Steve “Air” McNair was laid to rest in front a couple hundred of his family and friends this past Saturday, but nearly 5,000 turned out to say goodbye at his the funeral services held at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg earlier in the day. Pall bearers included former Tennessee Titan and Baltimore Raven teammates. Speakers included Titans coach Jeff Fisher and quarterback Vince Young and Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.
"Steve was like a hero to me, and heroes are not supposed to die,'' Vince 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''. Other NFL men who competed with and against McNair or coached him on the field also attended, including Eddie George and 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. Steve McNair’s good friend, Brett Favre, who had a home near McNair's in Hattiesburg, sat behind the McNair family. Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to win the Super Bowl, also was on hand.
It was one of the largest funerals in the recent history of Mississippi, McNair's home state. The hearse carrying McNair's casket was escorted the 30 miles down Highway 49 by nine police officers on motorcycles and several vehicles carried family members. Steve McNair's family rented buses to carry in people from his hometown of Mount Olive. After the two-hour service, the procession headed back down the road for the private burial at Griffith Cemetery, about 20 miles from Mount Olive.
The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback will be remembered for being an incredibly hard worker, a dedicated teammate and a true NFL leader. He was selected third overall by the Houston Oilers in the 1995 NFL Draft. As a prolific quarterback at Alcorn State, he shattered Division I-AA records, won the Walter Payton Award, and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting behind Rashaan Salaam and Ki-Jana Carter (who and who). Despite missing two games with an injured calf and ankle during the 2003 season, McNair finished with the best numbers of his career -- including 24 touchdown passes and a quarterback rating of 100.4. McNair and Peyton Manning were named co-NFL MVPs for the season. "Mississippi has lost a tremendous legend,'' said Cardell Jones, McNair's college coach at Alcorn State.
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