I'm fine with the honoring of the guy who lucked out by landing the plane in the water. It was his only option and it saved lives, great. But if it didn't, landing a plane in water would not be the new "fad." What he did was a life-saving act, but what if it didn't work. He would be cast off as an idiot who thought landing in water would be safe.
I think radically sometimes. Everyone does. But my problem is that Pat Tillman was completely forgotten from the Super Bowl activities. Even when they announced Gen. Petreaus as the coin flipper, it would have fit in. But no, they forgot.
Here is a good story from USA Today about Pat Tillman being mentioned in Hall of Fame conversation.
Politics and patriotism are normally things I avoid. I love this country and feel honored that I can write all of this without being imprisoned. But the lack of Tillman coverage is inexcusable.
This is an athlete that was on the verge of being a highly paid defensive player for the Cardinals. Talented and driven, Tillman made a positive impact on youngsters and the NFL.
He passed on all of the fame and money to serve his country. I won't Disney this up any more, but the man took on a 360 degree lifestyle change to serve us all in the Armed Forces.
The Cardinals apparently did honor him prior to the game, and how could they not.
FROM USA TODAY:
"I think he's looking down right now, and he's really excited for us," Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said earlier this week before the team's Super Bowl XLIII showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers. "And the second thing, he's really ticked off that he's not down here getting ready to play in the Super Bowl."
Strong safety Adrian Wilson, the longest tenured Cardinal, played alongside Tillman when he was a rookie in 2001, Tillman's final season in the league.
"Pat's memory will never die with the Arizona Cardinals," says Wilson, who assumed Tillman's starting role in 2002. "He's definitely a Hall of Fame Cardinal player."
But it was a real disappointment that the NFL didn't give a real-American hero the spotlight along side of the pilot who "slip and slided" the Hudson river with a commercial plane.
What Sullenberger did to save Flight 1549 is also beyond honorable. And I am not saying that he should not have been mentioned. The country needs a heroic effort like his to shake us out of our slump. But Pat Tillman should be mentioned by Al Michaels one breath later. Especially because his team was in the Super Bowl.
Cris Collinsworth, I guy who most of the time I dislike, has been mentioning Tillman's name throughout the playoff run for the Cardinals and with all of the recent Hall of Fame talk he had this to say.
"You can't tell me (Tillman's) not one of the most 200 important people in the history of the league," says Collinsworth. "If you ask me to tell the story of the National Football League, one of the stories I'm gonna tell you is the Pat Tillman story."
By: Jimmy Smith
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