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October 08, 2004
Remembering Pat Tillman
Is anyone going to forget Pat Tillman, the former defensive back for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals who walked away from millions to defend America against terror as an Army Ranger before he lost his life in action in Afghanistan? A few weeks ago, the NFL held a league-wide tribute in Tillman's memory, but over at NFL.com, Chris Collinsworth thinks that it isn't enough: If you look at some of the people the NFL has named trophies and awards after -- names like Pete Rozelle, Vince Lombardi and Walter Payton -- would you list any of those great men ahead of Pat Tillman? I don't want to downplay the significance of any of those men, they were all important to the league. But history will remember Tillman in a much different light . . . I'm all for this idea. The question then becomes exactly which award do you name after Tillman? The community service award the league gives (the NFL Man of the Year) is already named after Walter Payton. I think we ought to recast the Comeback Player of the Year award in these terms:
That's what I would propose. Any other ideas?
Eric
02:42 PM
Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: Comments"Self-sacrifice" is not a virtue, and it's certainly not something that should be rewarded. And while I respect Tillman for pursuing his freely chosen values--hardly an act of self-sacrifice--I do not think his dying in the service of the United States Government constitutes heroism, nor should the NFL feel compelled to rename an award in his honor. And those in the media (including Eric, apparently) who are trying to browbeat the NFL into doing so are acting like blind worshippers of the state. Posted by: at October 8, 2004 06:12 PM Excuse me, but giving your life for the country you love is the ultimate self-sacrifice. Yes, he could have done just about anything. He could have stayed home and earned millions playing a game. But he didn't. And it's the sacrifices of people like him who allow you to spout of the nonsense that you just spouted off, Skip. By all means, Pat Tillman should have an award named after him. Posted by: at October 8, 2004 07:44 PM Nice job with the jingoistic bafflegab, Brandon. I especially like your assertion that the sacrifice of Americans in Iraq is somehow protecting our freedom. So let's air the contrary opinion: The fraudulent Iraq gambit does nothing to make us any safer. Tillman's sacrifice was made in vain. I wish his self-sacrifice was heroic. But it was only tragic. The fact that he was killed by his own comrades makes the irony even more bitter. Oh, I forgot. In today's supposedly "free" America, that opinion isn't allowed. Posted by: at October 8, 2004 11:24 PM Uhh.. Tracy.. no one is preventing you from speaking. It seems you are confusing 'freedom of speech' with 'freedom from criticism of your speech'. You and Skip are quite free to voice your opinion, and others are also free to say you're full of it. Your whining over your opinion 'not being allowed' is quite out of proportion to it actually happening. And yes, Eric, your idea is nice, though I hope what Pat did does not overshadow the similar sacrifice of Bob Kalsu in Vietnam, or those players who died in WWII. Posted by: at October 9, 2004 09:54 AM Just a quick factual note -- Tillman died in Afghanistan, not Iraq. Friendly fire accidents are a harsh truth of war. Sadly, so is the initial misreporting of his death -- truth is the first casualty of war, so they say. I wouldn't have a problem with the NFL naming an award after him. I have much more of a problem with some of the mingled images of war and football that permeate TV broadcasts, such as the air-raid siren ESPN uses in its promos. (Granted, I have less of a problem with it now than I did when they first started using it, which I believe was less than a year after 9/11.) Posted by: at October 9, 2004 09:01 PM Tillman reminded us that there are things in this world more important than football, that there are people making far greater sacrifices than getting banged up on a field every Sunday. As such I think any award in Tillman's honour should recognise a contribution by an NFL player (or anyone else in the NFL) to worthy causes outside the world of football. Posted by: at October 10, 2004 09:55 AM Post a commentThanks for signing in, . (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) |