Obviously by now you have all heard about the tragic death of Steve McNair. The details are still fuzzy at this time, so for now I am going to take some time to talk about what he meant to me as a member of the Tennessee Titans.
Steve McNair is the reason I am such a passionate Titans' today. If you have been around this site for any length of time, you know that for the first 2+ years of the site my avatar has been of McNair's escape in Super Bowl 34. That was the night Air McNair became my favorite player. I know some people have said that he spend too much time running around on that drive, but I can promise you that Neil O'Donnell would have been sacked early in that drive and we would not have ended up anywhere close to a yard short.
McNair was a warrior. He played through injuries that would have kept most players out for weeks. Some people will tell you it was lack of preparation that kept him on the injured list throughout his career, but if you go back and look at the injuries he actually suffered you will see that these were injuries that had nothing to do with conditioning.
Click through the jump to hear reactions from Eddie George and Derrick Mason.
My favorite Steve McNair game ever was the game against the Giants in 2002. He had missed practice all week with badly bruised ribs, and the game was in the Meadowlands in December. The weather was brutal, but he was out there because it was Sunday. He led two come from behind drives in the 4th quarter, with the bruised ribs, and took in the 2 point conversion to tie the game on a quarterback draw. That was Steve McNair.
McNair is what made the Titans Nashville's team. There was actually a lot of oposition here when the talk started that the Oilers might be moving, but that Super Bowl run in 1999 got the Middle Tennessee area behind the Titans. The play on the field was obviously a big reason for that, but it was also because of the work done in the community by guys on the team like McNair. He did a TON of work for the Boys and Girls Club in Middle Tennessee, and you will also remember that he brought a tractor trailer to the Titans' facility to fill with supplies for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. That was Steve McNair.
I don't have any idea what the coming days will reveal about the events surrounding his death, but for now I will remember McNair as a warrior who was willing to give his body every Sunday for the Titans, and as a man who did a lot of good in the community around Middle Tennessee. We will miss you Steve!
[UPDATE]- Channel 5's McNair Biography.
[UPDATE 2]-
[UPDATE 3]- Kuharksy's thoughts.