If You Have A Moment

Take a little time to read this article about former NFL safety Pat Tillman, who died yesterday in combat in Afghanistan.

Tillman gave up his career in the NFL to join the Army Rangers, and trained here at Fort Benning.

Hundreds of soldiers have died overseas over the past several months, but we rarely read about the individuals. Is Pat Tillman special because he was a football player? no. But is he special because he gave up his career making seven-figures a year, so that he could defend his country? Yes.

The attitude is different down here in the South, where I believe people tend to be more patriotic than ambivalent northerners like myself, but where I grew up, kids didn't join the military unless they had no other option. The kids that joined the military were the screw-ups, the ones who couldn't get into college and decided that the military would be better than pumping gas. I don't even recall knowing kids who joined the reserves to help pay for school.

So that may help you understand why I find the story of Pat Tillman so amazing. An honors student at Arizona State, a million-dollar a year football star, putting his promising future on hold because more than anything, he was a patriot.