Disaster strikes, but an iconic Tillman artifact narrowly survives

Of all the photos documenting the life of former Arizona Cardinals defenseman Pat Tillman, one stood out so powerfully that it served as the inspiration for a statue outside the team's stadium, dedicated to Tillman after his death in 2004 while in service with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan. Tillman's story has been told time and time again, but rarely does the public hear the story from photographers like Gene Lower, who was responsible for the iconic image of Tillman celebrating a tackle 26 years ago.

A recent hurricane and devastating flooding in Florida are just the latest stunning events for Lower, whose teenage son died last year. The flood destroyed most of his family's belongings, including almost the entire archive of film negatives from Lower's early career. However, an extraordinary twist of fate gave this story an uplifting turn.

As a young photographer in 1998, Lower was documenting Cardinals games from various angles when he decided to focus on one particular rookie, whose performance he summed up in a single word: “passion.” This was the age of film photography, before digital, and Lower wasted a lot of reels trying to capture the spirit of this NFL rookie wearing the No. 40 jersey.

When he got the shot at Sun Devil Stadium, he was confident he had made it, Lower recalled. But he wouldn't know for sure until the film was developed. The negatives came back and there it was:

The hair flows upwards and outwards.

Helmet in raised right hand.

Eyes narrowed.

Mouth open.

Lower captured the essence of Pat Tillman, at the time an intense defensive back on the rise, making the most of his abilities by delivering bone-crushing hits while cheering on his teammates. The description – passion – that Lower gave Tillman on and off the field closely resembles the way Tillman’s Ranger platoon mates described him in Afghanistan. Tillman entered the military after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I caught him letting out his primal scream of passion and excitement,” Lower recently recalled. “Tearing his helmet off his head and exactly that explosion of emotions that came from him after that play.”

“It couldn't have turned out better if I had planned it that way,” he added.

It became one of the most valuable recordings in his portfolio, but for more than five years there was almost no outside interest in it.

Then on April 22, 2004, Lower heard the news of Tillman's death in Afghanistan. Exchanging shocked glances with his wife, Taryn, he recalled that of all the images from the former cardinal's life, “this one photo screams, 'That's me.' Pat Tillman.”

After working for Sports Illustrated, Lower said he contacted an editor there who told him not to tell anyone about it, adding, “We'll take care of you no matter what, even if we don't use the photo.” .” .”

The magazine didn't just use the photo; it appeared on the cover of the May 3, 2004 issue.

The photo is now on the Pat Tillman Foundation website, along with a Tillman quote: “Erring on the side of passion is human and right and the only way I will live.”

A bronze statue inspired by the photo now stands at Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza in Glendale, Arizona, outside where the Cardinals have played since 2006.

Lower, 50, said he rose from freelance status to become the Cardinals' staff photographer, a position he still holds today. The family built a home in Chandler, Arizona.

A year ago, Lower's son Ryder, a high school junior and lacrosse player who overcame Type 1 diabetes to become an ambassador for a support group, was struggling emotionally. Despite efforts to get him help, 16-year-old Ryder took his own life on August 11, 2023.

After deciding they needed what Lower called a fresh start, he, Taryn and their daughter Skye moved this summer from Arizona to Florida, where Skye is a freshman.

Just two months after their move, as they settled into their St. Pete Beach home, the Lowers had to deal with a new, terrifying and uncontrollable challenge: Hurricane Helene.

The fierce September storm sent floodwaters through their home. When they were able to return from the evacuation to survey the damage, the Lowers discovered that almost all of their belongings had been destroyed.

Remarkably, however, the one possession that meant the most to them was intact. It was an urn with Ryder's ashes.

Lower soon realized that thousands of negatives he had stored for decades were ruined. But he had kept one of them separate from the others.

Shortly before moving east, Lower had placed the Tillman negative in a shoebox for safekeeping along with a few other valuables such as his passport and his 2009 NFC Championship ring from the only season in which Arizona reached the Super Bowl.

“Unfortunately, when I found it,” Lower said of the negative, “it was submerged in the water, and it broke my heart to think that it might be lost forever.”

The ring was fine. The soaked passport needs to be replaced. And to Lower's surprise, it turned out that the flood damage to the negative was mostly at the edges, although a sticky substance covered the entire area.

Lower isn't sure it can be restored, but the essence of what he preserved on a December Sunday in 1998 remains nonetheless. “I feel like it needs to survive and be passed down from generation to generation, like Pat’s story,” he said.

There will be a few more months of work on the Lowers' house before the family can move back in. Almost everything in it had to be thrown away.

Although Lower has been busy with pressing matters, he is only now beginning to focus on what can be done to maximize the impact of the saved negative. “I'm thinking about making prints of it to raise money for charity,” he said.

“In its current form, it kind of has a cool, unique look to it, just the way I envisioned it – unbuttoned, neat and pristine; more casual, rougher and more robust.”

Gene Lower appears in Pat Tillman: Life. Death. Legacy”. on November 7 at 7 p.m. ET on E60 and then streaming on ESPN+.