Pat Tillman

 "I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people", said Maya Angelou. When Maya Angelou said this, she wasn't thinking about anyone in particular. When I read this, however, it reminded me of a true hero who always put others above himself. This hero was Pat Tillman. Pat Tillman was born on November 6th, 1976 in San Jose, California. He went to Leland High School, where he first realized his passion for football. Throughout high school, Tillman played football and realized he was very talented. He received a scholarship to Arizona State University. Here, he excelled at academics, earning his degree in three and a half years and garnering many awards at football. In 1998, Tillman was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals and went pro. In two years, Tillman had earned a starting spot and had already won many more awards with the Cardinals.  In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, Tillman was deeply affected. He decided to give up his football career and join the army. Before he left he married a good friend from high school, Marie. Then he a trained to become an Army Ranger and then fought together in Afghanistan. Sadly, on April 22, 2004, Tillman died in Afghanistan at the young age of 27. Although Tillman lived such a short life, he accomplished great things and taught the world what it meant to be a true hero.  A hero must possess selflessness, a strong work ethic, and an unfailing sense of motivation. With hard work and motivation, a person can be successful. But to be a hero, a person has to be not only successful, but also selfless and impact others greatly. Pat Tillman had all of these traits. He consistently worked hard to be successful, stayed strongly motivated in spite of obstacles, and selflessly made sacrifices for the benefit of his country.

Tillman was always hardworking and had a strong work ethic, which enabled him to be successful and the hero he was. He showed his desire to work hard when he joined the army instead of keeping his relatively easy football life. As Dirk Johnson and Andrew Murr highlight in Newsweek, "Tillman gave up a $3.6 million contract to join the harrowing world of life as an Army Ranger. The training alone is nearly intolerable: working to exhaustion--in conditions of swamps, jungles, mountains--about 20 hours a day. Rangers are sent to places where the danger is the worst" (Johnson and Murr). Here, Tillman joined the army where he has to train in harsh conditions twenty hours a day when instead he could have just played football a few hours a day and relaxed for the rest of the day. The choice he has in this position is clearly between an easy life with not much hard work and an extremely harsh, tough life as an army ranger. Tillman chose the harsh army ranger life. Tillman's decision conveys how hardworking Tillman is. Him working this insanely hard 20 hours a day for 28 days in the most brutal conditions on the planet shows he is not only hard working once, but also has a great work ethic and kept at this training for 28 days. Ultimately this decision shows Tillman is a hero because only a hero would have chosen the harder choice without being daunted by the hardships.  

Another example of Tillman's relentless hard work and extraordinary work ethic was at the annual NFL drafts. This is where players were tested so NFL teams could find the best college players to sign. As stated by The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives ," the Cardinals had wanted a fifteen-minute look at him performing drills, but he had made them stay for forty-five minutes, until he did every drill perfectly"("Pat Tillman" ).  Here, Tillman is asked by the pro NFL team, The Arizona Cardinals, to complete a few drills for a time of fifteen minutes. Tillman first ran through the drills for fifteen minutes, but he wasn't satisfied. He continued for three times the amount of time he was supposed to complete the drills for, just so he could make sure that he did every single drill perfectly. This clearly demonstrates that Pat Tillman is a hard worker. It conveys this because Tillman worked three times as hard when he wasn't even asked to, which means that Tillman always works hard even when it is not necessary. Also Tillman making sure he completed every drill perfectly emphasizes that he has a very strong work ethic and will not stop working hard until he completed the given task well. This shows that Tillman always strives to do to best in everything, no matter how big or small, meaning his work ethic is flawless. It is this work ethic that makes Tillman a hero.  Another situation where Tillman once again demonstrated his hard work and unfailing work ethic was during high school football game at Leland High School.  As suggested once again by The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, the coaches "had to take his equipment away in order to keep him on the sideline. Lloyd recalled, Pat just wanted to stay on the field, he kept going out there. It was finally, 'Pat, take off your stuff'" ("Pat Tillman"). During that game, Tillman was a player they wanted to rest. But Tillman had his own ideas. He continually snuck into the game. After this had happened countless times, they had to take away his equipment to keep him from getting on the field. This portrays that Tillman is very hardworking because even when they give him a chance to rest he doesn't want it. As a football player, there is a lot of hard work that is in done training daily, and especially with a big game the next day, like Tillman had, most players would be dying for a break. But not Tillman. He loved to work hard, always. This game is a great example of Tillman's hard work and strongly illustrates how even at a very young age, Tillman loves to work hard consistently. During the game he also showed great work ethic because no matter what the tough circumstance was, here it being the big game the next day and laborious training the previous, Tillman endlessly worked hard. From these three snapshots of times in Tillman's life, it is evident that he always worked hard and had a remarkable work ethic. Tillman's hard work and good work ethic contributed to Tillman becoming the hero he was.

Another important factor which pushed Tillman forward so he could become the true hero he became was his strong motivation which always helped him get past obstacles. Tillman remained motivated and wasn't stopped by anything when he was talking to his college football coach and remained motivated to become successful despite his coach unintentionally slowing him down. This is underscored in Newsweek as it described Tillman's actions, saying "This was a college kid who, as a freshman, defied the advice of coaches to "red-shirt" and delay his football career a year. He told Coach Bruce Snyder he'd be gone in four years. "He said, 'I've got other things I'm going to do with my life'" (Johnson Dirk, and Andrew Murr).   At this moment, the coach wants Tillman to spend an extra year in between college and high school just to train. But Tillman realized that the coach's advice would not help him become successful in life. He knows it won't make him a hero. Him knowing this is something only a hero will be able to recognize. He dodges the coach's intangible hurdle of trying to convince Tillman to waste a year and remains motivated towards his future. He does this by responded boldly saying "I've got other things I'm going to do with my life." Him saying this reveals that he has strong motivation that pushes him to strive to go further in life and to ultimately be the hero he was. Another time when Tillman conveys his motivation was when he severely fractured his foot. When this occurred, it was one of Tillman's first experience with football. This experience is described in Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, by Jon Krakauer when it says "Pat resolved to quit baseball and focus on football instead,  even though he'd taken up the latter sport barely a year earlier and had badly fractured his right tibia in his initial season" ( Krakauer, Jon ).  Directly after a serious football injury, Tillman quits a sport he had never had any problems with and takes on football. For most people, a serious injury like this is a huge setback. It would intimidate them so much that they would never set foot on a football field again. But Tillman is not an average person, he was a hero. To him, this was a small obstacle to overcome because he was always motivated. In this situation, he remained motivated and took the obstacle as a challenge. He strived to continue past this injury and continue playing football. This emphasizes his motivation to continue forward despite what comes his way. One final example of how Tillman showed motivation was when he was put down by his coach. His coach strongly suggested for him to quit football and continue baseball, but Tillman completely ignored this and challenged himself to do the impossible. The event of his coach doing this to him is illustrated in Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, by Jon Krakauer stating "An assistant coach named Terry Hardtke explained to Pat that he wasn't "built like a football player" and strongly urged him to stick with baseball. Once Tillman set his sights on a goal, however, he wasn't easily diverted." (Krakauer, Jon). In this quote, the coach is a setback. He tells Tillman to give up hope and quit. Instead of quitting, Tillman took this as a challenge.  "Pat, however, trusted his own abilities over the coach's bleak predictions" further shows that Tillman set a goal for himself against the advice of the coach. He strived towards and worked hard for his goal all at the same time the coach kept pulling him down. He remained motivated when the coach told him he was making a mistake and would never make the high school team, let alone the college team. Tillman remained motivated throughout this and got past this obstacle. He proved the coach wrong by not only getting on the high school and college team, but also going pro with the NFL. This requires an immense amount of effort and motivation that only a true hero can possess. Tillman portrayed himself as a hero by remaining strongly motivated through many situations and not being hindered by massive obstacles.

The most important aspect which made Pat Tillman a hero was the selflessness he showed and sacrifices he made for the benefit of others. One sacrifice Tillman made was when he gave up a plentiful flow of money and risked his life in order for the good of his country. Said by  The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, "In May 2002 Arizona offered its tackle record holder a three-year, $3.6 million contract; however, Tillman informed the team that he had instead signed a three-year deal with the U.S. Army, with annual starting pay of less than $15,000"("Pat Tillman" ). Here Tillman willingly takes a lower quality of life and higher risk for his country. This is a clear example of a giant sacrifice that Tillman made. He gave up a pay of 1.2 million dollars a year with what he could life a luxurious, elegant lifestyle safe from all threat and harm. He gave this up for a life in which he will get a pay of 15000, which is barely enough to give him adequate pay to put food on his table. Now that he joined the army, his entire life is also at a huge risk and as if he stayed with football, he would have to risk at all. He sacrifices this for the benefit of all others in our country but him. This shows true selflessness and patriotism, not to mention sacrifice making him a real hero.  Another time when Tillman made an important sacrifice it was giving up his career and life. This was a huge sacrifice he made which he made only for the benefit of others. Described by Dirk Johnson and Andrew Murr in Newsweek, "Tillman saw himself as just another millionaire athlete. "You know, my great-grandfather was at Pearl Harbor, and a lot of my family have... fought in wars," he told a team camera crew, almost in shame. "And I haven't really done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that." Six months later, Tillman shocked the sports world by enlisting in the Army and shipping out." (Johnson, Dirk, and Andrew Murr). This quote emphasizes that Pat Tillman is a true hero who has sacrificed great things for the benefit of others. To start, he gave up his widely successful career. He gave up being a celebrity, and being a well-known pro. He also gave up safety of his comfortable life. Now his life is constantly at a huge risk with the army.  He also realizes and admits the unimportance of football. This is a huge sacrifice because football is something Tillman has been passionate about since a young age. The fact that he can notice and acknowledge that it is relatively unimportant is huge and is a huge mental sacrifice for him to make because football is something he is very passionate about. This is a sacrificed only the best of heroes would make. A final but nonetheless important sacrifice Tillman made to help others was when Tillman gave up his future with his newly married wife. As illustrated by Joe Cascio in A game warrior remembered "That's why in June 2002, the newlywed, who had married his high school sweetheart the previous month, enlisted in the Army" (Cascio, Joe). Here, right after Tillman gets married to the love of his life, Tillman's realizes that his country needs him and is willing to give everything up for the people of his country. He sacrificed his whole future with his newly married wife. All the memories and events that were to come would never come for Tillman because he considered his country and the people in his country to be more valuable than his future with his wife. This is a huge sacrifice to make and he only makes it because he realizes that it will help the others in his country, which he values more than his own future. This is an act of true heroism that only Tillman could make. This act of selflessness displays every bit of why Tillman is clearly a true hero. Tillman's selflessness brought out the hero inside him and showed the world what it is to be a true hero.

Pat Tillman was also hugely inspiration to many people. In Arizona, "Some parents became so inspired they named their children after Tillman; many as a first name, others as the middle name." (Writer, John Marshall) . This shows that he was such a great hero and did such great things in life that parents even named their kids after him. This shows that these parents were really inspired by Tillman. Naming your child is not something small and superficial and being named after someone means that the person you were named after was an incredible person who truly did powerful things in life. Tillman was just that. A true hero. 

Cascio, Joe. "A game warrior remembered." Phi Kappa Phi Forum 91.3 (2011): 26. Student        

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Johnson, Dirk, and Andrew Murr. "A Heroic Life; Pat Tillman turned his back on fortune and                                                                                                                                                                                                         

football fame to serve under fire. The story of a warrior." Newsweek 3 May 2004: 26.

Biography in Context. Web. 6 May 2016.

Krakauer, Jon. Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. New York: Doubleday,

2009. Print.

Marshall, John. "Across Arizona, Parents Name Children After Pat Tillman."ABC News. ABC

News Network, 29 Apr. 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.

"Pat Tillman." The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons,

2007.Biography in Context. Web. 2 May 2016.