Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

That November, George W. Bush’s controversial election occurs in November. Al Gore wins the popular vote, but thanks in large part to third party candidate Ralph Nader’s presence on the ballot, the votes are split so closely in Florida that multiple recounts are called. After each recount, Bush’s lead diminishes slightly. However, the Supreme Court raises injunctions that delay the final count until the legal deadline, ensuring Bush’s victory. Multiple legal discrepancies, including two judges’ violations of the federal judicial conflict-of-interest statute, cause Krakauer to view this an abhorrent chapter in the U.S.’s judicial and political history.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ season ends with a 3-13 record, despite Tillman’s incredible tackle stats: “Had he made that many tackles on a better team, he almost certainly would have won enough votes to play in the Pro Bowl” (127). Nevertheless, he is profiled in Sports Illustrated as the most accomplished strong safety in the entire league. As Tillman is hailed as one of the best players in the NFL, the Clinton administration’s national coordinator for security briefs Bush and his new security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, on bin Laden and the threat al-Qaeda poses to the US. His emails are met with annoyance and apathy.

The St. Louis Rams offer Tillman a $9.6 million deal to sign with them. Unbelievably, Tillman turns it down. He loves his coaches and respects the Cardinals organization for believing in him when no one else would. His agent never saw a player turn down so much money out of loyalty, saying, “You just don’t see loyalty like that in sports today. Pat Tillman was special. He was a man of principle. He was a once-in-a-lifetime kid” (130). Although Tillman is impervious to greed, he can’t resist appeals to his sense of justice and decency. Krakauer notes that this trait will prove to be his downfall, ultimately. 

Tillman is a voracious and open-minded reader. He is opinionated, advocating for gay and lesbian rights and challenging others to do the same. Krakauer calls him a nonconformist, noting his 2001 triathlon as an example of this character trait. Although he isn’t religious, Tillman’s parents instilled in him values of continually challenging himself; hence, his decision to take on a physical challenge not particularly suited to those with football player physiques.

The CIA continues to warn the Bush administration of bin Laden’s danger to the U.S., to no avail. Some officials consider quitting and going to the media. One week before the September 11 attack, senior defense official Richard Clarke sends a desperate and scathing email to Condoleezza Rice stating: “when in the near future al-Qaeda had killed hundreds of Americans: ‘What will you wish then that you had already done?’” (136). Sure enough, the September 11 attacks occur. They leave a deep impression on Tillman, who is glued to his television with the rest of the country. In his interviews during this time, he expresses his awareness that playing football means nothing in the face of something like this. 

In their first game following the September 11 attacks, the Cardinals lose badly to Denver, with Tillman playing poorly and getting a penalty. Two games later, President Bush addresses the country, his speech projected on the jumbotron above the field where Tillman is about to play. Bush reveals that the U.S. has begun air strikes against the Taliban training camps, entreating Americans to support and pray for those in the military sacrificing for their country. During the game, Tillman is injured with a serious ankle sprain, his only injury during his hard-hitting NFL career. As he sits out games, Tillman works out and follows the war in Afghanistan. Bush doesn’t send many troops initially, using air strikes and secretly formulating the plan to invade Iraq.

The first American casualties occur in November. The U.S.’s bombing of the cave-woven Taliban stronghold of Tora Bora is intense; everyone thinks bin Laden is dead. However, he escapes to Pakistan, thanks to a double-agents supposedly working with U.S. special forces. More troops are dispatched to monitor the back routes to Pakistan. CIA leaders on the ground request the troops to be stationed north, where bin Laden is in hiding, but are denied. Other similar strategic requests are denied, and the warlords whose loyalty is bought by the CIA are thus tasked with blocking the avenues of escape from Tora Bora. Krakauer writes, “In retrospect, the decision to rely on these untrustworthy warlords for such an utterly crucial task probably doomed the mission from the outset” (149).