Pat Tillman gets a statue on Sunday. I hope his bronzed hair is really long, and flying wildly on a pretend wind.

Pat Tillman gets an outdoor plaza named in his honor. I hope everyone with a ticket raises a glass (Guinness) in his honor, one more time.

And in what promises to be the most emotional moment of the 2006 football season, Pat Tillman will get his name in the Cardinals' Ring of Honor.

I hope it brings his family a moment of peace.

Yes, it has been 2 1/2 years since the Great American Hero was laid to rest. There have been investigations, special reports, and under every layer of dirt, the story keeps getting worse. The latest report says the gunmen didn't exactly identify the target before destroying the target, a clear violation of Army discipline.

It's enough to make you puke.

Then again, much that has transpired would've enraged the Great American Hero, and that anger is very much alive inside his tenacious family. And if it wasn't the cover-ups, hypocrisy and lies, it was the careless words of Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, who said the Tillmans would cope a lot better if they only believed in God.

" . . . There have been numerous unfortunate cases of fratricide, and the parents have basically said, 'OK, it was an unfortunate accident.' And they let it go," Kauzlarich told ESPN's Mike Fish. "So this is . . . I don't know . . . these people have a hard time letting it go. It may be because of their religious beliefs."

Again, it's enough to make you puke.

And then, out of nowhere, came long-awaited words from brother and fellow ranger Kevin Tillman, who delivered a haunting account on the Internet. It was full of pain, cynicism, defeat and truth:

"Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is."

Then the narrative ended with hope:

"Luckily, this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat's birthday."

Pat's birthday, by the way, was last Monday - one day before the elections.

Here, in my own little world, I'm still annoyed that the Cardinals couldn't do the right thing when it came to naming their stadium. After all, money is paper that comes and goes, and the Bidwills have enough to fund Rhode Island.

But this time, they had the chance to forgo the cash and name their stadium after Tillman, just as Tillman walked away from the cash to serve his country.

That kind of opportunity - to be so magnanimous that it would change people's perceptions and opinions about the Bidwill name - comes around once in a lifetime. The goodwill alone would've been worth a fortune.

Unlike Tillman, the Cardinals just couldn't put away their greed. Like most of us, they just can't measure up with the man they're honoring.

But you know what? Tomorrow is not a day for anger, and besides, a statue is nice. A plaza is nice. And the Ring of Honor is awesome, especially since it defies traditional NFL logic.

(The Pro Football Hall of Fame has made it clear they can consider only what happens on the field, thus keeping Tillman out of its hallowed halls forever.)

And more than anything else, the timing seems serene and perfect. Just as Kevin Tillman hoped, something did happen the day after Pat's birthday. People voted, and the horrible war in Iraq instantly changed its course. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, promptly resigned in defeat.

Amidst this backdrop of real democracy in action, Pat Tillman gets his final memorial, one that lasts forever. That's pretty cool.

And I really hope the Cardinals can go out, beat the Cowboys, and then dedicate the game ball to Pat's family.