Teammates remember McNair

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The hit Steve McNair took to his chest in September 2000 had the NFL quarterback ready to quit the game that caused him so much pain, so much that he spent a bye weekend with the team’s former chaplain in Houston. Then McNair, who struggled to breathe, watched his backup knocked out of the Titans’ next game.

“He turned and looked at me and winked,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher recalled Thursday night at a memorial service for the slain quarterback. “He grabbed a ball, threw it twice and ran on the field. Four plays later, he throws a touchdown pass to Erron Kinney and we win by three points.”

Fisher said he caught up to McNair walking off the field that day in Pittsburgh and started to talk when the quarterback interrupted and pointed to the sky.

“No more turf toe, no more sacks. No more shoulder problems, and no more interceptions, only touchdown passes. I’m going to miss you No. 9,” Fisher said.

McNair’s family, friends, former teammates and coaches gathered Thursday night along with thousands of fans to remember his accomplishments on and off the field.

Ravens receiver Derrick Mason, who played with McNair in both Tennessee and Baltimore, called the loss heartbreaking before the service. During the service, he called McNair’s wife, Mechelle, a woman who loved the quarterback until his final day.

Fans lined up starting Thursday morning to view McNair’s closed silvery-gray casket at a funeral home and later outside the church. A helicopter provided live TV footage as McNair’s body was moved by hearse, and three of four local TV stations showed the memorial service live.

McNair’s casket was on display at Mount Zion, where he had attended services since moving to Nashville in 1997. It was flanked by a large photo of him posing with his 2003 NFL MVP award on the right and another of him holding a football on the left.

McNair, who was married, was shot to death at his condo early Saturday by his 20-year-old girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, who then turned the gun on herself. Police said her life was spinning out of control. But that wasn’t how those who knew him chose to remember him.

Bishop James W. Walker III opened the service by calling McNair one of Nashville’s own.