith’s accomplishment will fly at Texas Stadium alongside the team’s Super Bowl banners.

“Emmitt did this when the greatest, most physical athletes over the last 12, 13 years have played this game in the history of football,” Jones said. “They are bigger, faster, can cover more ground and stop more plays than any time in the history of football.”

Smith changed shoes and jerseys every quarter, setting aside the valuable mementos, and he promised to give a jersey or helmet from the game to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Before the game, Smith participated in the coin toss, and Seattle defensive tackle Chad Eaton told him, “You’re not going to get it on us today.” Eaton repeated that during the game.

“He talked more noise than anybody else on the Seahawk team,” Smith said. “And when it finally happened, he just said, ‘Congratulations, man.’ ”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Sweetness vs. Emmitt

SEASON BY SEASON RUSHING YARDS BY WALTER PAYTON AND EMMITT SMITH

*--* OTHER STATISTI CS GAMES CARRIES YARDS YARDS YARDS AFTER TDs RUSHING PER PER 190 GAMES CARRY GAME PAYTON 190 3,838 4.4 88.0 16,726 110 SMITH 193 3,929 4.3 86.8 16,493 150

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