Sgt Patrick Tillman 1976-2004

[foehammer03]

He'd be another name in a list of names since September 11th had it not been for his unselfish disregard of a bright NFL future in the name of family and personal values.

Sgt Patrick Tillman, NFL Safety, record holder, husband, father, brother, comrade, threw away a profitable life of privilage for the shoulder patch of the Rangers, an M-16 and death in the highlands of Afghanistan. There have been other actors, sports figures and thrill seekers in the last decade who made joining the service a shamefull stunt, Tillman gave it grace.

Easy to see what motivated him, a great grandfather who survived Pearl Harbor and had a distinguished military record in the Pacific, a man Tillman talked long and proud about.

Pat Tillman honors his Generation who are fighting this war in the spirit of their World War II fathers, he honored his great grandfather, his comrades and his country. he was not an aboration, a fluke, a one in a thousand anomoly, he is the spirit of Generation X and what this country means to us. We are not the hung up, Vietnam consumed, selfish baby boomers.

I hope that when she is older, Tillman's daughter will understand not how her father died or what he gave up, but how he lived and how much a hero he was to the country.



http://www.newsmax.com/images/headlines/Tillmanuniformsmall.jpg

[Eagle3]

I was listening to sports radio down at the hangar last weekend catching the NFL draft. There were some interesting comparisons between Eli Manning and Pat Tillman. It's ridiculous that this kid has a hissyfit about going to the Chargers, threatening to hold his breath til he turns blue and Sgt Tillman gives up a $million career and his life to serve his country. Put a daiper on Manning and give him a pacifier. New York can have him. He can carry that team to the SuperBowl for all I care. He'll never be fraction of the person Tillman was.

[gopsdragon]

That's not a prison uniform, Eli.

I thought of the question "where is the child without complaint?" as I watched Eli Manning hear his name called by the San Diego Chargers on Saturday. Manning walked to the podium as if he was being marched to execution; he took the Bolts cap as if being handed the poison Socrates drank; he looked totally miserable, and he had just been named the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft!

Ten of thousands of football players would have given anything to trade places with Manning, and would have kissed that San Diego cap, TMQ can assure you. Tens of millions -- if not hundreds of millions -- of people would have given anything to experience the moment in the sun Manning was being offered -- wealth, fame, publicity, glory. Yet his response was to feel sorry for himself.

Maybe this tells us Manning is a spoiled brat who can't take it unless everything, every last little thing, goes exactly his way. Maybe Manning's quaking grimace shows that he has no heart, that he was afraid to sign with a weak team and struggle for a few years -- as his brother Peyton did when he gladly accepted the helmet of the Colts, who were weak when they drafted him. Maybe Eli's contorted face meant he was confused by the shower of boos from the New York hometown draftniks at the Garden, since it was unclear whether they were booing him or booing the Giants' failure, at that point, to trade for him.

Or maybe it shows Manning is blinded by dollar signs. From either the Chargers or the Giants, Manning would get about the same initial signing bonus of $15 million or so; but his advertising and marketing income will be much higher in New York City, center of the hype universe, than in San Diego. If he did that whole public self-pity routine because he was thinking a check for $15 million isn't enough, what does that tell you about the modern American insistence on focusing on things to complain about rather than things to feel grateful for?

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/7286047

[Billntwrk]

First of All, and I say this as an American Veteran of Desert Storm Senior and Citizen of San Diego.

To adress the initial Thrust, This was a post and thread about Pat Tillman. We, the veterans of our Military have much to respect about Sgt. TIllman and much to mourn in the loss of yet another brother.

TO swith the thrust to Eli Manning is to do a disservice to the memory of SGT. Tillman and the hundreds of others who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Did anything about the Eli Manning story shock anyone? Professional athletes are notoriously spoiled rotten. We in San Diego took the Attitude "Good By and Good Riddence"

One more thing. The very last poster leaves a tag line "There are Americans then there are liberals..." or similar. Guess what? I am an American. I am a proud Naval Veteran and, wait for it......I am a liberal! Same Sex Marriage? I don't have a problem. Remove the 10 commandments from a Court of law? Absolutly. Support for a narrow Minded, unintelligent, uninspired President? Absolutly. BUT the Office, not the man.

Remember. Freedom of speech and thought are corner stones of American values. I offered my own life ( And the potential to lose that life) in defence of that very principal.

SO, How dare you equate being a liberal to being Unamerican. And there is no problem with gun control. Really, how does one justify an AK-47 or an M-16 for the purpose of hunting?

So, for all you Bill O' Reilly Loving, AL Franken hating, red neck, gun toting Conservatives. Remember. I too am an American. Don't you dare try telling me any different! :mad:

[gopsdragon]

Originally posted by Billntwrk
First of All, and I say this as an American Veteran of Desert Storm Senior and Citizen of San Diego.

To adress the initial Thrust, This was a post and thread about Pat Tillman. We, the veterans of our Military have much to respect about Sgt. TIllman and much to mourn in the loss of yet another brother.

It was to reiterate a point some one else on this thread had made, not to change it.

And if you go through the threads, you'll notice I was the first one to post a thread on Pat Tillman...

[Eagle3]

Bill, I'm the one that brought up Manning and I did so point out that Tillman came from a much different mold than what we see from a lot of athletes in today. I did not bring that point up as a dis-service to Sgt Tillman. I did it to respect the scarifices he made.

Gops posted a news article about Manning that drove that point home a lot more than what I said.

Let me make it clear that everyone is intitled to opinion here and they can be expressed in thier sig. We just don't need to have the freedom of speech argument in here. Let's give the Tillman thread a rest :D