Pat Tillman

[J.B.]

Yesterday was Veterans Day and, as many things do around Arizona, that brought up some memories and discussions about the late Pat Tillman.

For those who don't know who Pat Tillman is, I will briefly say that he was an outstanding football player at Arizona State University and went on to play for the Arizona Cardinals. Tillman left the NFL after only 4 years in 2002 to join the Army Rangers and go fight in the war. Pat was killed in Afghanistan in 2004, in what was determined to be an act of friendly fire.

For those who do know about Tillman, please keep the political arguments out of this thread. I didn't start this thread in the "sports" section to talk about political conspiracy theories or any of that nonsense. The facts are on the record, and we all know our government/military has shortcomings because they are run by PEOPLE. Cover-up or no cover-up in regards to his death, I don't care. That's not why I started this.

This is meant to honor a great human being, and talk about his contributions to this world on and off the field.

He was born in San Jose California and passed away 6 years ago, but I can walk into an Albertson's grocery store in Mesa Arizona and find a Pat Tillman jersey on a small rack of Cardinals swag behind a Larry Fitzgerald jersey and a Kurt Warner poster. This is a man who made an impact on this world....

On the radio yesterday, a former Cardinals team-mate and roommate of Tillman's told stories about how when he left for the military that everybody on the team thought Pat was gonna be the guy to find Bin-Laden first...Not just as a casual joke, but because Pat was a NO-NONSENSE guy. He also told a story about his rookie year when the other players hazed him by taping him to a goal-post when kids were visiting the stadium. He said Pat came out and cut him down even though the other players said if he did it that they would get him next. Nobody ever "got" Pat, because they either were too scared to mess with him or they had too much respect for the man. Now that is cool...

FACT: Pat is a man who turned down a 3.5 million dollar contract from the Cardinals to go serve his country in a time of war.

FACT: Pat is also man who turned down a 9 million dollar contract with the Rams out of loyalty to the Arizona Cardinals.

(both of those facts make me want to cry)

FACT:Pat was not only a star on the ASU Sun Devils, but also the Arizona Cardinals. During Tillman's time, the Cards and Devils SHARED Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe Arizona! It was only 4 years ago that the Cards got their own stadium, which makes it that much cooler that Tillman got to play for both teams on the same field. The tunnel at Frank Kush Field "aka Sun Devil Stadium" is now the "Pat Tillman Memorial Tunnel".

Needless to say, Tillman is a legend here in Arizona, and just a great American.

Here are some pictures and videos I want to share, and I hope you all chime in with your thoughts and memories as well.



Statue outside UOP Stadium








Tribute to Pat Tillman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIb7zW_okto

Look at Tillman's face at the 26 second mark of this video...that's called focus...the man was a true warrior.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW0by...eature=related

[J.B.]

Pat was number 3 on the BDSS Top 5 inspirational moments, ahead of Lou Gehrig and Lance Armstong...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVNqX...eature=related

[adamt]

jb i don't mean to take away from your thread, but i think veterans day should be reserved for those living veterans and memorial day is for those that have died while serving, just a pet peeve of mine...

but to your point....

tillman is a great example of why it is not good to call eveyone who has ever served a hero, it takes away from the real heroes, those that could do other things but don't, those who want and do see combat, those who are actually serving not just collecting their check,

there was a time that the armed forces became nearly another welfare program, but thanks to people like tillman, it isn't

[J.B.]

Originally Posted by adamt

jb i don't mean to take away from your thread, but i think veterans day should be reserved for those living veterans and memorial day is for those that have died while serving, just a pet peeve of mine...

but to your point....

tillman is a great example of why it is not good to call eveyone who has ever served a hero, it takes away from the real heroes, those that could do other things but don't, those who want and do see combat, those who are actually serving not just collecting their check,

there was a time that the armed forces became nearly another welfare program, but thanks to people like tillman, it isn't

Thank you adam...I didn't mean to offend anybody when it comes to veterans/memorial day, but I totally understand where you are coming from.

[adamt]

Originally Posted by J.B.

Thank you adam...I didn't mean to offend anybody when it comes to veterans/memorial day, but I totally understand where you are coming from.

it's not you jb, certainly wasn't looking down my nose at you, and not particularly offended, and i hope i didn't take away from your thread,

we'll just be sure to resuurect this thread on memorial day

[Bonnie]

That was really nice, JB.

I also thought Veterans Day was for "living" veterans, but from what I read when I googled Armistice Day, Veterans Day, and Memorial Day, Pat Tillman would fall under both Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

Armistice Day (also known as Remembrance Day) is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. While this official date to mark the end of the war reflects the cease fire on the Western Front, hostilities continued in other regions, especially across the former Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire.

The date was declared a national holiday in many allied nations, to commemorate those members of the armed forces who were killed during war. An exception is Italy, where the end of the war is commemorated on 4 November, the day of the Armistice of Villa Giusti.

After World War II, the name of the holiday was changed to Veterans Day in the United States and to Remembrance Day in countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Armistice Day remains an official holiday in France. It is also an official holiday in Belgium, known also as the Day of Peace in the Flanders Fields.

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service.[1] First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War – it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

In the United States, Memorial Day marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day marks its end.

Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the Civil War, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family get-togethers, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on Memorial Day.