Steve McNair

I've been putting off posting anything about Steve McNair, just because the whole situation made me so sad. Generally I'm not a big sports follower, but Steve McNair caught my attention early -- his talent was exceptional, but his determination was even greater. In a New York Times article several years ago, his brother told about what it was like to play on the same college team as Steve McNair. When the game was on the line, sometimes McNair would get so intense, so focused, that his brother would realize that Steve at the time did not even register the presence of his own brother in the huddle. At that moment nothing mattered but playing the game to the utmost of his ability.

Off the field he was basically the opposite, relaxed, polite, even a little shy. Which makes what happened to him all the more shocking. A secret relationship with a lover who eventually crafts a murder/suicide seemed like the last ending possible for Steve McNair. Maybe he was too straightforward a person in some ways to see it coming. Maybe someone less trusting would have walked away sooner. But he did not. He made few errors in judgment on the field--he paid far too high a price for this one off it.

As a reminder that such things are not new, check out the names Billy Jurges and Eddie Waitkus.