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24 APR 04 (early edition): THE PAT-RIOT
Friday was a beautiful, warm spring day - until I heard the 1:00 p.m. radio news. Then it all changed.
"Pat Tillman, who gave up a multi-million dollar football contract to become a soldier after the September 11th attacks.... has died. "
What a shame. What a sad shame. And it hits a little harder because Pat Tillman reported to Fort Benning when he left pro football's Arizona Cardinals.
Tillman went through Ranger training in this area. I suspect every journalist at Columbus and Fort Benning wanted to interview him - along with a lot of sportscasters from coast-to-coast. Yet Tillman wouldn't talk to the news media after he enlisted. From what we could tell, he simply wanted to serve his country. He wanted to take on the terrorists who tried to destroy our country - and take them on far more than any N.F.L. quarterback.
Pat Tillman gave up millions of dollars - though after his tour of duty, he probably could have returned to pro football and reclaimed them. Tillman gave up fame on the field - only now to have it for a very different reason.
How many other pro athletes would do what Pat Tillman did? In this day and age, have you heard of any? In years gone by, athletes didn't have a choice. The military draft forced stars like Ted Williams to become G.I.'s during World War II. In
recent years, Roger Staubach and David Robinson became sports stars AFTER attending the Naval Academy and fulfilling years of service.
Would I do what Pat Tillman did? I never had to face that question - having come of age after Vietnam, and before the reinstatement of mandatory registration with the Selective Service. I'm thankful to God that events happened that way for me -- and I never felt compelled to make a choice.
Yes, you could say I'm spoiled -- perhaps as spoiled as other pro athletes, though I earn much less money than they do. Perhaps Senator Zell Miller would declare me a "wimp" instead of a warrior. But I'm grateful for the ones who are warriors, defending wimps like me The "some" who "gave all," to borrow from a Billy Ray Cyrus song. And if you're more like me than Pat Tillman, I hope you're grateful as well.
May God bless Pat Tillman's family. And may all of us -- especially professional athletes -- think long and hard about what he did, and the example he set.
If you came here looking for jokes -- I'm sorry, please scroll down for them. Right now, I'm not in the mood.............