Steve McNair Was Not the Man We Thought He Was

Former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Steve McNair was shot and killed Saturday night in his downtown Nashville condominium.

Nashville authorities have indicated that McNair, 36, may have been slain by his 20-year-old mistress, Sahel Kazemi, in a murder-suicide.

The fuzz revealed to the press that McNair, a three-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2003 co-NFL MVP, was shot four times, and the strumpet that he dated on the side for four months died from a single bullet wound to her head.

“Air McNair,” who was selected out of Alcorn State by the Houston Oilers with the third overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft, became only the third player in league history to pass for 30,000 yards and run for an additional 3,500 yards in his career.

“If you were going to draw a football player, the physical part, the mental part, everything about being a professional, he is your guy,” said former Titans and Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle, who played with McNair on both teams. “It is a sad, sad day. The world lost a great man.”

“Stevie Wonder,” the winner of the 1994 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA football, was just the second African-American quarterback behind Doug Williams to take his team to the Super Bowl when he led the Titans to within a yard of a championship versus the St. Louis Rams in the 1999-2000 season.

“The man had ice running through his veins,” said Eddie George, the featured running back on that Titans squad. “He was so cool under pressure, so calm.”

“Air McNair,” who was chosen as a pitcher by the Seattle Mariners in the 35th round of the 1991 MLB amateur draft, was renowned for his incredible toughness and for his ability to consistently perform on the gridiron despite the various injuries that often plagued his career.

“On the field, there isn’t any player that was as tough as him,” said Derrick Mason, the Titans receiver of yesteryear who was stopped after a McNair pass on the one-yard line as time expired in their 23-16 loss to the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.

McNair’s one-time teammate and tight end in Tennessee, Frank Wycheck, agreed and called him, “the definition of what a warrior was all about.”

Unfortunately, regardless of the lofty stature he attained among his peers and his impressive pedigree, McNair will now always be recalled as a good signal-caller that was likely smoked by a disturbed floozy in the Music City.

McNair was married and had four sons.

He did not deserve the fate that he received because of his adulterous lifestyle.

Nevertheless, his standard of living will now ultimately overshadow the heights he reached on the football field.

Everything in life is not always what it appears to be, and everyone in this world is not always who we think they are.

As the saying goes, “Don’t get too close to the ballerina. You may lose the illusion.”

Ultimately, we as fans likely got too close to “Air McNair” and never actually knew Steve McNair.

*This article is written in loving memory of Chris Naghski….He was a great man and an even better friend.