Inspired by U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman and his death in Afghanistan I began researching the notion of ‘a pack’ mentality..
I started to look into ‘ball’ sports, I became really fascinated of how strongly supportive of a team, men in particular become, there’s something incredibly primal about it, and being the kid who was always picked last to be in any team at school and who has always sought ‘alternative’ activities, this chanting, fighting team mentality always puzzled me, I like the notion of supporting a team, wearing the team colours but never felt comfortable with it, it drew me to make the analogy of the ultimate team being fighting for ones country, and those colours being the flag under which you fight¦ further, the technical and tactical approach to a team, versus the tactical approach of a military operation. It was while explaining this to a friend that he mentioned I should watch the Tilman Story as it was exactly what I was talking about. I watched that film and was deeply moved by the sacrifice he gave for his country, giving up a million dollar deal to fight for his country, both my father and grandfather fought in WW1 and WW2 and I’ve always been deeply thankful of the sacrifice people have given in the name of our county, but equally deeply cynical about how necessary it is and for who and what gain, particularly when history should have taught us such important lessons.
