Pat Tillman walked away from an NFL contract and joined the army with his brother after 911. Normally I'd think it was a stunt or something but I followed this guy throughout his career at ASU and then with the Cardinals. He really was a unique guy. He didn't care about money. Even after he signed on with the Cardinals his first year, he road a bicycle to practice for awhile and then some clunker car. He wasn't the best football player but he did put 100 percent effort into his game each time.
Sad day for people around Arizona that were a little more aware of him than the rest of the nation:
Tillman has always marched to his own beat. Upon entering ASU, he told coach Bruce Snyder that he was not redshirting, that he had a life to pursue after four years of college. He graduated in 3 1/2 years with a degree in marketing and a 3.84 grade-point average.
"Once he decides to do something and accomplishes it, he really likes to do more," Snyder said in 2002. "The normal routine just kills him."
In 2001, he declined to pursue a five-year, $9 million offer from the St. Louis Rams because he felt loyalty to the Cardinals' coaches, who had taken a chance on him.
As a rookie trying to make the team, Tillman rode a bicycle to the team's Tempe facility each day because he didn't own a car. And he refused to use a cellphone.
Every life is indeed valuable. That was my point. I feel it de-values the sacrifices the others made when a "celebrity" like this gets a special story because of the fact. The fact he could play football doesn't make it any more of a sad day than when hearing about any other casualties. That was my point.
The most interesting thing about Tillman is his rarity. It was not all that long ago (200 - 250 years) when a substantial portion (100% of what we now call "officers") would have been very wealth people. These days war is almost exclusively the purvue of the poor, making a case like Tillman stand out.
Tillman deserves special recognition, not because he played football, but because he turned down millions of dollars, a massive publicity opportunity, to do what he felt was the right thing to do.
he specifically instructed all the people near him not to discuss the situation with the press, etc.
everybody who died sacrificed their life. I'd hazard to guess none of the other ones sacrificed a multimillion dollar career to serve their country. that doesnt make Tillman better than the rest, it just makes it a unique story.
I think he definitely deserves a special story, and that it in no way takes away from the loss of any other people over there. Too often we get the opposite kind of special story; a professional athlete is all over the news for committing a crime. One that wouldn't be headline news if it wasn't a professional athlete.
Tillman was a role model and I think that it's amazing that he'd give up a multimillion dollar professional athletic contract to go fight for what he believed was right. I know I would never even consider that now, let alone if I were playing pro football.
"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."- Barack Obama
Anyone notice that half, if not most, of the people on that list that died, died from retarded shit. Two american helicopters ran in to each other, an english tank thought we were the enemy, died from non combat injuries. I didn't look for very long, but out of the bunch I saw I only saw two combat deaths. It's so nice to know they're dying for a good cause...
Indeed, the story is pretty unique in this day and age and really quite sad while being inspirational to boot. I really think it finally gives all of those that have made the ultimate sacrifice a face they normally lack.
Dregor Thule wrote:Every life is indeed valuable. That was my point. I feel it de-values the sacrifices the others made when a "celebrity" like this gets a special story because of the fact. The fact he could play football doesn't make it any more of a sad day than when hearing about any other casualties. That was my point.
It is unique actually. He gave up a 3 milliion dollar contract to serve his country. Very worth noting. It should be talked about a lot so maybe a few ungrateful Americans might learn something from his story.
Metaphantasus wrote:Anyone notice that half, if not most, of the people on that list that died, died from retarded shit. Two american helicopters ran in to each other, an english tank thought we were the enemy, died from non combat injuries. I didn't look for very long, but out of the bunch I saw I only saw two combat deaths. It's so nice to know they're dying for a good cause...
i don't know what the hell that's supposed to mean but there's more honor in dying from a toe infection while serving your country than there is sitting on your comfortable ass at home talking about what's wrong with things. that's exactly what Tillman thought so he gave up what most of us dream of, to DO something. it's pretty easy from where you sit to say shit. fratricide sucks but there's no pause button or restart button here. this shit happens real time and mistakes happen. but that doesn't lessen what they were accomplishing. i'm not saying if you're not fighting a war you suck. but all those people that are dying from "retarded shit" still died while making the world a better place. and that sounds like a good cause to me.
i don't think it's how you die that matters but how you live your life. Rest in Peace
My goal is to live forever. So far so good.
The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. - Benjamin Franklin
Dregor Thule wrote:Every life is indeed valuable. That was my point. I feel it de-values the sacrifices the others made when a "celebrity" like this gets a special story because of the fact. The fact he could play football doesn't make it any more of a sad day than when hearing about any other casualties. That was my point.
It is unique actually. He gave up a 3 milliion dollar contract to serve his country. Very worth noting. It should be talked about a lot so maybe a few ungrateful Americans might learn something from his story.
Don't recall anyone saying they're ungrateful for what he has done and/or sacrificed. You must finish reading the remainder of the thread before jumping to a conclusion. Doing what he did and even qualifying for that section of the military proves one thing, he did everything in his power to follow his dream, for 9-11 to never happen on our soil again.
Has nothing to do w/ Iraq, but then, neither did 9-11. A true and pure hero. Don't think I or any other that tends to lean to the left thinks otherwise.
Last edited by Chidoro on April 24, 2004, 8:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dregor Thule wrote:Every life is indeed valuable. That was my point. I feel it de-values the sacrifices the others made when a "celebrity" like this gets a special story because of the fact. The fact he could play football doesn't make it any more of a sad day than when hearing about any other casualties. That was my point.
It is unique actually. He gave up a 3 milliion dollar contract to serve his country. Very worth noting. It should be talked about a lot so maybe a few ungrateful Americans might learn something from his story.
Dregor Thule wrote:Every life is indeed valuable. That was my point. I feel it de-values the sacrifices the others made when a "celebrity" like this gets a special story because of the fact. The fact he could play football doesn't make it any more of a sad day than when hearing about any other casualties. That was my point.
It is unique actually. He gave up a 3 milliion dollar contract to serve his country. Very worth noting. It should be talked about a lot so maybe a few ungrateful Americans might learn something from his story.
Hey fucktard, read the whole thread thanks.
Hey fucktard I was gone away on business all week. I wanted to say it my way. Don't give a fuck what others said. Thanks though.
Dregor Thule wrote:Every life is indeed valuable. That was my point. I feel it de-values the sacrifices the others made when a "celebrity" like this gets a special story because of the fact. The fact he could play football doesn't make it any more of a sad day than when hearing about any other casualties. That was my point.
It is unique actually. He gave up a 3 milliion dollar contract to serve his country. Very worth noting. It should be talked about a lot so maybe a few ungrateful Americans might learn something from his story.
Hey fucktard, read the whole thread thanks.
Hey fucktard I was gone away on business all week. I wanted to say it my way. Don't give a fuck what others said. Thanks though.
You fucking sad ass piece of shit moron. I already changed my view because of that exact reason, so that's what I fucking meant when I said READ THE WHOLE THREAD you cumstain. Jesus christ, how the hell did you ever manage to procreate?
