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One was the on-going soap opera of a college quarterback whose family thinks he is bigger than the league, and thus can manipulate the draft system by telling a team not to make him the No. 1 selection.
The other was about a former NFL player who believed that service to his country was more important than the millions of dollars he was offered to remain in the NFL. And for that decision, he paid the ultimate price.
Yes, while Archie Manning was putting the latest spin on his declaration that his son Eli had no interest in playing for the San Diego Chargers if they made him the No. 1 selection in the draft, the world found out that former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman was killed while serving with the U.S. Army Rangers in Afghanistan.
Quite often, coaches, athletes and we in the media make idiotic comparisons between sports and warfare. We also talk and write about all the sacrifices athletes make during their careers.
But Tillman, just 27 when he died, literally found out what it was like to "battle in the trenches," and, in the end, to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Loyalty was never a question for Tillman. In 2001, he turned down a $9-million, three-year deal from the then Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams to take less money to stay with Arizona. A year later, he turned down the Cardinals for Uncle Sam, as he and his brother, a minor league baseball pitcher, gave up their athletic careers to serve their country.
Tillman's reasons for trading in his Cardinals uniform for a U.S. Army uniform were patriotic and private. He refused media interviews that highlighted him because of his athletic past, according to U.S. Senator John McCain.
"He viewed his decision as no more patriotic than that of his less fortunate, less renowned countrymen who loved our country enough to volunteer to defend her in a time of peril," McCain (R-Ariz.) said in a statement.
Tillman didn't seek out any special treatment.
Which is more than can be said about Eli Manning.
His dad doesn't want him to have to make the same "sacrifices" with the Chargers that he made while spending most of his Hall of Fame career with the then hapless New Orleans Saints.
But maybe Eli Manning could learn a lesson from another highly selected quarterback, who entered the NFL not too long ago and helped revive the then hapless Indianapolis Colts into a playoff contender. (I think his last name might have been Manning, too.)
Or maybe he could learn a lesson from Pat Tillman, who in the prime of his career, realized that there are more important things in life than winning football games.
Denis Downey can be reached at (608) 782-9710, ext. 207, or at ddowney@ lacrossetribune.com
