Many fans' views on sports have been put into perspective in lieu of the war in Iraq. They have for some players, too, even the most high profile athlete at ASU.
As he was bombarded by reporters with questions pertaining to football on Monday, starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Andrew Walter gave his opinion about the war without being asked.
"[Football] is a game; it's such a miniscule thing in terms of the big scheme of things," Walter said. "If I wasn't in school, who knows? I could be over there fighting. There are guys dying and fighting in the war younger than me."
Walter also spoke on Tampa Bay Buccaneer defensive end Simeon Rice, who denounced former Arizona Cardinal and ASU player Pat Tillman for leaving the NFL to join the Army.
"It's idiots like [Rice] who really don't know what it's all about. Pat Tillman is a hero; he's much more of a hero than any one of us still playing the game of football could ever dream to be. It's remarkable what [Tillman] did and for people to not see that, that's their problem."
For me, Walter's words shattered two age-old stereotypes: that athletes are unintelligent and students are apathetic.
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
