R.I.P Steve McNair

A usual Fourth of July day for me is going to a family friend's house to watch the Brewers, enjoy the hot dog eating contest, and playing softball among other things. Shortly after Manny Ramirez grounded into a fielder's choice on a close play at second to end the inning in the Dodgers-Padres game, I clicked the GUIDE button to see what else was going on. After going through the channels, I decided to tune into ESPNNEWS to see some of the baseball scores scrolling on the bottom line. However, it wasn't the baseball scores that caught my eye when the channel flipped. Instead I was gazing at eight gigantic words with a familiar face above them: Steve McNair Shot and Killed In Downtown Nashville. At first as I was so stunned that I thought I had read it wrong. I blinked and re-read it slowly to find that the reality was true. McNair was found dead in a Nashville condominium with multiple gunshot wounds including one to the head, along with girlfriend Sahel Kazemi, who had a single bullet in her head and a gun nearby. It was later pronounced by the police that the death was a homicide, although authorities wouldn't say if the case was a murder-suicide. Quite simply, what a terrible fate for a player that was loved so much on and off the football field. McNair, 36, spent eleven years with the Oilers/Titans franchise, and played his final two in Baltimore for the Ravens. There was no doubt that McNair was one of the more accomplished quarterbacks in NFL history. He was the face of the Tennessee Titans franchise after leading the team in 2000 from the Music City Miracle in the Wild Card round to a Super Bowl XXXIV appearance. In that Super Bowl, McNair was the centerpiece in one of the greatest offensive plays in Super Bowl history. With the Titans down 23-16 at the Rams 26 and only 22 seconds left, McNair took the snap as the pocket collapsed around him. He somehow was able to use his athleticism to scramble out of the pocket to his right and avoid defensive end Kevin Carter and defensive tackle Jay Williams from tripping him up. Mainting his balance, McNair fired the ball down the field and hit Kevin Dyson at the ten yard line with only six seconds left remaining on the clock. Unfortunately on the next play, McNair was also part of one of the greatest defensive plays in Super Bowl history when he completed a slant route to Dyson, only to be tackled in the open field by Rams linebacker Mike Jones one yard shy of the endzone. It was McNair's only trip to the Super Bowl in his career, but the accomplishments did not stop there. In his career with the Tennessee Titans, McNair led the team to the playoffs four times including the 2003 season, when he shared MVP honors with Indianapolis Quarterback Peyton Manning. The third overall pick in the 1995 Draft, McNair went to the Pro Bowl three times in his career and became only the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 30,000 passing yards and rush for 3,500 (Fran Tarkenton, Steve Young). However, McNair was also a great leader off the field as well. He formed the Steve McNair Foundation to help those in need by devoting much of his time and money. McNair also held many football camps in Nashville for younger kids hoping to learn more about the game. The father of four, "Air McNair" will always be remembered as one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the history of the game. Thanks for the memories, Steve.