Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Lance on May 26, 2002, 08:53:06 AM
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I found this interesting.
Associated Press
Phoenix -- There won't be any fancy logos on Pat Tillman's new helmet.
The Arizona Cardinals safety made a stunning revelation Thursday -- he is putting his four-year NFL career on hold to join the Army, a move spurred by the military's age limit on candidates for the elite Rangers program.
The 25-year-old defensive back has an unlisted number, and could not be reached for comment. But he broke the news to the Cardinals the day before and convinced them he was serious.
"It's very personal, and I honor that," coach Dave McGinnis said. "I honor the integrity of that. It was not a snap decision he woke up and made yesterday. This has been an ongoing process, and he feels very strongly about it."
Tillman also spoke with owner Bill Bidwill and defensive coordinator Larry Marmie in separate interviews.
McGinnis kept most of his discussion with the two-year starter to himself, but said Tillman wanted to go through boot camp with his younger brother, Kevin, an infielder who spent last year with the Cleveland Indians' organization.
Tillman might be the first NFL regular to leave for military service since World War II. Pittsburgh running back Rocky Bleier was wounded in Vietnam before he went on to star for the Steelers, but few have chosen the reverse route.
Tillman married his high school sweetheart two weeks ago, and agent Frank Bauer said when the couple left on a honeymoon for Bora Bora, he expected some kind of decision on the Cardinals' multiyear offer to retain their free agent -- but not that decision.
"He called me as soon as he got back from Bora Bora and said, 'Frank, I'm going in the military. I want to get into special forces."' Bauer said. "In 21 years as an agent, I've seen a lot of guys do some things, so I said, 'Pat, do it afterward. When you're 50 years old and you have a lot of money in the bank, you'll realize it was a good move.'
"He said, 'Frank, I don't have time for that. There are age restrictions on what I want to do."'
The oldest a man can join the Army Rangers is 28.
Bauer called Tillman a deep and clear thinker who has never valued material things.
Last year, Tillman turned down a $9 million, five-year offer sheet from the St. Louis Rams out of loyalty to the Cardinals, and by joining the Army, he will pass on millions more from the team.
"He doesn't have a cellphone," Bauer said. "He's the type of guy that, when I met him, he was riding a bike. He's an amazing kid. He would never moan and groan over what some other player was making."
He said newlywed Marie Tillman supports her husband's decision to leave one rugged profession for a more dangerous one.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Tillman has always been distinguished by his intelligence and appetite for rugged play. As an undersized linebacker at Arizona State, he was the Pac-10's defensive player of the year in 1997.
He set a franchise record with 224 tackles in 2000 and warmed up for last year's training camp by competing in a 70.2-mile triathlon in June.
Tillman carried a 3.84 grade point average through college and graduated with high honors in 3 1/2 academic years with a degree in marketing.
"The guy has got something to him, and that's why I wanted him on the team all these years," McGinnis said.
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A man who knows his priorities and the courage to follow them
too bad many more of us are not made of the same material
the world would be a better place
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Totally respect his decison and thank God there are people like him in the world...
but, his accountant should be shot for not talking him out of it.
;)
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(http://ruf.sytes.net/share/i_see_dumb_people.jpg)
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What a dumb toejam.
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DUHHHH....football :p
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That's a decision that he'll never admit regretting . Unless he joined the reserves or guard or something .
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Originally posted by Eagler
A man who knows his priorities and the courage to follow them
too bad many more of us are not made of the same material
the world would be a better place
I agree to a point, but I can't possibly see any good in more people joining armies voluntarily. Rather the opposite.
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Last year, Tillman turned down a $9 million, five-year offer sheet from the St. Louis Rams out of loyalty to the Cardinals, and by joining the Army, he will pass on millions more from the team.
Did he wear a helmet in the NFL?
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He's picked a hard road...and there is no certainy he will achieve his goal. I'd say the odds are in his favor though.
I fail to see why anybody would look down on this decision. He realizes no doubt that freedom isnt free. He is going to do what he considers his part to help maintain that freedom. He's making a HUGE sacrifice as well but its his decision.
I'd say your gonna see him w/his Ranger tab and Ranger Battalion scroll in the near future.
xBAT
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Give the guy a break!
I think he has it right...it's not how much money you have that makes your life great it's what you do with your life.
If he thinks his life will be better if he serves his country then for him it will be and that should be enough for us.
Hell it's not like he's quitting basketball to play baseball!:p
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My first thought was, "What an idiot to throw away all that money."
Then again... chasing money isn't generally the path to happiness.
If joining the Army makes Tillman happy, more power to him.
That said, if he went enlisted, he's an idiot. :D
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"There won't be any fancy logos on Pat Tillman's new helmet" :p
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Actualy Weasel.... an indiv who volunteers for a unit such as the Ranger Battalions isnt going to be one w/an attitude such as the FTA thing. He's volunteered 3 times... once for the Army, 2nd for Jump School and 3rd for the Ranger Battalion. He'll need to be motivated to make it and stay there.
Also if he tabs out promotion in ethier the enlisted OR officer ranks is much easier.
If he goes officer the odds of his getting an assignment as a PL w/in a Ranger unit is slim. They only take 1st Lts to begin with and he'll already of had to of gone through ranger school.
If he's enlisted odds are he'll be around a Spec 4 w/out a tab showing up. This will make it easier for him as a Spec 4 is like a NCO w/in the unit. Plenty of Tabed spec 4's are Team leaders there.
The Ranger Battalions take a young enlistie, train them and when the deem you ready they send you to Ranger school. In the mean time your doing the "Ranger" mission 24/7.
xBAT
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He wants to be in the 75th, now I'm sure he's daft .
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I've seen the hell they put those poor saps through.
Wouldn't wish that fate on a republican. :D
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They're going to have fun with him . I wonder if he will be regretting his decision when they pull him out of his bunk in the middle of the night, slap some goggles on his head hand him a trash can lid and start pitching beer bottles and toejam at him from the end of the hall. Or when he's hanging upside down in a tree "koalafying" . Oh well maybe pondering it will keep his blood warmer in one of his hypothermic episodes .
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Its easy to measure a man by his actions.
Pat Tillman= Man
bill clinton= Pimple on the countries ass.
You can put some of the guys in this thread, on bill"s side of the list.
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If he wants to join the army that's great, if he wants to go SF even better ! If that is the case that he wants to go SF then going through RIP and the 75th is a bad move IMO. Anyone who has worked around rangers understands why some of us scoff . I've known some great guys from the 2nd bat. and they all had two things in common: they were out of the 75th, and they had NO desire to go back .
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75th is a great unit... heh. The smoke that is laid upon cherries can be seen from miles away. Grass drills for hours on end is something special. Having a room torn to sh*& every morning is as well.
This motivates you to goto Ranger School where your on vac from Battalion... ;)
xbat
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Hehe, yep .
If you like the way the drill sgts treat you when you get to basic then you'll love being in a ranger bat .
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Hehe...basic is kiddie school to Battalion... its a place where you have moments of extreme fear just from PT.... LOL!!!! Team PT is the worse. Odds are your team leader will be some GD lond distance champ w/a hard-on for 5 min miles over 6 miles or something crazy.
The weekend "Volunteer" ruck runs are good for you as well. And dont forget a line in the Creed during PT. You'll be climbing that tree upside down till your head explodes and then its the dieing cock roach for your slug ass... LOL
xBAT
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You know samm, I may be a sorry sonofasqueak, but I met a guy from the 2nd in NYC in a bar where 6 weeks after sept. 11 you could still smell the WTC. He was a regular in there and had been in grenada, panama and iraq, and at the least had a round metallic object. Trained to be a cook, and from my conversation with him knew his culinary toejam. He was damn critical of the "mission" in Afghanistan and the whole prospect of fighting with folks who've been fighting in those mountains for their whole lives.
Did I mention the guy was reenlisting?
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Originally posted by batdog
I fail to see why anybody would look down on this decision.....
Greed
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Dinger check you email today please .
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Why do you think that you may be a sorry son of a squeak ? And isn't that guy to old to enlist if he was in Grenada ?
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Heh. I was a little drunk at the time -- started talking about what a crime it is to overcook/overgarnish a duck breast, and some time later the bartender asks him about his quitting his job and heading back up. So npothing I say can hold up in court -- he may have been there; he may be too old. Oh yeah, and he had these huge tattooes from sniper school or something. I figured if they weren't genuine someone would have removed them and the forearm they were attached to.
Oh yeah, and the email's sent.