Would You Want To Be Remembered Like This?

I recently saw an ad campaign that shows a series of obituaries. One died a military hero. One was a fireman who died in the line of duty. Another died of natural causes, but was a great dad. The last one was "electrocuted while trying to steal copper." Then the tag line says "How would you like to be remembered?"

I remember learning who Steve McNair was. My family and I lived in Mississippi for 2 years - 1993-95 - the same 2 years that McNair rose to national prominence playing quarterback at Alcorn State University. "Air McNair," as he was known in those days, was a household word. It was no surprise, after his stellar career, that McNair would go in the NFL draft. In fact, he was drafted the number 3 pick overall in the 1995 draft by the Houston Oilers, who went on to become the Tennessee Titans. He was the local boy who made good. He could play everything, but seemed to excel playing football. He retired last year after a star-studded 12-year NFL career with a good name and the respect of his colleages and fans from all over the country. If only that was the end of the story.

In the days since the story broke regarding the murder of Steve McNair, that silly ad about the copper thief has come to mind again and again. There was no way McNair saw this coming. How could he? He had only been carrying on like this for just a few months. Reports say that he had been seen at the condo so often that neighbors thought he lived there. The fact that he could carry on such a complete double life, as has been revealed in news reports, is nothing short of amazing. But as each new tidbit of info is leaked into the press, the story becomes more pathetic - kind of like the guy in the ad. Make no mistake, the REAL victims here are McNair's wife and children, and maybe some of his extended family. One has to wonder how many may have known that any of this was going on. What of his numerous "friends?" Whatever the case, I know neither the man in the ad nor Steve McNair ever imagined that things would come to such an end. But, here it is, something noone could have imagined, playing out in front of us like a bad script. It is only a matter of time before the next bit of sordid info to hits the wire. When it does, it brings with it the kind of mess that will not clean up in a thousand lifetimes.

All the stories I've read and heard in the press are about McNair, the football player, or McNair, the philanthropist, or even McNair, the family man. But, unfortunately we are learning the the real story about Steve McNair without the benefit of hearing from McNair himself. I know, if given the opportunity, he could probably offer no good explanation for his behavior over the past several months. I'm sure he would like to try. But, I know for an absolute certainty that Steve McNair definitely would not have wanted to be remembered for anything like this.