Pat Tillman died in Afghanistan. I bet most Americans don't know, or only have a vague idea who, Pat Tillman was before this weekend. Pat Tillman played football for the Arizona Cardinals and turned down a 3 year $3.6 million offer to join the army so that he could help his country in the Middle East. Moreover, he made that decision to forego a life of sports and leisure while trying to stay out of the media spotlight. His brother Kevin, a baseball player for Cleveland, did the same thing.
Now, I've never been big on politics, and I don't give a rat's ass what your, or anybody else's, standing is about this "War On Terrorism." Who knows what the Tillman brothers' politics are? Who knows why Pat Tillman and his brother made that decision? Most people probably would never understand it, and I have heard people say that they were stupid for doing it. I believe that the Tillman brothers did not do it for politics. They surely didn't do it for the media attention. Or money.
Pat Tillman put his life in harm's way, and ultimately lost it, for you and me. He did it because he had an unshakeable belief that you and I should have the freedom that we usually take for granted. And whether or not you believe he was misguided, or if we should even have a hand in the Middle East's conflicts at all, Pat Tillman believed that that was where he needed to be to protect us.
Whatever right-wing politicians or counter-culture hipsters think, Pat Tillman died a hero.
And I'll slap the next person I hear who compares football to war right in the face.
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This whole thing made that punk-ass mofo Eli Manning look like a bitch. Pat Tillman turned aside millions and made the ultimate sacrifice, and here Eli is, on the verge of making millions himself - and he refuses to play for the Chargers, the team that drafts him. Did you see the draft? That bitch wasn't even HAPPY that he was picked #1 overall. To me he looks like a spoiled, selfish athlete which has sadly become the norm in pro sports today.
And to top it off, the fuckin' punkass is now a NY Giant. He'll be a punkass even if he helps the Giants win a superbowl. I'll be happy, but he'll still be a punkass.
Posted by glenn at April 25, 2004 10:28 PMI had not idea about the Tillman brothers. My heart goes out to his family for the sacrifices he has made to keep the peace. I must say that professional sports make me want to barf. The amount of my money we pay these athletes to play a sport is sickening. What happened to playing the sport for the LOVE of the sport. I'll stick to college sports, BBall, baby...
Posted by: Flare at April 26, 2004 09:21 AMAs someone whom has recently joined the Army and expects to be in Afghanistan or Iraq within three years (I think we will be in Iraq for at least five more) I find your argument rediculous. Pat Tillman is a hero, and what he did in regards to the NFL is amazing. However, why are you comparing the two men at all. Eli did nothing against draft rules. He comes from a very charitable and already extremely wealthy family (this wasn't about money, it was about not ending up with a career that didn't go anywhere with a team with no direction like father Archie with the Saints in the 70s). The NFL went ahead with the draft despite news of Tillman's death, so what was Eli supposed to do, drop his plans? Elway did the same thing when he was drafted, but no one is villanizing him. That is a double standard, it dosn't matter when he did it. Furthermore, the Chargers are the ones that made the discussion they had been having with the Mannings public, not the Mannings themselves. If they had not, then this would all have just been a sidenote to the draft. Pat Tillman is an example of the best America has to offer, as you said, regardless of your political views. But you also said that people should not be comparing war and football, so why are you comparing the two young men? (By the way, I didn't in any way mean, by telling you about my military situation, to try and sound heroic. I do not know where I will be sent or if I will even for sure see combat, I certainly am not giving up what Tillman did. I just thought you should hear the view of someone whom is in the military.)
Posted by: Will at May 6, 2004 03:30 PM