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'...
Got to beat IU's rock...
ReplyDeleteAbout 10 years ago, in my small hometown, my childhood neighbor died, and a few years later, they put up a statue in his honor. It's the ugliest, most disproportionate statue I have ever seen.
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But like the Tillman statue, baseball players rub it for good luck. So how did this guy die? He's like one of the ten people in the nation that got swine flu (remember when that was a thing?), he was too lazy to go to a doctor or even buy medicine, and then he died at home, alone.
Not exactly what I'd call lucky.
Wow-while I am sad the guy died, erecting a statue to his memory seems odd.
DeleteWhether or not one agrees with the cause to which Tillman gave his life, there is no question that leaving a multi-million dollar professional sports career to assume a roughly $30K a year salary because you believe in the cause is an act of sacrifice and valor.
Not leaving the house to get medical care when you are ill is either an act of laziness or foolishness. Maybe both.
LC
We didn't understand the statue either. I knew the guy my whole childhood life. I considered him a friend. He was a nice guy.
DeleteWith that said, he didn't need a statue erected in his honor in the center of our park. You know why it's a baseball statue? Because he played baseball in high school. That's it. Didn't win a championship. Didn't break records. He literally just played because he enjoyed it.
Pat Tillman I get. Not the rubbing for good luck, but the need to honor him. This guy, on the other hand... I have no idea how or why this happened. No disrespect intended, but to be blunt, he was just a normal guy.
But hey, the way our hometown seems to hand out statues like candy, if Other B and I tragically die sometime soon, I fully expect a 50 foot tall monument of us both outside of our local library.
50 feet for your sculptures, 70 feet for the beer bottles...
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