April 22nd, 2004. 

For the family of Pat Tillman, this date brings back fond memories of a true American and troubling reminders of the horrors of war. It was on this day more than 11 years ago that Tillman was killed in action in Afghanistan. He was an Army Ranger and a hero, but he is much more than that; he is a suggestion that there is more to our lives than what we face daily. 

For those who don’t know, Patrick Daniel Tillman’s story began in 1994 at Arizona State University when he procured the final football scholarship as an undersized linebacker. He was everything you could imagine in the perfect student- athlete: the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1997, leading his team to the Rose Bowl, and graduated with a degree in marketing and a 3.85 GPA. He was taken in the 7th round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Tillman started 10 of 16 games in his rookie year after converting to safety. He was one of the brightest defensive stars in the NFL at the turn of the century, recording 155 tackles in the 2000 NFL season. 

 But enough of the stuff that you can find in his Wikipedia page. Tillman was impressive all around. He read the Holy Books from every major religion and cited Henry David Thoreau as one of his favorite writers and philosophers. He tried to understand everyone from every point of view, a real free-thinker. Tillman never wanted to be a distraction or attract media attention. He just wanted to do what he thought was just. So, to those who knew him, it was no surprise when, inspired by the events of September 11th, 2001, he turned down a contract extension with the Cardinals to join the United States Army with his brother in 2002. 

Tillman by no means supported the War on Terrorism waged by the Bush administration. He called it “an imperial folly” and “illegal and unjust”. However, he felt the life he led was now insignificant and decided to protect and serve our country anyway. Tragically, Tillman was killed in action on that day, April 22nd, 2004. It was initially ruled death by enemy fire but after an investigation, the nation found out that he was killed by friendly fire due to “gross negligence”. In the weeks after his death, Tillman became exactly what he wished against; a nationally known hero and a poster boy for the War in Iraq.

His legacy is lost more and more as each year passes. Now, he is just a subtitle of the headline that this war has generated. Tillman was a man that had it all and gave it up to protect the very people that now don’t know his story. This may be the only anti-sports sentient that I write in the history of this page, but it is a certain truth: As a nation, we care more daily about the men wearing different uniforms playing a game than we do about the men and women wearing the same uniform playing with their lives and our freedom. 

 War is a horrible thing, almost everybody can agree with that. However, if we must live in a world where war is the norm, we must live in a world where appreciation and remembrance is the norm as well. We cannot blindly ignore the atrocities that have the potential to affect our lives, and we certainly cannot ignore the men and women that have lived and died fighting in these atrocities. The military men and women of our country are underappreciated constantly. 

Take this: the salaries of an Army officer range from $18,00 to just under $70,000. In contrast, the average MLB player makes $3.2 million. That’s $3.2 million for around 7 or 8 months of work. Army officers work around the clock with an average tour of duty ranging from half a year to four years. To say that the people who protect the United States of America are financially unloved is a gross understatement. In a perfect world, military combatants are justly paid for their line of duty. It only makes sense that in a country based on equality and fairness, that these men and women are given equal and fair pay relative to the rigor of their career choice?

I know that the previous sentiment is a little far-fetched. There are a lot of people that are much smart than I am that figure out How much military officers and professional athletes are paid. Logistically, there are probably a million reasons why these salaries are this way; TV rights, marketability, blah blah blah. This is just another example of the attitude we have towards respecting our military; we don’t thoroughly question the reasoning behind the outlandish salaries of athletes and the meager ones of military officers. We do, however, memorize annual salaries and team payrolls (I admit that I am one of the biggest offenders).  

 Since 2003, over 6,500 members of the U.S Armed Forces have been confirmed dead in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s over 6,500 families that had to endure what the Tillman’s did. Pat’s wife, described his mother’s reaction as “The most agonizing scream from deep inside.” Imagine that, but 6,500 times over. But our country gives us something to believe in. Everyone that knows a military member has the feeling that they may be killed, but there’s also an uprising hope that they will return home. Often times, they do. These homecoming reunions can also be some deep, heart-touching moments. For everyone else, it is imperative to keep in mind that there are people going through things much worse than a losing streak or a hitting slump. So watch your favorite team play on this Memorial Day. But just remember those that fight, that have passed and that have survived, to make our freedom to watch and play possible.