Pat Tillman for Sportsman of the Year

Johnny Walker Red and Blackfive have passed along a link where you can vote for Pat Tillman as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. It's a little bit confusing, but simply scroll down the little window on the left until you see a picture of Tillman, and then hit Vote.

It would be nice if we could get enough people to move him to first place on the poll, since all the other candidates' achievements are insignificant by comparison.

Just go do it.

UPDATE:

Sortapundit makes a good point. He doesn't think that you should vote for Pat because that's not what Pat would have wanted. It's hard to argue with his point.

Throughout it all Tillman did everything he could to avoid the limelight. He wanted to be treated like every other soldier. He didn't give interviews, and even enlisted in Denver to avoid the publicity he would have got had he enlisted in Phoenix.

Tillman didn't fight for medals and awards. He fought because he felt the call of duty. He looked at his NFL contract, at the promise of fame, fortune and wealth, and decided that he wanted to do something more important.

So I don't think it's a great idea to vote for Tillman. I think he'd be embarassed at the thought. Vote for Lance Armstrong. Vote for Tom Brady. Hell, vote for the US softball team. Tillman didn't die a football player. There would be little honour in that, with today's astronomical wages and prima donna personalities. He died a soldier, with more honour than the rest of us can hope for.

My point in voting for Tillman (not that any of this really matters) is to point out that he represents true heroism, and that modern sports is such a bullshit exercise that making Tillman the Sportsman of the Year will serve as a handy reminder. Steve McNair playing a football game injured is not heroism. Lance Armstrong kicking the shit out a bunch of Euro-socialists in France six years in a row is nice, but not heroism. (His fight against cancer might qualify, however)

The majority of modern-day millionare sports figures are nothing more than pampered, self-important assholes. Tillman was the antithesis of that, which is why I'd like to see him crowned "Sportsman of the Year" and why I still encourage you to go vote for him!