azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Just $50K so far for Tillman group
Dan Bickley
Chin Music
Oct. 3, 2004 12:00 AM
The Cardinals have just donated $50,000 to the Pat Tillman Foundation. If that seems a bit cheap, Michael Bidwill promises more is on the way.
By my count, the next check should be for $3,550,000.
That would add up to $3.6 million, the value of the NFL contract Tillman walked away from when he became an Army Ranger.
If the Cardinals need a reminder, that's when Tillman decided to defend our freedom so wealthy football owners and their sons can continue to deposit $80 million in league checks every year.
"The $50,000 is not all we're going to do," said Bidwill, the team's vice president. "This was a good-faith donation to help with some of the administrative and start-up costs. We're going to sit back down with (the foundation) and see what else we can do. We've been developing some ideas we can work on."
The Cardinals' donation comes in payments of $25,000 in each of the next two years. It also comes at a time when some were wondering if the team was ever going to make a signature donation to help launch the foundation.
Clearly, the Cardinals have benefited greatly from the residual glow of Tillman. They have claimed a true American hero as their own, and as brand names go, how valuable do you think Tillman happens to be?
His spiritual presence at the new stadium will give the place a sense of dignity, honor and history. They will forever benefit from his legacy.
Of course, the Cardinals won't go so far as to name their new stadium after Tillman (i.e., Ranger Field). He'll get an adjoining plaza, which means the team can horde the lucrative naming rights.
Which is why their final donation will be the litmus test, the gauge of how grateful they really are for Tillman's services, on and away from the field.
"The Cardinals have been very generous," said Alex Garwood, Tillman's brother-in-law who is running the foundation. "They were extremely helpful with the beautiful memorial service in San Jose and the service in Arizona. They're doing the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza at the new stadium, they've retired his jersey, they've helped with jersey sales, and they're continuing to wear No. 40 decals on their helmets."
Still, the younger Bidwill likes to publicly refer to himself a close friend of the fallen soldier.
It's time to put the money where the microphone is.
And another thing
Meanwhile, Jake Plummer (below left) has met the real NFL, a cold-blooded cartel swaddled in the American flag. The league threatened to fine Plummer at escalating levels if he continued to wear a No. 40 decal on his helmet, which he did in last week's game at San Diego.
What you didn't know:
Anticipating that he would need some extra decals for the season, Plummer had made prior arrangements to obtain four of them from a well-placed source in Tempe. They were delivered inconspicuously when the two teams met in the preseason, just in case Plummer would need extras in the coming weeks.
Yet sensing the league's steely resolve, Plummer ended his personal battle, opting to send potential fine money to Tillman's foundation instead.
Limiting the tribute to Arizona players is yet another asinine stance by the league, seeing that many of the people that really knew Tillman, really got Tillman, are now playing in other cities.
The nice item
In effort to raise real money for Tillman's foundation, Plummer and former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis are spearheading a new campaign to solicit donations from within the league.
Plummer, a quarterback for the Broncos, will oversee all NFL players. McGinnis, an assistant coach in Tennessee, will oversee all NFL coaches. The plan is to appoint members in every city to serve as pledge team captains - such as Larry Marmie in St. Louis, Derek Smith in San Francisco, Grey Ruegamer in Green Bay - and they will be responsible for working each of the league's locker rooms.
Betcha it puts the Cardinals' $50,000 to shame.
"Anything that has anything to do with Pat Tillman and the people involved with him, I am in the boat with every oar you can give me," McGinnis said. "Any hour of the day, you call me, I'm there. How else could you be?"
Finally
Coming soon, Arizona State will begin selling its own Tillman jerseys. They will be maroon with gold trim and lettering and feature the No. 42 that Tillman wore in college.
The Cardinals sold an estimated 1,000 replicas of his NFL jersey (No. 40) during the tribute game against the Patriots. By arrangement with the NFL, all of the profits go to Tillman's foundation, as will the profits from the sale of the ASU jerseys.
Reach Bickley at [email protected] or (602) 444-8253. Listen to him from 6-9 a.m. weekdays on XTRA 910.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cheapseats/articles/1003chinmusic1003.html
Dan Bickley
Chin Music
Oct. 3, 2004 12:00 AM
The Cardinals have just donated $50,000 to the Pat Tillman Foundation. If that seems a bit cheap, Michael Bidwill promises more is on the way.
By my count, the next check should be for $3,550,000.
That would add up to $3.6 million, the value of the NFL contract Tillman walked away from when he became an Army Ranger.
If the Cardinals need a reminder, that's when Tillman decided to defend our freedom so wealthy football owners and their sons can continue to deposit $80 million in league checks every year.
"The $50,000 is not all we're going to do," said Bidwill, the team's vice president. "This was a good-faith donation to help with some of the administrative and start-up costs. We're going to sit back down with (the foundation) and see what else we can do. We've been developing some ideas we can work on."
The Cardinals' donation comes in payments of $25,000 in each of the next two years. It also comes at a time when some were wondering if the team was ever going to make a signature donation to help launch the foundation.
Clearly, the Cardinals have benefited greatly from the residual glow of Tillman. They have claimed a true American hero as their own, and as brand names go, how valuable do you think Tillman happens to be?
His spiritual presence at the new stadium will give the place a sense of dignity, honor and history. They will forever benefit from his legacy.
Of course, the Cardinals won't go so far as to name their new stadium after Tillman (i.e., Ranger Field). He'll get an adjoining plaza, which means the team can horde the lucrative naming rights.
Which is why their final donation will be the litmus test, the gauge of how grateful they really are for Tillman's services, on and away from the field.
"The Cardinals have been very generous," said Alex Garwood, Tillman's brother-in-law who is running the foundation. "They were extremely helpful with the beautiful memorial service in San Jose and the service in Arizona. They're doing the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza at the new stadium, they've retired his jersey, they've helped with jersey sales, and they're continuing to wear No. 40 decals on their helmets."
Still, the younger Bidwill likes to publicly refer to himself a close friend of the fallen soldier.
It's time to put the money where the microphone is.
And another thing
Meanwhile, Jake Plummer (below left) has met the real NFL, a cold-blooded cartel swaddled in the American flag. The league threatened to fine Plummer at escalating levels if he continued to wear a No. 40 decal on his helmet, which he did in last week's game at San Diego.
What you didn't know:
Anticipating that he would need some extra decals for the season, Plummer had made prior arrangements to obtain four of them from a well-placed source in Tempe. They were delivered inconspicuously when the two teams met in the preseason, just in case Plummer would need extras in the coming weeks.
Yet sensing the league's steely resolve, Plummer ended his personal battle, opting to send potential fine money to Tillman's foundation instead.
Limiting the tribute to Arizona players is yet another asinine stance by the league, seeing that many of the people that really knew Tillman, really got Tillman, are now playing in other cities.
The nice item
In effort to raise real money for Tillman's foundation, Plummer and former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis are spearheading a new campaign to solicit donations from within the league.
Plummer, a quarterback for the Broncos, will oversee all NFL players. McGinnis, an assistant coach in Tennessee, will oversee all NFL coaches. The plan is to appoint members in every city to serve as pledge team captains - such as Larry Marmie in St. Louis, Derek Smith in San Francisco, Grey Ruegamer in Green Bay - and they will be responsible for working each of the league's locker rooms.
Betcha it puts the Cardinals' $50,000 to shame.
"Anything that has anything to do with Pat Tillman and the people involved with him, I am in the boat with every oar you can give me," McGinnis said. "Any hour of the day, you call me, I'm there. How else could you be?"
Finally
Coming soon, Arizona State will begin selling its own Tillman jerseys. They will be maroon with gold trim and lettering and feature the No. 42 that Tillman wore in college.
The Cardinals sold an estimated 1,000 replicas of his NFL jersey (No. 40) during the tribute game against the Patriots. By arrangement with the NFL, all of the profits go to Tillman's foundation, as will the profits from the sale of the ASU jerseys.
Reach Bickley at [email protected] or (602) 444-8253. Listen to him from 6-9 a.m. weekdays on XTRA 910.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cheapseats/articles/1003chinmusic1003.html
:notworthy
