Pat Tillman “Passion is what makes life interesting, what ignites our soul, fuels our love and carries our friendships, stimulates our intellect, and pushes our limits. A passion for life is contagious and uplifting. Passion cuts both ways. Those that make you feel on top of the world are equally able to turn it upside down. In my life I want to create passion in my own life and with those I care for. I want to feel, experience and live every emotion. I will suffer through the bad for the heights of the good.” - Pat Tillman (Evans, 33) This quote describes the type of person Pat Tillman was. It shows how smart and interesting he was, how his train of thought was, and his outlook on how to live life. Tillman was a passionate man who pushed …show more content…
his limits on the football field as well as in his Army career. He embodied the last sentence by enlisting in the Army to serve his country and battle for the greater good of the world. Patrick Daniel Tillman was born on November 6, 1976, in San Jose, California.
His parents were Mary and Patrick Tillman, and Pat was the oldest of their three sons. Pat went to high school at Leland High School where he led his football team to a championship. He then received a scholarship to Arizona State University. He accepted the scholarship and went on to go play football for ASU. In 1997, the team went undefeated and went to the Rose Bowl. That same year, he received the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year award. He graduated in three and one half years with a degree in marketing. Pat excelled both on the football field and in the classroom (“Pat Tillman,” …show more content…
Bio). In 1998, Tillman declared he was going to the National Football League. Pat was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the 7th round as the 226th pick. Pat won the starting safety position and in 2000, he set the Cardinals single season tackles record. The next year, the St. Louis Rams offered him a contract, but he declined, so he could stay with the Cardinals. After the 2001 NFL season, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, Pat decided to enlist into the United States Army. Arizona had offered him a 3 year, $3.6 million contract, but he decided to go to war and be with his brother (“Pat Tillman,” Bio). Before Tillman left, he married his high school girlfriend, Marie. Then, Pat and his younger brother, Kevin, enlisted in the Army and went through training to eventually be Army Rangers. Once done with training, Pat and Kevin were designated to the second battalion of 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Lewis, Washington. During their training, they declined any media coverage, stating they wanted to be treated as soldiers doing their duty (“Ex-NFL Star,” 2). On April 22, 2004, Pat’s platoon was split up into two convoys. The first convoy consisted of Pat Tillman and Bryan O’Neal. This convoy turned left at a T shaped intersection. The second convoy was towing a broken down humvee. The second convoy was supposed to turn right at the T shaped intersection. However, it was too narrow to travel through, so the second convoy turned left instead. Unfortunately, the two convoy’s were no longer in communication at this point. There was not much light because the sun was setting. Some soldiers sensed that an ambush might could happen. The ambush did happen. The enemy attacked the second convoy from above the canyon that the convoys were traveling in. Pat decided to take Bryan and one other allied Afghan soldier with him up onto a mountain in the canyon to take cover and supply cover fire for the second convoy. Steven Elliot, the leader of the second convoy noticed Pat, Bryan, and the other soldier on the ridge. However, he did not notice that it was Pat and the first convoy. He believed that Pat was in the enemy position. He and the majority of the second convoy then shot at Pat’s position. The allied Afghan soldier was the first to die. Pat popped a smoke grenade to try and get the attention of the second convoy’s soldiers and to get them to stop. According to Bryan O’Neal, Tillman screamed out “Why are you shooting at me?! I’m Pat Tillman. I’m Pat Tillman! Why are you shooting at me?!” Bryan then stated that Pat is dead and he just lays there because he can’t believe what happened (Fish, 1). This essay has yet to tell the original story. What was originally said about Pat Tillman’s death was that he was shot by the enemies. Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Beevers was the spokesman for Pat’s death. He said that Pat was killed in a firefight around twenty-five miles away from a U.S. base in Khost, Afghanistan. Beevers also stated that he had no other information about Pat’s death. The army kept the true story away from the media and the family for a while, even after the memorial service for Pat. This made Pat look heroic because he left a successful NFL career to go fight in the war (“Ex-NFL Star,” 1). His enlistment affected a limitless amount of people, and his death caught almost the whole nation’s attention. United States citizens respected what Tillman did for the country and the sacrifice he made. Senator John McCain said that he was “heartbroken” and “the tragic loss of this extraordinary young man” could be a “heavy blow to our nation’s morale, as it is surely a grievous injury to his loved ones.” “Pat Tillman was an inspiration on and off the football field, as with all who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the war on terror. His family is in the thoughts and prayers of President and Mrs. Bush,” Taylor Gross, a spokesman for the White House, said in a statement (“Ex-NFL Star,” 1). After Tillman’s death, many organizations honored his life.
The Arizona State Sun Devils and the Arizona Cardinals retired his jerseys. Leland High School, Arizona State University, and the Arizona Cardinals also named parts of their stadiums in his honor. The NFL donated money to the United Service Organizations to build a USO Center in Afghanistan. The Pacific-10 Conference renamed its annual defensive player of the year award to the Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year. Many players around the country grew their hair and beards longer in tribute to Tillman’s style. There have also been several races, events, and fundraisers in memory of Tillman. (“Pat Tillman,”
Wikimedia.) The war in Afghanistan completely changed the course of Pat Tillman’s life. He sacrificed his life for our freedom. Had Tillman not enlisted in the Army, he could have become a famous professional football player. The level of his patriotism is to be commended. Dave McGinnis, Tillman’s former Cardinals coach summed up Tillman’s actions when he said, “He proudly walked away from a career in football to a greater calling.” (“Ex-NFL Star,” 2).
Pat Tillman's Story No one knows the real story of Pat Tillman. On April 23, 2004 news headlines filled the air waves with tragic news that Pat Tillman was killed in action yesterday, fighting in Afghanistan. While on a patrol with his detachment through eastern Afghanistan, the detachment was ambushed. When the ambush was quelled, sadly, Pat Tillman was dead.
He explains all his difficulties through his senior year in Cidal college, in South Carolina. His abusive parents, his teammates, his coach all which lead him to become a powerful person. His memoir about his basketball career and the affects he had amongst people caused him to have a magnificent book revealing the insides he had with his teammates. Don Conroy, his abusive father, wasn’t there to keep him going but only held him back from going too far. His coach and his father were people who brought him down into believing there is no good in the world. He had a rough time growing up , but he knew he had to keep proving them all wrong. Fighting through his troubles in life, Pat only did not become a great basketball player but a great writer. This memoir, remembering all the extravagant memories he had in college with his friends, yet he did have hard times but pushed through it. Not complaining he didn’t just push himself, but he also pushed his teammates into becoming something greater. In the end, he will forever remember all his fights and great memories he had with his special teammates at Cidal college, it led him into becoming a great leader at the end of
... man who displayed both his objective and subjective sides to everyone he encountered by being cautious and calculating at times and emotional and wise at others. He strived for ways to prove to himself more than anyone else that he could overcome tremendous odds to not only survive, but live life to the fullest. When the government failed Pat’s memory, and therefore everyone he loved by not divulging the truth, the story of Pat’s life was written down in order to protect not only Pat’s memory and his loved ones, but also people like Jessica Lynch. It is important to note, however, that the tone of this biography is not one of sadness, remorse, regret, and grief, but one that celebrates who Pat was and what he left behind. During life, Pat Tillman was the embodiment of dedication and loyalty; in death, he is a man who won glory by winning the hearts of America.
In “Defending Against the Indefensible” by Neil Postman, he proposes a different way of viewing the English language. He says that our civilization is being manipulated by the ambiguity in English, and students are most easily affected by the school environment. Thus, he proposes seven key ideas that students should remember in order to avoid the dangers and loopholes that twist the original meaning of statements.
The first thing someone would notice about Pat Tillman was not his size or athletic ability; it was his devotion to everything he loved, be it his family, friends, sport, country, or virtues. Being raised by a family with a hi...
Imagine waking up to beautiful freshwater streams and wildlife foraging through the mountainside. This is what citizens of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee get to wake up to ever day. Pigeon Forge is a small town near the border of South Carolina. It sits along the edge of the Cherokee National Forest and on the west side of Little Pigeon River. It is not only located in a beautiful area, but also a thriving area economically speaking. Overall, Pigeon Forge is a family friendly place where people can not only live in a beautiful city, but also exciting environment.
Pat Tillman lived a glorious life. His daily drive and demeanor, exceptional to be sure, put him a notch above the rest of us. His drive made him successful. Through high school he was a football sensation, with personal stats that would have been impressive as a team’s. His demeanor earned him respect. He attended college on a football scholarship and earned a 3.84 GPA to avoid the ‘jock’ stereotype. Eventually becoming a star NFL defensive back, it was his sense of duty that would lead him from the goal lines of the football field to the front lines of the battle field. He would die on duty, but his death would not be his undoing. The flagitious stream of lies fed by the U.S. Government following his death, revealed by John Krakauer in Where Men Win Glory, belittled the man who had so valiantly walked away from the American Dream in order to die for it. The way our government dealt with his controversial death viciously struck against everything Pat stood for, and I walked away with a sour taste in my mouth about our “greatest country on earth.”
Emmett Till was fourteen years old when he died, as a result of racism. He was innocent, and faced the consequences of discrimination at a young age. His death was a tragedy, but will he will live on as somebody who helped African-Americans earn their rights. Emmett Till’s death took place in a ruthless era in which his life was taken from him as a result of racism during the Civil Rights Movement.
As this paper aims at outlining, delineating and comparing pre-industrial and industrial protests and social movements Charles Tilly`s theory on repertoire of contention is one of the most applicable and effective for such an objective. Charles Tilly`s theory serves as an excellent delineation of the contrast between pre-industrial and industrial manners of people acting together when in the pursuit of shared interests. In the 1870s people were aware of how to express their grievance such as seizing shipments of grain, attack tax gatherers, and take revenge on wrongdoers and people who had violated community norms. However what they were not familiar yet with were acts such as mass demonstrations, urban insurrections and strikes (Tarrow, 1998). By observing the repertoire of contention Tilly managed not only to track the rise of the national social movement, but also to analyze and explain it. Utilizing the repertoire of contention in order to compare and understand the behaviour of people with regards to expressing their grievances within the aforementioned two periods.
“Passion is kind of an important word for me, whether it’s playing sports or whether it’s just living or whatever you’re going to do. In my opinion you should be passionate about it or else, why do it?”, Pat Tillman. This was Pat’s motto with everything he did. Patrick Daniel Tillman was born on November 6, 1976 in Fremont, California. He attended high school at Leland high school in Fremont, California and went on to play football at Arizona State University with a football scholarship. After college Pat went into the NFL draft and was picked in the 7th round by the Arizona Cardinals. Pat played for the cardinals for four years and was getting ready to renew his contract when the terrorist attacks on September 11th occurred. It was then that
“Passion is what makes life interesting, ignites our soul, fuels our love and carries our friendships, simulates our intellect and pushes our limits.” Pat Tillman was one wise man who spoke these words, and he definitely lived by them too. As a person pat was someone everybody wants to be in an ideal world. After his death, many people still see him as an inspiration of who you want to be. Tillman showed us many ways to be a hero that many people don’t see but his determination, selflessness, and modesty will forever shine on in our hearts.
In 1957, a man who could be argued as the best football player of all time started his NFL career. He played his whole career for the team nobody wanted to play for, the Cleveland Browns. Jim Brown brought the Browns out of nothing and made them Champions throughout his career. Brown was known for his size, speed and explosiveness. Defenders did not know how to bring him down. Adrian Peterson is considered the modern-day Jim Brown. One thing some people do not know about the great Jim Brown is that he is a great activist for civil rights. Many young kids and students looked up to Jim Brown because he was such a great football player, but also because he always fought for equal rights. Whether one is a sports fan or not, he/she can appreciate
1970 U.S. Postal Strike made history as one of the ten (10) historical strike in the nation. The strike affected over 210,000, people beginning in the New York City area, that generated all over the United States. This strike happens during Nixon administration where the U.S. postal specialists were not permitted to take part in aggregate dealing. The worker was tied of the long-drawn-out disappointment with wages, working conditions. Disappointed with the disadvantages and administration drove the postal laborers in New York City to strike. Higher wage was demanded by the union, and better work conditions. This strike is also label as the shortest strike in history in which it only lasted for eight days and the worker was not fired because of the president of the united states Richard Nixon.
Passion for Family, Community, Business, Technology and Intellectual growth are what motivate me on the daily basis. These are vital parts that have contributed to framing me into the person I’ve become. They have also shaped my short-term and long-term goals in life. It’s critical for one to have a vision for their life and what they anticipate to accomplish. Without a vision or desire there is no hope for one to continue and to purse anything. My experiences with in my passions have helped me aligned my vision for my life. They have given me the valuable knowledge that have set me up for success to get to this point in life.
Passion then life is filled with utter joy. One example would be Math teacher who loves her jobs so much to say that she is convinced that she will continue to be a math teacher in heaven. There is a ...