PT 42: A True American Hero

It is hard to imagine that Tuesday will mark the 5th anniversary of the tragic death of former Sun Devil Pat Tillman in Iraq.

April 22nd, 2004. Friendly fire killed Army Ranger Pat Tillman while he was on patrol in Afghanistan. I remember exactly what I was doing the moment I heard the news. Between classes of my freshman year of high school a teacher stopped me in the hallway and asked me if I was a Sun Devil fan. I looked at him awkwardly and said yes, wondering why. He then went on to tell me of the death of Tillman and instantly my heart broke.

When I tell people that Pat Tillman is my hero, they will jump on me that I chose him because he gave up an NFL career and was tragically killed in war. Pat Tillman was one of my role models before he even decided to serve our nation. The way Tillman went about his life, the way he lived, there was no better role model.

He was the last member of the late Bruce Snyder's 1994 recruiting class, but the undersized linebacker made an incredible impact on and off of the field at ASU. Not only did he take home Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1997 or play a key role in the magical undefeated season the year before, Tillman was a model student, graduating with a 3.8 GPA.

The ultimate underdog, he was taken with the 226th overall pick in the draft by the Cardinals. Some even thought at the time that it was just the home town team doing the local college a favor. But Pat Tillman was right at home in Sun Devil Stadium, in college and the NFL. Tillman started 10 games as a rookie after moving to safety and made 74 tackles in his rookie season. His 224 tackles in 2000 are still a Cardinals record.

Pat Tillman had a higher purpose in life than being a pro football player. He turned down 9 million dollars from the Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams to stay a Cardinal. He then turned down $3.67 million from the Cardinals to join the forces.

“Pat knew his purpose in life,” said Dave McGinnis, Tillman’s former coach with the Cardinals. “He proudly walked away from a career in football to a greater calling.”

The attacks of 9/11 really hit Tillman hard and his quote shortly after the attacks summed up the man that was.

“My great grandfather was at Pearl Harbor, and a lot of my family has ... gone and fought in wars, and I really haven’t done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that.”

Then he did. He gave the ultimate sacrifice to his country. People have always wanted to honor Tillman properly, but he would have had none of that. He was a smart man that had many beliefs and studied works of many different philosophers. Tillman would not have wanted to be the hero, he was just doing what he felt he had to do. Pat was a modest man, all of his shirts were wrinkled, his watch was fake, his hair long and the only thing bigger than his character was his heart.

On the 5 year anniversary let us remember the man that was Pat Tillman. The man the Pac 10's defensive player of the year award bears the name of, the man that every Sun Devil is reminded of before each game while walking through the Tillman Tunnell. Regardless of how he was killed and regardless of the investigation that is still ongoing, Tillman gave Sun Devils, Cardinals and American's a hero and a reason to take a step back and look at our lives and wonder what more we could do? On April 22nd, remember PT42 and his sacrifice...for our nation.

Please watch these videos, as these are a great tribute to Pat.

A true Sun Devil....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIb7zW_okto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSWh6fvsPYE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBM2hiXRZA0&feature=related

Bears Finally Get a QB

Another team in the NFC North other than the Packers has a quarterback with talent?

This is a once in a generation deal one that could potentially go down as one of the biggest in NFL history. You would have a hard time trading for a marginal quarterback, let alone a guy with the credentials of Jay Cutler. Name a big name quarterback that has been traded? Montana, Favre, Green, McNair, Bledsoe? All past their prime. Certainly not 26 and ready make his mark.

The only trades I can think of that included young quarterbacks that became starters were Matt Hasselback from Green Bay to Seattle, Aaron Brooks from Green Bay to New Orleans and Matt Schaub from Atlanta to Houston. The common theme in those deals were that those guys were backups becoming starters...not quarterbacks that have thrown for over 4,500 yards in a season and two seasons of 20 plus touchdowns.

Jay Cutler is a rare talent, you don't trade rare talent, but Denver had no choice. They faltered much, much earlier. Josh McDaniels...when Kyle Orton leads you to 5 wins in your first and only year as a head coach because you angered your franchise quarterback before playing a game. Sure, Cutler should have taken it like a man and moved on, but you should know the type of person that Cutler is, we've seen it before.

For the Bears this is a brilliant move. There were plenty of teams interested in Cutler and I honestly thought that nobody would be able to pull the trigger. Leave it to the place of quarterback hell to pull it off. They not only got Orton for themselves, but more importantly prevented Minnesota from acquiring him. The Bears are instant contenders now not only in the NFC North but in the NFC.

Now...they do have a lot riding on this. Two first round picks, plus a third is a lot to give up for a quarterback that can turn into a career cancer just as fast as he can blossom into a superstar. But for the Bears...they needed to take this chance. You don't win titles with Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, Erik Kramer, Cade McNown...

The Bears finally have their franchise quarterback that they have tried time and time again to get, while the Broncos will have an open competition between Orton and Chris Simms? Woo!

There is no price too steep to pay for a franchise quarterback. Now the Bears aren't a championship team anymore. If they had Cutler back when the defense was the best in the league, they would have a Super Bowl title, but the defense isn't what it used to be. But now they have their franchise quarterback to build around. Chicago fans got excited about Orlando Pace...Orlando Pace is more washed up than Gary Sheffield.

Ironic for Cutler that he gets to play for Ron Turner. Turner was the coach at Illinois when Cutler thought he had a scholarship to play for the Illini, but claimed Turner pulled the scholarship late in the process.

Now it is time for Jay Cutler to grow up. Chicago fans aren't going to be too welcome to the Jay Cutler antics if he fails to produce results. It is certainly time to put up or shut up for Cutler.

Let's see how week three of the preseason goes when he enters Infesco Field...as a Bear.