RIP Steve McNair

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Just heard (watching the golf) that Steve McNair was found shot to death. That is horrible.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4306275

[bjornolf]

That is so sad. I hope he wasn't married.

[bjornolf]

Don't know how reliable this site is, but they're saying that McNair was at the condo of his "20 year old girlfriend", and that McNair's wife was in Mississippi at the time of the shooting. CNN seems to agree with at least part of that.

http://www.faniq.com/article/Steve-McNair-killed-in-either-doublehomicide-or-murdersuicide-Questions-abound-1734266
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/04/mcnair.shooting/index.html

[rthomas]

That is so sad. I hope he wasn't married.

That is one strange thing to say.

[bjornolf]

That is one strange thing to say.

I just meant that if he was married and it was his wife they found him with, they would have said that. If he WAS married and it WASN'T his wife, it would be an awful way for her to find out if she didn't know.

[godukerocks]

Wow. Only a decade ago he was leading the Titans in the Super Bowl. Wow.

[roywhite]

Per ESPN reports this A.M., evidence is pointing to a murder/suicide with the young woman being the shooter. McNair was shot several times, the woman shot once, the presumed murder weapon was found under her body, and police are not looking for other potential shooters.

McNair had a good career and seemed like a pretty good guy. Sad.

[SupaDave]

Well Steve was not only my frat brother but a friend of mine. Right now things aren't looking good at all but we are keeping the family in our prayers.

I'm in St. Louis right now but later I will share a great story about one of the things Steve did for me.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm in St. Louis right now but later I will share a great story about one of the things Steve did for me.
Looking forward to that Dave, he was the one "celebrity" that I actually cared much about this last week. I had no idea where or what Alcorn State was when I was younger, but I remember following his record setting career and pulling like hell for him come draft day. Not so much because he was a black QB, but because he represented all the little guys who were never given a chance. He made the most of his "chance" for 13 years, and while I was never a Titans nor Orioles fan, I always paid attention to what McNair was doing. Robbed of life way too soon.
Once again Dave, really looking forward to your story.

[roywhite]

Well Steve was not only my frat brother but a friend of mine. Right now things aren't looking good at all but we are keeping the family in our prayers.

I'm in St. Louis right now but later I will share a great story about one of the things Steve did for me.

Sorry for your loss SupaDave... and sorry for the loss to McNair's children.

The concept of losing a healthy person in their 30's, just recently removed from pro football, is hard to deal with. A friend is gone and a father is gone.

From a football sense, I used to marvel about how tough McNair was, how difficult it was to tackle him, even with a good rush. And now he's down, not to get up. Very sad.

[cspan37421]

indeed, sorry for the loss of your friend, SupaDave. As a football player, I liked him pretty well. He was tough and I don't recall him being anything like some of the NFL divas we've seen get so much press lately. So I liked that about him.

[SupaDave]

Thanks for all the kind words guys. But Steve wasn't just my friend. He was everyone's friend. That's just how he was.

As far as the circumstances of his death are concerned, well it's just plain tragic regardless.

I've only had a few moments in life where I've been notified of people's deaths. Even fewer where they were known by many and many knew that I knew the person. When people send you texts that someone is dead it just has a way of making the world stop. Yep - texts, but word of mouth travels just as fast when someone dies.

My relationship with Steve however was one that I shared with many. As an HBCU graduate I had always been proud of Steve and he graduated the year before I did.

You should have seen him and his brother on the field together. Wow. It wouldn't have mattered who they were playing against in college to be honest. They just knew where to be and run the offense.

Anway, I joined a fraternity chock FULL of football players (and we also boast Shaq, Jordan, Bill Cosby, William Floyd, and Jesse Jackson to name a few) and there were always rumblings of whether Steve was "real" or not.

Wouldn't you know it? I graduated and immediately went to work for the men in black who relocated me to Houston (Bechtel if you're in the know). I hadn't been in Houston two weeks I believe before I ran into Steve - which was crazy to me at the time - and doing what frat boys do, I decided to see if I could pull his card.

Steve was indeed "real" and not just that, after finding out I was new to the area he invited me to his house the next day. Now remember that this is the starting QB of the Houston Oilers so this is all very surreal for a NC boy.

He told me to get there early around 4 or so. I remember that I was still driving a company rental car and parked right in the front just thinking I was coming to hang out for a second. The house was modest but had all the trimmings including pool and jacuzzi.

Before I knew it, I had been at the house a few hrs and a full blown party had evolved around me. He started inviting people over when I told him all I had was family in the area. The party was for me!!! Oh my God! It was the craziest thing. Girls in the jacuzzi, the pool, music playing, food, drinks - it like all just appeared on a beautiful Houston day!

I know some people have seen rap/rock videos but there have been a few times in my life where I've looked around and realized I was IN a rap/rock video - this was one of them.

That night was the first time I had crawfish and the first time I partied like everything was for me. We even went to the club that night!! Ended up with a lady friend bc of the night. I was officially sold on Houston.

He got married a few weeks later in Vicksburg, MS.

I went to a few games that year and hung with Steve when I could. But of course, his schedule was a bit erratic and even more chaotic (his close friends handled most of his business for him though and they did a great job).

Me and Steve kept in touch even after they moved the team to Nashville because it takes a while to transition your home base so he would be back in town for the next year off and on. Seems like yesterday now...

But because of Steve I had like an instant celebrity status in Houston. The bouncers recognized me and I got in for free. And who's cooler in the club than the guy that everyone knows? Life was great.

Above all though, when I published my first book I really didn't know how to deal with a lot of the attention I was getting so I called Steve. He told me I deserved every bit of it and I needed to appreciate it but make sure to accept it. He helped me to understand that people appreciate it when others work hard regardless of the outcome. It just made sense. He was always like a calm storm and you could feel it.

I will truly miss my friend.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Great story Dave, thanks for sharing. Once again, sorry for your loss.

[weezie]

I'm sorry for your loss, Dave. What a terrible shame.

[DevilAlumna]

That story just confirms my impressions of the man, Supadave - thanks for sharing.