Remembering Pat Tillman

Tillman's spirit very alive at Super Bowl
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
Last update: 8:28 p.m. EST Feb. 1, 2009
TAMPA (MarketWatch) - Pat Tillman wasn't at Raymond James Stadium for Sunday's 43rd annual Super Bowl, but his spirit was very much alive here.
Among the Warner, Fitzgerald and Boldin jerseys that Arizona Cardinals fans were donning were a noticeable number of red-and-white shirts bearing Tillman's No. 40.
"He's the man," said Tom Rector of Phoenix, who has been wearing his Tillman jersey since 2002, the last year that the Cardinals safety played in the NFL. "He's a hero. Everyone else is a professional athlete or role model, but Tillman's a hero."
Tillman's football record isn't as impressive as his life record, which gained star status when he gave up a $3.6 million football contract to enlist in the Army's elite Rangers after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Three years later, the 27-year-old was killed in Afghanistan in friendly fire. The incident became controversial after it was discovered that the Army covered up that Tillman was killed by fellow soldiers in the confusion of battle.
"To give that up for the country is just an amazing thing," said Scottsdale, Ariz., resident Glenn Allbritton, who bought his jersey through the Pat Tillman Foundation. "I'll do anything to help support his memory and help his foundation."
Tillman is still an institution on the practice field and around the Cardinal locker room. where his picture prominently hangs. There's a bigger-than-life-sized statue of him at the Cardinals' home field at the University of Phoenix.
"He felt like he didn't do enough in his life to warrant the type of credit he's been getting," Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson said last week. Wilson is one of only two players left on the roster who played with Tillman. "To make a life decision like that and to make a change like that, I think it really speaks volumes of his character."
The Cardinals have retired Tillman's number and have placed his name in their Ring of Honor. They've also dedicated the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza that surrounds the stadium.
"If people just understood what it means to give up your life for your country," said Peoria, Ariz., resident Pat Kling, whose husband served in the Vietnam War. "Pat Tillman understood what it meant.
"This game is for him," she added. "I just know he's here watching us."

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