"You wear grief as a badge of how well you loved, grief is an expression that you loved well." - Elizabeth Lesser
Our whole city is grieving. Grieving like never before. We lost a Titan. THE Titan. The Ultimate. The mammoth warrior Steve McNair and it is such a huge loss. We are grieving here in Tennessee and the world over.
It was hard not to love him. Nearly impossible. With a smile and attitude so radiant it could warm the most glacier like football fan's on the coldest of game day's. He grinned and the glow from those pearly whites lit up the entire vicinity in which he stood. I think that's how he stole our heart's from the beginning. That smile. A winners smile. There was also his love of community, people and the kids. His graciousness in giving back. All of it was heartfelt and he made it look effortless. He was a true giver. Then of course there was his ability on the field. I had never been so mesmerized by a football player. Never really watched much football before the time the Titans and Steve came to town. Steve McNair was the first quarterback, first player, I ever really watched intently. Perhaps it interested me because just a few months prior to the Titans coming to town I had my first son and I just instinctively gravitated towards what I thought or knew my boy would someday be interested in. Football and the centerpiece of football. The quarterback.
Steve holding Austin at 6 months old. I think he said something like it was good practice for him since his wife was soon expecting they're first son. I think Keith also told Steve to try not to "pass" Austin if he could help it. We all laughed. It was a good day.
Perhaps it was because the NFL had come to my town and I felt an certain connection or ownership to the organization and I thought of him as my quarterback.
Titans Superbowl parade. Downtown Nashville. We were excited!
Perhaps it's a combination of all of these things but more than anything now I think it was more about who he was personally and the way he played the game.
Watching Steve McNair and the Titans preseason practices at TSU before they had they're own practice facilities. First season they came to town. Here Eddie George and Kevin Dyson are taking a breather and being interviewed before they signed autographs.
I remember most of all loving the moments when he would be in a tough spot and had to run the ball. The scramble, the determination, the tenacity, the skill and ultimately the victory. The heart. He had it and a lot of it. That is what we loved so much about him and that is why we hurt so much today. We loved him well.
He was the beauty of life in motion. He won us over with the love he had for us. Love of his family, friends and fans. He did what he did on that field for the people he loved and he did it in a way that showed us just how much he loved us. He loved us well also. All of Tennessee will be forever grateful for that. It's said that gratitude is the heart's memory. I, one solitary fan am grateful for his time with us and that we had the chance to love and know him. I know I forever will be grateful for that. We will miss him much. In our hearts he will forever be our beloved #9.
All my prayers and thoughts are with his boys, family and loved ones. May they find peace through all of this.
Over and out.
The Sideline Mom
Comments