Arizona State University unveiled a statue paying tribute to
the late Pat Tillman at Sun Devil Stadium on Wednesday.
Tillman played at ASU from 1994-97 before entering the NFL
as a seventh-round pick of the Cardinals. He spent four seasons playing safety
before giving up his NFL career to join the United States Army in the wake of
the September 11 attacks.
Tillman was killed in action in a friendly fire
incident in 2004.
While I did not share Tillman's fervor for the cause to which he gave his life, I do respect that he felt strongly enough to abandon such a lucrative career, and in no way is this post meant to discredit him.
However, Arizona State coach Todd Graham said players will touch the
statue for luck as they make their way from the locker room to the field in what he said
he hopes becomes a tradition forever.
In case you missed it a couple of sentences ago, Tillman was killed by friendly fire.
Since when is that lucky?
I'm just sayin'...