Undertaker #59
09-05-2006, 09:26 PM
Just got this email. Thought some of you might support this. Don't the Patriots already have #40 retired?
Any chance you would consider helping us out?
Thanks for your consideration.
My best,
Tim
The Boston Globe - A push for a patriotic tribute, 8/27/2006
By Ron Borges Tim Bonin hasn't forgotten Pat Tillman, and he doesn't want you to, either.
For the past three years, Bonin was chief financial officer of the San Miguel School in Providence, a middle school for at-risk urban boys formed by the Christian Brothers 13 years ago; it is now used as a model for 13 such schools around the country.
When Bonin isn't out raising money to keep the school going, he's working on a website, themissingpatriot.com, which is an effort to persuade first the Patriots and then the entire NFL to retire the No. 40 once worn by the former Cardinals defensive back, who gave up a million-dollar career to join the Army and then lost his life from friendly fire during a night maneuver in Afghanistan.
Bonin, who has a Patriots jersey with Tillman's name and number framed and hanging over his desk, believes he and a small but growing band of compatriots can create enough momentum to right what he feels was a wrong by the NFL, which he says "dropped the ball" when it designated only one weekend two years ago to honor Tillman.
Bonin feels Tillman's life is "a lesson for our youth," a lesson about courage but also about sacrifice. Bonin has started an on line petition asking Patriots owner Robert Kraft to be the first outside of Arizona to retire Tillman's number.
Bonin's efforts began a week ago when the Cardinals came to Foxborough. At that game, there was one banner in the parking lot acknowledging the "missing patriot" effort. This weekend, he said, there will be two. So it goes with a grass-roots movement that hopes to use Tillman's life as an inspiration for young people.
"At the school, kids would come in and ask about the No. 40 and I used that to explain the message of Pat Tillman's life," Bonin said. "I saw how the message resonated with those kids. That got me thinking."
One person who signed the online petition was a Patriots season ticket-holder who said he would make a banner for last night's game.
"Ironically, he was the 40th person to sign on," Bonin said. "We reached as far south as Florida and as far west as Oregon and Anchorage. At that point, I knew that we were going to be just fine.
"We have kind of a captive audience in Mr. Kraft's parking lots so we can go around and talk about our effort. You get a lot of cheerleader groups there trying to raise money. We're not asking for anything but people's interest in honoring Pat Tillman and the guys like him who gave up so much for our country.
"I don't want this to be rushed. In many respects, this effort has to be about us -- the fans and good people of New England -- before we look to anyone else. The key here is for this thing to grow slowly. The Kraft family should know this and shouldn't feel pressured into action or even commenting on it from us anytime soon.
"I want to grow this thing and plan to work very hard at it. Others are, too. This is a movement about people uniting, which I think Mr. Kraft would appreciate.
"He was a patriot. So are we. Eventually, we'd hope to make a case to Mr. Kraft that [retiring No. 40] is worth doing. We understand the league is very strict about the way it does things, so if they can't do it as a stand-alone, maybe he will take it to the league and start a dialogue. A lot can be told to young people from Pat Tillman's life."
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Any chance you would consider helping us out?
Thanks for your consideration.
My best,
Tim
The Boston Globe - A push for a patriotic tribute, 8/27/2006
By Ron Borges Tim Bonin hasn't forgotten Pat Tillman, and he doesn't want you to, either.
For the past three years, Bonin was chief financial officer of the San Miguel School in Providence, a middle school for at-risk urban boys formed by the Christian Brothers 13 years ago; it is now used as a model for 13 such schools around the country.
When Bonin isn't out raising money to keep the school going, he's working on a website, themissingpatriot.com, which is an effort to persuade first the Patriots and then the entire NFL to retire the No. 40 once worn by the former Cardinals defensive back, who gave up a million-dollar career to join the Army and then lost his life from friendly fire during a night maneuver in Afghanistan.
Bonin, who has a Patriots jersey with Tillman's name and number framed and hanging over his desk, believes he and a small but growing band of compatriots can create enough momentum to right what he feels was a wrong by the NFL, which he says "dropped the ball" when it designated only one weekend two years ago to honor Tillman.
Bonin feels Tillman's life is "a lesson for our youth," a lesson about courage but also about sacrifice. Bonin has started an on line petition asking Patriots owner Robert Kraft to be the first outside of Arizona to retire Tillman's number.
Bonin's efforts began a week ago when the Cardinals came to Foxborough. At that game, there was one banner in the parking lot acknowledging the "missing patriot" effort. This weekend, he said, there will be two. So it goes with a grass-roots movement that hopes to use Tillman's life as an inspiration for young people.
"At the school, kids would come in and ask about the No. 40 and I used that to explain the message of Pat Tillman's life," Bonin said. "I saw how the message resonated with those kids. That got me thinking."
One person who signed the online petition was a Patriots season ticket-holder who said he would make a banner for last night's game.
"Ironically, he was the 40th person to sign on," Bonin said. "We reached as far south as Florida and as far west as Oregon and Anchorage. At that point, I knew that we were going to be just fine.
"We have kind of a captive audience in Mr. Kraft's parking lots so we can go around and talk about our effort. You get a lot of cheerleader groups there trying to raise money. We're not asking for anything but people's interest in honoring Pat Tillman and the guys like him who gave up so much for our country.
"I don't want this to be rushed. In many respects, this effort has to be about us -- the fans and good people of New England -- before we look to anyone else. The key here is for this thing to grow slowly. The Kraft family should know this and shouldn't feel pressured into action or even commenting on it from us anytime soon.
"I want to grow this thing and plan to work very hard at it. Others are, too. This is a movement about people uniting, which I think Mr. Kraft would appreciate.
"He was a patriot. So are we. Eventually, we'd hope to make a case to Mr. Kraft that [retiring No. 40] is worth doing. We understand the league is very strict about the way it does things, so if they can't do it as a stand-alone, maybe he will take it to the league and start a dialogue. A lot can be told to young people from Pat Tillman's life."
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