Better him then you, eh Chicken Hawk???
"TonyZ2001" <tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040424070411.21890.00000171@mb-m23.aol.com...
Pat Tillman represents the true spirit of Americans.
Tony
Updated: 04:32 AM EDT
Ex-NFL Player Tillman Killed in Afghanistan Firefight
Had Joined Army Rangers Following Sept. 11 Attacks
By BOB BAUM, AP SPORTS
WASHINGTON (April 23) -- Pat Tillman walked away from millions in the NFL
to
fight for his country in Afghanistan.
He paid with his life.
The former Arizona Cardinals safety was killed Thursday night in a
firefight
while on combat patrol. A specialist with the elite Army Rangers, he was
27.
"He is a hero," Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill said. "He was a
brave
man. There are very few people who have the courage to do what he did, the
courage to walk away from a professional sports career and make the
ultimate
sacrifice."
Lt. Col. Matt Beevers, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Kabul, said a
soldier was killed by anti-coalition militia forces about 25 miles from a
U.S.
military base at Khost, the site of frequent attacks.
The Department of Defense confirmed Tillman's death Friday night, stating
in a
news release that he was killed in Afghanistan "when his patrol vehicle
came
under attack." It did not provide details.
The White House praised Tillman as "an inspiration both on and off the
football
field."
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Tillman was an overachiever as an athlete. Too
slow to
be a great safety, too small for an NFL linebacker, he got by on toughness
and
effort.
Those attributes undoubtedly served him well in the Army Rangers, whom he
joined in May 2002 after abandoning his career with the Cardinals. He
moved
from a violent game to the reality of war.
"Pat Tillman personified all the best values of his country and the NFL,"
commissioner Paul Tagliabue said. "He was an achiever and leader on many
levels
who always put his team, his community, and his country ahead of his
personal
interests."
Tillman was the first NFL player killed in combat since Buffalo offensive
tackle Bob Kalsu died in the Vietnam War in July 1970. Nineteen NFL
players
were killed in World War II.
Some 110 U.S. soldiers have died -- 39 of them in combat -- during
Operation
Enduring Freedom, which began in Afghanistan in late 2001.
Denver quarterback Jake Plummer was a teammate of Tillman for seven years,
three at Arizona State and four with the Cardinals.
"We lost a unique individual that touched the lives of many with his love
for
life, his toughness, his intellect," Plummer said in a statement released
by
the Broncos. "Pat Tillman lived life to the fullest and will be remembered
forever in my heart and mind."
In college, Tillman was a long-haired wild man on the field, an all-Pac-10
linebacker always going full speed. Bone-jarring hits were his trademark.
He and Plummer led the Sun Devils to the 1997 Rose Bowl. The next season,
Tillman was the Pac-10 defensive player of the year. He graduated summa
*****
laude in December 1997 with a marketing degree and a 3.84 grade-point
average.
The Cardinals took Tillman in the seventh round of the 1998 draft, the
226th
player chosen. At first, he made his mark on special teams but played his
way
into a starting spot at safety.
In 2000, he broke the franchise record for tackles with 224. He had 12
solo
tackles, and a hand in 21 overall, in a 16-15 victory over Washington that
season.
In practice, coaches often had to make Tillman slow down so he wouldn't
hurt
anybody in drills that weren't supposed to be full speed. Slowing down was
always tough for him.
Before the 2000 season, he ran a marathon to see what it would be like.
Before
the 2001 season, he gave the triathlon a try.
Six months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Tillman walked into the
office
of then-coach Dave McGinnis, pulled up a chair and said, "Mac, we have to
talk."
Tillman and his brother Kevin -- a minor league baseball player in the
Cleveland organization -- were going to join the Army Rangers, soldiers
sent
where the fighting is toughest.
"It was his wish that this not be something that would draw a lot of
attention," McGinnis said. "He truly felt committed and felt a sense of
honor
and duty at this point in his life that this is what he wanted to do."
Tillman never said a word publicly about his decision.
When he returned from his Middle East tour of duty, Tillman, his wife,
Marie,
and brother Kevin joined the Cardinals for a game in Seattle last
December.
They spent five hours in McGinnis' hotel room the night before the game,
talking.
"He was just so proud to be a member of the Rangers," McGinnis said. "That
came
through loud and clear."
Tillman attended the team's pregame breakfast, then watched the game with
Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill and his son, Michael. Tillman talked with his
teammates in the locker room after the game, then slipped out a side door
before reporters came in.
"Pat knew his purpose in life. He proudly walked away from a career in
football to a greater calling."
-Former Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis
Tillman turned down a more lucrative offer from the St. Louis Rams in 2001
to
stay with the Cardinals. A year later, he walked away from a three-year,
$3.6
million offer from Arizona to join the Army.
Phil Snow, now defensive coordinator at the University of Washington, held
the
same position at Arizona State when the Sun Devils recruited Tillman out
of San
Jose, Calif.
"Pat was a lot of things as a person," Snow said. "He was a tough,
good-looking
guy. He was extremely competitive. You know there is a saying with older
people: 'He was a man's man.' You always knew where you stood with Pat.
There
was no phoniness in him."
Gov. Janet Napolitano ordered flags on the Arizona State campus flown at
half-staff. His framed No. 40 jersey was displayed Friday on a table
outside
Cardinals headquarters, alongside flowers and teddy bears. A pen was left
for
people to write messages to the Tillman family.
"What other person do you know who would give up a life in the NFL to
defend
what he believes in with his own life?" said former teammate David
Barrett, now
with the New York Jets. "That is a humble guy."
Washington, D.C.-based writer John J. Lumpkin and New York-based sports
writer
Andrea Adelson contributed to this report.
04/23/04 23:53 EDT
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