Plummer Eulogizes Tillman at Memorial Service

By Andrew Mason
DenverBroncos.com

Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer eulogized former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman at a memorial service in San Jose, Calif. on Monday afternoon, lauding the late Army Ranger's toughness and fearlessness.

"He was fearless on the field; reckless; tough," Plummer said of Tillman, who died during combat in Afghanistan while serving with the Army Rangers on April 22. "He was very courageous, unyielding (and) crazy. I'll be hard pressed to meet a man crazier than Pat."

But it was crazy in a good way, Plummer noted.

"He was very genuine, very caring as a friend, very compassionate," Plummer remembered. "Before he went to go back for his last mission in Afghanistan, he called to see how I was doing ... That was Pat. He really cared and was compassionate."

Plummer spoke of Tillman's fondness for "thought-provoking" conversation, detailing the safety's fondness for challenging others' intellect and engaging in deep conversation "with some cold Guinness."

"If you argued with him, you'd usually lose because he was right every time," Plummer said.

Plummer's former teammates with the Sun Devils and Cardinals selected him to speak on their behalf at San Jose's Municipal Rose Garden, as part of a roster of speakers that included California First Lady Maria Shriver, U.S. Senator John McCain, radio talk-show host Jim Rome, Pat's brother Richard Tillman, and Tillman's friends and fellow serviceman.

Tillman and Plummer were teammates for seven seasons -- three at Arizona State from 1994-96, and later with the Arizona Cardinals from 1998-2001.

"I saw him come in on his recruiting trip with his long hair, some beat-up jeans and sandals," Plummer said. "As a teammate he led by example. He was all-out, every play. Whether it was practice or the game, he had an intensity that you can't describe.

"That was an inspiration to everybody that played with Pat (and) it was an inspiration to those who watched Pat."

Having known Tillman for nearly a decade, Plummer shared a way to honor and remember his fallen teammate.

"To me the saddest part was that we don't know what Pat had planned next," Plummer said. "The challenges he made for himself, we'll never know, and I believe that to really honor Pat, we should all challenge ourselves. No more, 'I'm going to do this' or 'I'm going to do that,' just do it. As Pat would probably say, 'Just get off your ass and do it.'

"That's what Pat did his whole life."