T NATION | Making of a Modern Hero

The Making of a Modern Hero
by Ken Kinnan

A couple of weeks ago, TC wrote an Atomic Dog column called "The Man of the Year". The article lamented the fact that he couldn't think of a single famous or semi-famous person who qualified for the title of "Testosterone Man of the Year."

While we received many suggestions, most readers weren't considering the whole picture. Their recommendations were based on individuals who had committed a single act of heroism or who were legendary for their exploits with women. The true T-man of the year, in our opinion, is someone who exhibits heroism, bravery, intelligence, character, and in general, all those traits that have somehow come to be regarded as old-fashioned.

Luckily, a few astute readers brought an individual to our attention who, despite being a former sports star, seems to epitomize the Testosterone ideal. In fact, this guy is such a T-man, that he wouldn't even care that he was named T-man of the year. As such, we won't bother him with the announcement.

We hope you agree with our choice.

In these cynical days, the idea of a hero or role model seems almost old-fashioned.

Our society’s cynicism comes in part from the media’s lusty desire to bring down anyone who achieves fame. We read about how sports stars drown themselves in hookers, mistresses, drugs, and booze, then weep over how the pressure of wealth and fame ruined them. Tabloid newspapers and TV reveal that movie heroes are really just slimy little jerks that aren’t anything like the characters they play.

Once-noble figures like Dr. Martin Luther King are now just as famous for cheating on a doctoral dissertation and carrying on with women as they are for championing the cause of equality and freedom. The Founding Fathers, once America’s heroes and role-models par excellence, now are portrayed as slave-owners, wealthy bourgeoisie, and self-interested politicians.

In this atmosphere where anyone who strives for excellence is brought down to the lowest common denominator, it's no wonder that people seem uncomfortable with the idea of a role model. The media over-uses the term to the point that anyone who indulged in drugs a bit too much is now "heroically battling addiction," or anyone with a disease is "fighting a heroic struggle."

When not simplifying the term to the point that everyone who stubs a toe is a hero, we're left with heroism being a thing of a past, the soldiers who fought in World War II being a prime example, members of a passing "greatest generation." Heroism is not for modern man, and to think otherwise is just foolish and sentimental.

Then, just when you’re ready to give up on the whole idea that a man can live an exemplary life, someone comes along that reminds the average guy that the old John Wayne and Gary Cooper movie ideals aren’t so silly and old-fashioned after all.

The short life of Testosterone T-Man of the Year, Pat Tillman, reads like a catalog of the archetypal qualities that every T-Man should hold sacred.

In June 2002, 25-year-old starting safety Pat Tillman, at the height of his physical abilities and with an impressive NFL career still ahead of him, turned down a 3-year, $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals to pursue a career in the U.S. Army.

Some people shook their heads in disbelief, wondering why a young man would turn down an opportunity to make so much money. But for Tillman, money always was secondary to loyalty. Two years earlier, he declined a $9 million contract offer from the St. Louis Rams, a team much more successful on the field than Tillman’s Cardinals. His only statement? Tillman said he was happy where he was. This latest career move is a continuation of that same sense of loyalty — this time, to his country instead of his team.

Tillman’s choice came at a time when battles were raging in Afghanistan and war with Iraq was looming on the horizon. With his sights set on joining the Army Rangers, combat is almost certainly in his future. So why would a young man with a future of wealth and fame, not to mention a new wife, put his life at risk? He won’t say. In classic T-Man fashion, Pat Tillman doesn’t feel the need to justify his choices to the public — he refuses interviews and has sworn his family to media silence.

Though speculation for his motivations abound, the closest thing to an official statement comes from his close friends, who simply state that Tillman wanted to make a difference. Whatever the ultimate reason for his decision, Tillman has never been especially concerned about how others perceive him. While attending Arizona State University, he was as renowned for climbing the 200-foot stadium tower and meditating beneath the low-flying planes as he was for his remarkable college football career. Some called him crazy, but Pat’s only reply has been his quiet self-confidence.

In addition to self-confidence, self-motivation and a need to face new challenges have marked Tillman’s life. While many college star athletes with a chance at a professional career are known to slide through school, Tillman tackled academia as readily as he did quarterbacks, earning a 3.84 grade point average and eventually graduating summa cum laude. After school, he was an unremarkable 7^th round draft pick, but he quickly became a valuable member of his team, scoring 224 tackles in 2000, a team record that earned him the attention of, and the $9 million contract offer from, the Rams.

The challenges of football were never enough for Tillman. In one off-season, boredom inspired him to train for, and complete, a marathon. Never satisfied, he later set his goals a little higher, completing a 72-mile Triathlon. Apparently, nobody told Tillman about the supposedly immutable laws of genetics that state muscular, large framed athletes couldn’t hope to compete in extreme endurance sports.

Just when you think this guy’s reached the T-Man ideal, he sacrifices everything to serve his country in a time of impending war — along with his younger brother, Kevin, also an Arizona State athlete and former minor league baseball player (they’re a regular T-family). Now graduated from Infantry training, Pat Tillman is less than a year away from Ranger training, a year that will probably include combat in Iraq. Let’s all hope he returns home safely from his military service, because Pat Tillman is an asset to his country and an inspiration for T-Men around the world.

Pat Tillman seems like an anachronism — his life, his driven character, rise to success, and sacrifice of fame and fortune to serve combat duty reads more like the lives of the men portrayed in Band of Brothers than what one would expect from most men today. Such character seems especially astonishing and admirable from a professional sports star, in an age when the media uses the term "hero" whenever a pro ball player overcomes drug addiction or credit card debt.

In this cynical society where we’re used to seeing the seamy, scandalous side of almost every famous person, Pat Tillman is a man whom anyone could call a hero or roll-model without feeling embarrassed or self-conscious.

It is Pat Tillman’s strength, courage, intelligence, self-motivation, humility, and readiness to seek out and conquer any challenge that makes him our 2002 T-Man of the Year.

Ken Kinnan is a Northern California-based freelance writer and dinosaur training enthusiast. When not stuck in front of a computer, he enjoys travel, fishing, and training with logs and kettle bells in the Shasta wilderness, which may account for several recent Bigfoot sightings.

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