Steve "AIR" McNair, A Fallen Soldier!!!

I have been really hesitant to write this blog but I feel like I have to. On the fourth of July 2009 I lost a fellow soldier, a fellow teammate and a friend... Steve McNair. Steve you will be deeply missed bro... All I know when it comes to Steve McNair are Good Things!!! I have nothing bad to say! I cannot imagine anyone wanting to take his life. This whole thing comes as a huge shock to me. When I heard the news I was sitting in my living room packing with my wife!!! My phone started ringing off the hook with text messages and phone calls from reporters and friends around the league. I just could not stomach that this was true. I had just gotten back from Florida at the Rookie Symposium and this was the last thing I needed to hear. The two years you gave us here in Baltimore were two that I will never forget. We had one winning season and one losing season... But those two years were two of the best I have ever experienced. We had a lot of ups and downs as a team!!! In those two seasons you showed me exactly what a leader should be like. You led this team/ offense into battle every week with confidence, not with a lot of words but with your actions. In your 2 years here there was so much excitement amongst the team. We felt as though we had everything we needed now. All we were missing was just one more fighter. We knew we were headed to the Super Bowl because we were getting one of the best quarter backs to ever play the game. You showed us just how important that position is to a team!!! Before you we fell on our face 3 years in a row... with you we went 13 and 3!! All I keep seeing is your smile. All I keep hearing is your voice saying "Hey Buddy". You have always showed an undrafted free agent from App State so much love. Thank you for the many locker room talks about life, family, football and finances!!! Thank you for making me a better player, a smarter player and a better man... Thank you for so many great memories on and off the football field!!! Thank you for an opportunity to dream. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see the city of Baltimore come alive!!! If it wasn't for you I would of never seen this city painted purple!!! I know it takes a whole team to win games... Yes I know this, all I'm saying is that you were that missing link that we needed!!! I remember you saying that the city of Baltimore made you feel like you had been drafted all over again!!! Well you had me playing football like my old self again!!! Thank You!!! Thank you for being a friend! Thank you for being a class act!!! Thank you my brother for everything. You did so much for the communities in Baltimore while you were here and so much for the communities of Tennessee while you were on this earth. I had a chance to play with one of the best QB's of all time! "Steve from the bottom of my heart you will be missed..." Another athlete, man, father, husband, son, cousin, brother, uncle taken too soon. My prayers go out to his entire family!!! Samari Rolle, Derrick Mason, Ray Lewis, are all some of Steve's closest friends... "Morn him My brothers, remember him as we all knew him smiling and full of spirit!!! May the Lord embrace you with open arms!!! Rest In Peace My Friend"....

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• DanielWilcox said July 06, 2009

  This is a Picture of me catching Steve's 1st touchdown pass as a Baltimore Raven... I still have this Ball... He gave me a chance to shine when it mattered to me the most!!! he brought best out of all of us!!!

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  • rochonda16 replied July 06, 2009

    rip he was a aall around great person
• DanielWilcox said July 06, 2009

  

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  • khollen replied July 06, 2009

    great catch.
  • Beautifuleyes replied July 07, 2009

    just remember that we had him for as long as god wanted us to.... He will be MISSED greatly by all that knew him... To all my yardbarker and Raven family and fans take the time to love your love ones because tomorrow is not promise to anyone. God never said how or when but he did say that it will pass.... Tell someone that you love...I LOVE YOU....... JUST LIKE I'M SAYING TO YOU
• SportsSteve said July 06, 2009

  I will miss Steve McNair very much he was a great guy and great firend.
  Steve was taken from us way too soon.
  
  May Steve McNair Rest In Peace and my God Bless Him and His Family.
  
  RIP Steve

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• khollen said July 06, 2009

  i was shocked to hear this. my thoughts and prayers go out to his immidiate family and also his football family. very nicely written.

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• Ravenman1376 said July 06, 2009

  thanks Dan...well said!

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• CarlMannJ said July 06, 2009

  Great blog!!! The world needs to know postive and god fearing people still exist... Steve may the lord bless you and guide you in to eternal peace

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• SportsSteve said July 06, 2009

  

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  • mitressehc replied July 06, 2009

    He did have the city bleeding purple. His death has really hit home with me.
• mitressehc said July 06, 2009

  Nice tribute Daniel. I have been following Steve since his days at Alcorn and have seen him play his Senior year against JSU. Man, was that guy a great college player who's game translated so well into the pros. He was indeed a class act. I also was living in B-more when the Ravens picked him up and just knew he was going to do good things here. I felt like his time was cut short due to his nagging injuries, but he seemed like he was feeling pretty good about retirement. I am truly saddened to see him go and my prayers are with him and his family. R.I.P. Steve, you will be missed.

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• Betsy4259 said July 06, 2009

  Well said Daniel- he was a stand up guy, and well loved by everyone here in Baltimore and in Tennessee, I am grateful for him coming here and giving us a real chance to see what the Raven's could do. RIP Air McNair- we will surely miss you. Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

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• Traybay said July 06, 2009

  Wow....great post!!! I am greatly saddened by this tragedy!!! McNair was one of the greatest quarterbacks that played. He was a great man...I am praying for his family and for all those who are greatly affected by this.

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• tommymac14 said July 06, 2009

  Nice Post Daniel !!! Im sure that catch is a moment you will cherish for the rest of your life! Trust me when I say this as a fan, nobody is gonna forget Steve Air McNair, he has done to much for the game! A great player, one of the toughest to ever play the game, exspecially the quarterback position. Raise your game for him, I am sure he would sppreciate it! Tommy Mac PHilly Holla!

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• hockeychick23 said July 06, 2009

  Very great post. Brought tears to me eyes. Rest in Peace Steve McNair. You will be missed greatly. My prayers and thoughts are with his family and friends.

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• hockeygoddess said July 07, 2009

  He didn't deserve to die for making a mistake - everyone makes mistakes. RIP Steve. Great post Daniel - you knew him - remember all the good things and ignore what others who didn't know him are saying!

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  • hockeygoddess replied July 07, 2009

    I would kick them in the nuts!! (If they have any)
  • khollen replied July 07, 2009

    i doubt they do.
• mdbirdlover said July 07, 2009

  This is a beautiful piece Daniel.
  
  RIP Steve.

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• sdhamil said July 07, 2009

  my heart and all my love goes out to his family,friends, team mates and all that loved him,may god be with you and bless you, and may you always remember the good times you had with him.( R.I.P STEVE)

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• christigirl3 said July 07, 2009

  Do you know if Steve was a Christian? I pray that his friends and family can take comfort in seeing him again in heaven.

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• teriinchester said July 08, 2009

  If he had been home with his wife and kids instead of screwing some 20 year-old, he'd still be alive. The only people I feel sorry for are his wife and kids.

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  • khollen replied July 08, 2009

    he is human, he made a mistake and payed the ultimate price. give him a break.
• jasonpaul said July 08, 2009

  Im sorry for the loss of mcnair, but to call him a soldier?? Especially during our current involvement with Afghanistan and Iraq, Steve Mcnair was a good football player, NOT A SOLDIER.

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  • khollen replied July 08, 2009

    it means soldier on the field, i never saw a qb play through as much pain as he did.
• DanielWilcox said July 08, 2009

  I just want To thank all you guys for your support and your kind words... everyone will have there opinion and will say things!!! good or bad!!! and in the long run thats okay!!! God Bless!!! I've learned a lot in my 32 years of life and if I don't no nothing else I know that God don't like ugly... Do onto others as you want others to do onto you!!! Steve was a good friend of mine and if i don't know his relationship status how do you???

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  • khollen replied July 08, 2009

    very well said.
• DanielWilcox said July 08, 2009

  and how come people that always have ignorant stuff to say never use their real name or have a picture of themselves!!! man up!!! He was a Soldier to me... I been to Afghanistan have you??? exactly... HE's a Soldier on the football field because In our world a football game is like going to war!!! its used as a figure of speech!!! And i feel sorry for his family too because they lost a friend, husband, father, brother uncle, cousin, a loved one... and that hurts no matter what he was doing when he got killed!!!! It Hurts!!!

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  • khollen replied July 08, 2009

    you don`t need to explain yourself to them, they aren`t worth it.
  • Traybay replied July 08, 2009

    Well said....and I am just wondering....are you suppose to be a motivational speaker or a preacher of some sort cause you are using this YARD as your pulpit and I am loving it!!! I am just wondering......LOL
    
    And I am utterly frustrated with some of these peoples comments....SMH!! I am sorry you had to read some of this stuff while grieving the loss of a dear friend!!!
  • khollen replied July 08, 2009

    i agree 100% with you traybay.
• DanielWilcox said July 09, 2009

  smiling hard... thank you guys i just don't understand peoples minds at time... there's a time and place for everything... some people are just rude!!! LOL!!! you guys keep me smiling thats for sure!!!

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  • khollen replied July 09, 2009

    keep smiling.
• hockeygoddess said July 09, 2009

  Keep smiling - you're one of the good guys Daniel - and remember your friend and all the good times - nobody can erase those memories! It doesn't matter what other people say, it's how a person treats you that counts. If you lived near me - I'd bring over my homemade blueberry pie and my homegrown mint tea for you and your wife. I'm sure with all the packing, iced tea would be pretty refreshing!

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• JKuentzler said July 12, 2009

  He's not a freakin soldier, a soldier doesn't make millions to play a GAME... i'm in the military and it's a slap in the face to compare a freaking GAME PLAYER to a soldier... I'm rude? i should comment somewhere else? no one else is calling him a soldier but you, so it pretty much means you need to take a comment...BLOGS do that, the publice sees it and then comments on it... NOTHING ANY football player comes close to what we go through, call him a football player, a hall of famer whatever, but not a soldier... there is NO comparison.

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  • Traybay replied July 12, 2009

    Whoa buddy....you are taking everything out of context. Daniel was using the term soldier as a figure of speech...to show how hard and courageous Steve Mc Nair was on the field...as a matter of fact you should thank Daniel for using the word SOLDIER in a postive tone. The word soldier is used amongst many in various areas...a person can be a soldier in the work force in the corporate arena, a soldier in school and as previously stated... A SOLDIER ON THE GRIDIRON...AND YES...your words and comments were rude and uncaused for!!! He at not one point in time compared McNair to a Soldier that in fact serves in any type of service...BUT HE DID IN FACT, compared him to qualities that are withheld by soldiers...and that's the courage, endurance, the fight and leadership that SOME SOLDIERS possess!!! And those are the same QUALITIES McNair possessed out on the field! Jeff your response have been very disrespectful and uncaused for....and RUDE!!! But, I appreciate your participation as being a soldier!!
• JeffMK said July 12, 2009

  He's not a soldier, he makes millions playing a flippin GAME... I'm in the military and it's a slap in the face to have someone that is rolling in cash for playing a GAME a soldier, htere is NO comparison, you say its' RUDE? why because the man is dead? what about all the ACTUAL SOLDIERS that are dead being compared to a football player? There is NOTHING any football player does that compares to what we do.... to call him a soldier is wrong, and disrespectful at the very least.

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  • jjisthetruth replied July 18, 2009

    Feel where your coming from JeffMK but in every arena of life there are different types of soilders and in the world of football, where this comment came from he was certainly one. Always good to try to see anothers view as you will ask that of others of your opinions throughout your own life
• DanielWilcox said July 15, 2009

  get it together Jeff... if thats how u feel thats how u feel... but don't get on yard barker and lie... u say u a soldier i don't believe you!!! soldiers aren't cowards... oh and just in case u didn't know football players have died on this field... soldiers use guns we don't!!! i feel like if this was the Rome days... we are those Gladiators in the Collisium... you know the guys thrown into the Arena to fight infront of thousands of people to entertain them..." whats wrong Jeff are you not entertained???? I've met a lot of good soldiers in my life time, although they had times in their life where they were scared shitless they were still not cowards!!! very brave men... it is my opinion to call the football field the battle field... my team our army of men!!! the game on Sunday a War!!! do u have to agree with me no... i feel like in this business you have to be brave and put ur life on the line every game!!! in this league we are lucky to have a injury thats not life threatening!!! but then again we both know that every blow can be life threatening!!! have a good day!!!

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  • khollen replied July 15, 2009

    very good reply daniel.
• jjisthetruth said July 18, 2009

  May his wife and children have the strength to move past all the terribile things being said and the acts that lead to this tragedy.

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• Dottttttttt said July 20, 2009

  Dan,
  
  Right on, I am a soldier and been one every since i left Decatur high (go Bulldogs #5) I been to Iraq and Afgan, but like dan said there are many diff battlefield and between end zone to end zone is very well a battlefield, even in high school we saw the game as a war, so the bottom line is a war is in the eye of the be holder. Dan hit me up when you get back home, PS...congrad on the wedding(saw it on TV)

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