A Tribute to a True American Hero

Issue: Today is the Super Bowl though.  What gives?

Short Answer: Already did a Super Bowl post (see below).  This is way better anyway.

Reasoning: Allow me to set the scene for some of the coolest video I have ever seen:

• Setting - The 16th hole at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course (I have actually played the Desert Course at TPC Scottsdale, but that has absolutely nothing to do with anything).  This hole has become its own entity over the last decade.  In 2008, Tournament sponsor FBR (the sponsor is now Waste Management) added 3,000 more bleacher seats to bring the total capacity, for the 16th hole only, a very short par-3 at about 150 yards, to over 20,000.  And most are ridiculously drunk.  The whole setting is basically the exact opposite of what you would expect at a golf course on the PGA Tour.  But, man is it cool to watch.  The fans boo the players when they miss the green, and leave putts short, and play it safe.  However, when you do something good, the place absolutely erupts.  It is pure, unadulterated fun, and it makes a relatively benign tournament in February, into something worth watching.  Here is video of Tiger Woods making a hole-in-one at the 16th in 1997 (the reason I chose this video is because of the sheer raucousness of the crowd, and, when they pan away as he is walking off the tee, you can see beer cups, bottles, and cans being chucked onto the tee by fans.  Awesome.):

• Cast - The video clip stars Billy Mayfair.  He will never be considered a great golfer by PGA Tour standards, but he has won 5 times (none since 1998).  He is aging, and he actually had to go back to Q-school after the 2010 season, since he finished 142 on the official money list.  He did, however, attend Arizona State University, and fans at the 16th hole love ASU alumni (re: Phil Mickleson).  In the video, Billy Mayfair pays homage to another former Arizona State Sun Devil, Pat Tillman.  For those of you who don't know, Pat Tillman played safety for Arizona State and then the Arizona Cardinals.  He was a fantastic athlete.  He was also a fantastic American.  Shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Pat Tillman decided to walk away from a career in the NFL to join the Army Special Forces.  He was killed in Afghanistan in 2004, most probably by friendly-fire (author Jon Krakauer penned quite a literary piece called Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, which details the events surrounding his death.  Heck of a read.).
• Climax - Billy Mayfair, a decent-at-best PGA Tour golfer, heads to the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale in the 2nd round (which actually took place on Saturday due to frost delays earlier in the week.  Yes, frost delays in Phoenix.  Winter sucks.).  The 16th tee at TPC Scottsdale is the place where even professional golfers get nervous.  No one wants to get booed by 20,000 people.  So, Mayfair ups the ante (and the pressure) by donning a Pat Tillman Arizona State jersey.  That alone would have stopped anyone from booing him, no matter what.  But, what happened next, kinda makes you wonder...

Thank you Billy Mayfair.  And, thank you Pat Tillman - a true American hero.