In the hagiography of Pat Tillman, one of the aspects to the story that the media has focused on is that he enlisted in the Rangers "in the wake of 9/11"; once The Towers fell, he had an epiphany about the relative lack of importance of playing football, and decided to immediately fight for Uncle Sam. Actually, what is much more interesting is that he didn't enlist immediately. Lots of people rallied round the flag after that fateful Tuesday, sang "God Bless America" and put the Stars and Stripes on their car antennas. Tillman, rather than abandoning his teammates, played out the 2001 season, starting every game, and by turning in another quality season, made himself more marketable as a football player. He didn't actually enlist until May, 2002, when he had nine months to think about the ramifications of what he was doing. His was not an emotional decision, but a reasoned one, and in my view a more patriotic act because of it.