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Championship!!!!
This Sunday, the Cardinals will honor former safety Pat Tillman and other Arizonans who have lost their lives serving in “Operation Enduring Freedom” during a special halftime ceremony. League-wide, players on all 32 teams will wear a #40 helmet decal (above) in their games this week. All fans attending the game will receive a commemorative #40 lapel pin in honor of Tillman.
Members of Tillman’s family will be on hand for this Sunday’s halftime ceremony which will also feature live and pre-recorded comments from several prominent figures as well as a videotaped tribute. It will conclude with the ceremonial retirement of Tillman’s jersey.
A 7th-round pick by the Cardinals, Tillman went on to become a starter and set the team’s single-season record for tackles (224 in 2000). He gained even greater acclaim when he walked away from a pro football career to enlist in the Army in the spring of 2002. Tillman was killed in the line of duty last April while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, becoming the first NFL player to be killed in combat since the Vietnam War.
“Pat didn’t come in as a first-round pick,” said Head Coach Dennis Green. “I have a great deal of respect for guys who battle their way up, guys whose height, weight, speed says they shouldn’t make it, but there they are because of the heart they had.”
“Tillman has had a profound effect on the National Football League,” continued Green. “The league represents dedication and sacrifice in the name of football. Pat made the ultimate sacrifice in giving his life. I think everyone has been touched very deeply.’
Shortly after Tillman’s death, the team announced that it was retiring Tillman’s jersey #40 and that the perimeter area surrounding the new Cardinals stadium – scheduled to open in 2006 – would be known as the “Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza.” It was also recently announced that the NFL and NFL Players Association will generate funds by donating their proceeds from sales of Tillman’s jerseys manufactured by Reebok to the Pat Tillman Foundation. The jerseys will be sold at Cardinals home games, azcardinals.com, NFLShop.com, and military bases around
the world. A specially designed hologram will be affixed to the jerseys to verify their authenticity.
The tribute this weekend will be an emotional moment for Tillman’s former teammates.
“I am glad we are doing something to celebrate his life, but I am sure it will spark up a lot of memories of Pat and all of the stuff he went through,” said linebacker LeVar Woods, who attended the memorial service for Tillman in San Jose. “I think of Pat on a daily basis to be honest with you. When times get tough out here (on the field), I think about a guy like him giving up all of this stuff to go over there. We think practices are hard and rough, but that is nothing to the stuff he went through on a daily basis and that is much more difficult.”
The Cards are a heavy underdog this weekend against the World Champion Patriots, and nothing could be more fitting to honor Tillman than the Cards pulling off an upset.
“The thought of Pat and it being Pat Tillman day throughout the league and with us playing against a good opponent, I think it will make everyone play harder. Hopefully Pat will be with us.”
TICKET OFFICE ALERT
We are expecting a high volume of traffic of people picking up tickets on will call and purchasing tickets on game day. If you are planning on visiting the ticket office on Sunday, please be advised to arrive early in order to be accommodated, or visit the Cardinals Ticket Office ahead of time on Saturday at the Training Facility on 8701 S. Hardy Drive in Tempe. The Ticket Office will be open from 9 - 5pm on Saturday.
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2217
Members of Tillman’s family will be on hand for this Sunday’s halftime ceremony which will also feature live and pre-recorded comments from several prominent figures as well as a videotaped tribute. It will conclude with the ceremonial retirement of Tillman’s jersey.
A 7th-round pick by the Cardinals, Tillman went on to become a starter and set the team’s single-season record for tackles (224 in 2000). He gained even greater acclaim when he walked away from a pro football career to enlist in the Army in the spring of 2002. Tillman was killed in the line of duty last April while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, becoming the first NFL player to be killed in combat since the Vietnam War.
“Pat didn’t come in as a first-round pick,” said Head Coach Dennis Green. “I have a great deal of respect for guys who battle their way up, guys whose height, weight, speed says they shouldn’t make it, but there they are because of the heart they had.”
“Tillman has had a profound effect on the National Football League,” continued Green. “The league represents dedication and sacrifice in the name of football. Pat made the ultimate sacrifice in giving his life. I think everyone has been touched very deeply.’
Shortly after Tillman’s death, the team announced that it was retiring Tillman’s jersey #40 and that the perimeter area surrounding the new Cardinals stadium – scheduled to open in 2006 – would be known as the “Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza.” It was also recently announced that the NFL and NFL Players Association will generate funds by donating their proceeds from sales of Tillman’s jerseys manufactured by Reebok to the Pat Tillman Foundation. The jerseys will be sold at Cardinals home games, azcardinals.com, NFLShop.com, and military bases around
the world. A specially designed hologram will be affixed to the jerseys to verify their authenticity.
The tribute this weekend will be an emotional moment for Tillman’s former teammates.
“I am glad we are doing something to celebrate his life, but I am sure it will spark up a lot of memories of Pat and all of the stuff he went through,” said linebacker LeVar Woods, who attended the memorial service for Tillman in San Jose. “I think of Pat on a daily basis to be honest with you. When times get tough out here (on the field), I think about a guy like him giving up all of this stuff to go over there. We think practices are hard and rough, but that is nothing to the stuff he went through on a daily basis and that is much more difficult.”
The Cards are a heavy underdog this weekend against the World Champion Patriots, and nothing could be more fitting to honor Tillman than the Cards pulling off an upset.
“The thought of Pat and it being Pat Tillman day throughout the league and with us playing against a good opponent, I think it will make everyone play harder. Hopefully Pat will be with us.”
TICKET OFFICE ALERT
We are expecting a high volume of traffic of people picking up tickets on will call and purchasing tickets on game day. If you are planning on visiting the ticket office on Sunday, please be advised to arrive early in order to be accommodated, or visit the Cardinals Ticket Office ahead of time on Saturday at the Training Facility on 8701 S. Hardy Drive in Tempe. The Ticket Office will be open from 9 - 5pm on Saturday.
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2217
