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July 11th, 2009 
gospelnewswire July 11, 2009 – Titans quarterback Vince Young didn’t expect to speak Saturday during his mentor’s funeral. He wound up summing up the emotional day with just a few words.
“Steve was like a hero to me, and heroes are not supposed to die,” Young said before stopping to rub his eyes as he talked about the man he knew from football camps as a teenager and called “Pops” — Steve McNair, his predecessor with the Titans.
McNair was shot and killed on the Fourth of July by his girlfriend, 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, who then shot herself in the head.
Nearly 5,000 turned out to say goodbye to the 36-year-old during one of the biggest funerals in the recent history of Mississippi, McNair’s home state.
Fans and old friends filed into the Reed Green Coliseum on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi, and McNair’s family rented buses to haul in most of the people from his hometown of Mount Olive. Not far away sat men who competed against McNair or coached him on the field.
The high school football team McNair’s son plays on wore their jerseys in honor of the man they often saw smiling from the sidelines.
“Mississippi has lost a tremendous legend,” said Cardell Jones, McNair’s college coach at Alcorn State.
The hearse carrying McNair’s silvery-gray casket was escorted 30 miles down Highway 49 by nine police officers on motorcycles and several vehicles carrying family members. After the two-hour service, the procession headed back down that road to Mount Olive for a private burial.
Police escorted McNair’s wife, Mechelle, and his mother, Lucille, into the stadium beforehand. Near the end, a handful of people surrounded his mother and his sons, waving them with fans and programs and giving hugs.
Brett Favre, who had a home near McNair’s here in Hattiesburg, sat a few rows behind the McNair family but did not speak. Titans coach Jeff Fisher, Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis and Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler attended. Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl, also was on hand.
Young was added to the service late, and the quarterback drafted by Tennessee in 2006 to replace McNair remembered him as a father and mentor. Young said he felt selfish at times taking McNair away from his four sons to help him through his own life.
He then pointed at the Oak Grove High football team sitting in the stands and told them not to give up if they have someone that inspires them.
“Pay attention to that guy because every day you know I had to hear that guy’s voice,” Young said.
Lewis played against McNair and was his teammate the final two years of his NFL career. Lewis said he learned studying film and proper technique wouldn’t help him beat a quarterback fueled by will, heart and sacrifice.
“I find myself in awe when I speak about a man like Steve McNair,” Lewis said.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was among those who sent flowers. Titans owner Bud Adams attended a memorial service Thursday night in Nashville, where thousands more attended. Fisher was called up to speak from the audience, and he pulled Young over on the podium and led the audience in the Lord’s Prayer just as he did during 11 seasons with McNair before every kickoff.
Bobby Hamilton, who played at Southern Miss and in the NFL with New England and Oakland, used to sleep on the floor of McNair’s oldest brother, Fred, when he played at Alcorn State. He also cheered on McNair during his career and recalled how McNair rallied Alcorn State once by scoring two touchdowns with less than a minute left.
“It’s very painful. We know he was a warrior. … I can’t even say the word how this warrior went down,” an emotional Hamilton said.
The program included memories from McNair’s mother, his wife and sons, brothers, and nieces and nephews. Photos were also displayed of the quarterback who played 13 NFL seasons with Tennessee and Baltimore before retiring in 2008.
Coach Nevil Barr brought the jersey-clad Oak Grove team to the service. Steve McNair Jr. attends Oak Grove, and his father joined Favre at a summer workout two weeks ago to play catch with the kids.
“He was on our sideline every Friday night supporting his son,” Barr said. “He loved to come watch Steve Jr., and we loved having him there. He always had that smile.”
Deloris Cagins of nearby Columbia wore the purple and gold of McNair’s alma mater, Alcorn State, and had a pompom tied to her walker. She has relatives who eventually joined her beloved Braves, where McNair made a Heisman Trophy run and set a number of NCAA Division I-AA records before going third overall in the NFL draft in 1995 to the then-Houston Oilers.
“Alcornites to me are a different breed of people,” she said. “It’s like a family. If you do something, we’ll support you.”
Source: AP
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This is a very sad and humiliating indigently to both families. On your grave marker there are a few things that will appear and never change, your name, date of birth, the dash “-”, and the date you expire. The dash is everything that has transpired in your life until the date you die. I just hate that worst possible thing that could to have happened in these people life happened at the point of no recovery, the date they expired. As far as his wife she is suffering the loss of a husband, friend, children’s father and she has a range of emotions going through her at this time that will range from anger, to embarrassment, to grief and she will have to deal with them in her own way. Her children can will always know “Daddy” and they will recall the good times. His mother, God Bless her, she has wrestle with the hurt of losing a child and endure the awful statements in the press. If she has ever been cheated on in her life she will understand the emotionless looks his wife will have at times. She will understand the rage she will have. I pray that God will send them a comforter and have them to lean to each other for strength and support. For the family of the shooter. My heart goes out to you all as well. No one would want the final memories of their love one to be what is described in the media. I pray Godspeed to you all as well. This is a PSA for anyone involved in affairs, most people involved in flings are in it for the thrill not for more commitment. If you want a thrill ride this may work for you because it is short term, but if you are looking for a Sunday drive, sightseeing tour type of ride cheating is not for you. Marriage is the safety net or parachute for the adventure seeking person and the other woman or man is tightrope or balance beam or free fall. No one stays on the balance beam or tightrope long, nor does the jump from the plane last long. The parachute always opens and the safety net is always there. Who do you know ever says “take that safety net away or I am jumping without my parachute today”. It just doesn’t happen often. Every so often a David Blain comes along but that too is an illusion. “Now what do you want the dash between your birth and death date to reflect”. Peace and Grace to All.
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[...] Steve Mcnair Funeral PhotosMississippi Remembers Steve McNair At Funeral (Photos). Posted By: gospelnewswire; 2 Comments… What do you have to say? July 11, 2009 – Titans quarterback Vince Young didn’t expect to speak Saturday during his mentor’s funeral. … Read more [...]
Steve McNair will definitely be missed, I just hope that his wife will be alright. I really feel bad for her the most.
I would like to know what makes a man think that a younger girl is the answer to his problems. Guess what that incident is proof that a young woman’s mind, is not strong enough, to put up with all the foolishness, that an older man be putting down. I just hope that this is a wake up call for all the cheaters. Mechelle is such a beautiful woman, and she did not deserve this dis-respect. I can only imagine how she feels. I would be just so humiliated! You know it is one thing for the wife to find out that her man is a cheat. But it is most painful when the whole world knows. I watched his speech when he retired, he said that he was going to be spending time with his family, but naw, he spent night after night with that tramp! My grandmother said years ago, if you lie, you will steal, and if you steal you will kill, and I would like to add another verse, or you maybe killed, by the one you choose to have an affair with. All that deciet, taking that hefer on vacations that you should have taken your wife. When was the last time that he went home to spend time with the wife and kids? I get mad everytime I think about it. I married a man years ago that was a cheat and abusive. He tried every way he could to get me back, and I refused. I told him no, and that although his claim was that he had changed, I politely told him that he would have to practice his new habits on someone else. I had not changed because he did not like the way I answered questions. So I sugguested that he find someone to talk to him the way he likes it. Now I decided that this time, I will wait on the Lord to send me a husband and I pray Mechelle with do the same. May the Lord Bless Mechelle and her family, take good care of the boy’s, to be honest you are probably use to raising them alone. If he had been home with his wife and family the holiday weekend, like he was suppose to be, this may have never happened. I am not here to question God’s calling. I know God would have spared his life if he had not cheated on his beautiful wife. Steve McNair, obviously did not know the rule, that Black don’t crack, she will be beautiful for the rest of her life.
My heart goes out to the entire McNair family. What a tragic loss, and I pray that it will be a sober warning to straying spouses. Before you cheat, think of the legacy and pain you will leave behind. My prayers are with his wife, children, and mother.