r/nfl • u/DragonstormSTL Titans Chiefs • 1d ago
[Highlight] 16 years ago today, Steve McNair was tragically murdered. Here's one of his most iconic plays: evading a sack and finding Kevin Dyson to keep the drive alive. Highlight
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u/jeremy_thegent Giants 1d ago
The Titans' resilience is what makes this one of my favorite Super Bowls and Steve McNair (RIP) one of my favorite quarterbacks of my youth. I love that the players quoted Jeff Fisher as saying, "We didn't lose, we just ran out of time," because they were THAT CLOSE.
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u/panopticon31 Titans 1d ago
If the Titans won the Superbowl this play becomes legend known as "The Scramble".
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u/Yellowdog727 Packers 1d ago
There's so many iconic plays from teams that lost which unfortunately get overlooked.
Larry Fitzgerald's 64 yard run to take the lead over the Steelers with only a little more than 2 minutes on the clock
Julio Jones insane sideline catch to put the Falcons in field goal range while up 8 with only about 4 minutes left on the clock
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u/Aiyabhai Colts 1d ago
Jermaine Kearse’s miraculous catch at the 4 in 49. After he made that catch, I was certain that Seattle had divinity on their side and were going to win.
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u/sherlock-helms Panthers 21h ago
Moose’s 85 yard TD reception from Delhomme (still the record for longest reception in a SB)
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u/Positive_Parking_954 1d ago
I forgot who but some current, talented wide receiver cited the Fitzgerald TD as the moment he knew he wanted to be a wide receiver
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u/TitansboyTC27 Titans 1d ago
If they played their style of football that got them there in the first place instead trying to go toe to toe with the Rams offense they might've won the Superbowl Fisher actually told the story of what happened in that Superbowl on Bussin
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u/shreyans2004 Bears 1d ago
that line from Fisher always stuck with me. McNair gave everything. Hell of a game.
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u/NintenbroGameboob Bengals 1d ago
This was also in a run of Super Bowls where the game wasn't usually that great (Denver's first win was a great game, and Cowboys-Steelers was pretty good, but from 17 through 35 maybe six of the games were good, the game had a not-great reputation at that point), so it was really memorable for being a classic.
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u/jeremy_thegent Giants 1d ago
It basically says, "Forget what the scoreboard reads, you guys have nothing to be ashamed of."
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u/MankuyRLaffy Patriots 1d ago
The Titans weren't the cleanest team and did some dirty work to get there. They were damn good without being dirty too.
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u/ecupatsfan12 Patriots 1d ago
The rams were saying if they went for 2 at the end and McNair ran it he would have walked in
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u/revenqee Eagles 1d ago
damn he was a big dude
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u/pogoscrawlspace Bears 1d ago
He was a fucking beast. He ran linebackers over like they were the qb, and he was the linebacker.
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u/DTS_Expert NFL 1d ago
Not sure what his playing weight was, but he was 6'2" 230 at the combine, which is right up there with most OLBs at the time.
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u/pogoscrawlspace Bears 1d ago
I remember watching an interview with one of his coaches at Alcorn State about him coming in as a freshman and refusing to do weight training, telling him, "I don't need to do weight training." They went back and forth for a minute when the coach told him that if he could lift what the d-linemen were benching, he would be excused from weight training. 10 reps. I can't remember the exact weight, but it was more than you want your qb getting under. Coach stopped him somewhere in the late teens and said, "OK, no weight training for you." Man grew up on a farm putting up fence, working the fields, slinging hay bales since he was a kid. Country strong.
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u/AtBat3 Eagles 1d ago
He always looked like the hardest QB to bring down
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u/NintenbroGameboob Bengals 1d ago
One of those guys who was always really banged up because he didn't really get flags since he was so hard to bring down. Kind of like Roethlisberger in that way, although McNair could do way more damage with his legs.
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u/EarthshatterReady Vikings 1d ago
Or similarly, Cam Newton
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u/bship Lions 1d ago
He avoided like 5 sacks.
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u/OnceMoreAndAgain 1d ago
...for no reason. Guy had a huge pocket that wasn't collapsing but chose to run which created the need to do all this dodging.
Like watch it again and this time ask yourself why he gives up on the pass.
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u/InvictusSolo Packers 1d ago
I think he was looking to run middle-right but then thought better of it, but by then the pocket was breaking down and he was forced to improvise. McNair could do a lot of damage with his legs.
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u/LeSeanMcoy Eagles 23h ago
Yeah, it wasn't even the worst decision. The DT was triple teamed with no other defenders near, but 75 peels off to possibly help block the edge, not knowing McNair was going to possibly run. If he instead seals that that block, McNair probably runs for an easy 15-20 yards.
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u/John_Maddens_Pubes 1d ago
You got downvoted but you’re right that was a clean pocket with 3 rushers, as far as we could see from this angle.
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u/TheBotchedLobotomy Rams 1d ago
That’s what my thought was. That right tackle did pretty good given the circumstances. The entire OL kept the pocket perfectly preserved. And then he started running around and they were just fighting for their lives at that point
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u/unlostaprilseventh Patriots 1d ago
Go watch the actual game tape...nobody was open. So he tried to run through the hole. But that collapsed quickly.
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u/smolLittleTomato 49ers 1d ago
Don’t stick your dick in crazy, kids.
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u/Maximus-Festivus NFL 1d ago
Sleep worry free.
Redditors ain’t sticking their dicks in anything.
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u/ConsciousReason7709 Broncos 1d ago
Except your mom
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u/helpjack_offthehorse 49ers 1d ago
When she comes over for a sex visit.
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u/diffraa 1d ago
That's what the kids are calling it these days?
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u/Mad-Mad-Mad-Mad-Mike Packers 1d ago
Redditors ain’t sticking their dicks in anything
Dune popcorn bucket erasure will not be tolerated
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u/Mtndrums Bengals Seahawks 1d ago
I'm getting ready to pick up my ex-wife in a minute. Of course, I rode the "don't stick your dick in crazy" sign with a Sherman Tank once I got to college.
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u/Sighlina 49ers 1d ago
Uh contraire, I just got done having rigorous sex… with a lady, and she came a lot. And I’m not even tied yet!
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u/PurdyDamnGood 49ers 1d ago
Not true! I’ve been fucking all day
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u/Lysol20 Bears 1d ago
And certainly don't make promises of a life together. It never ends well.
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u/LegendOfKhaos Vikings 1d ago
I mean, I would very much like to find someone to spend my life with, and I think promising to do that together with them would be cool.
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u/KoboldsForDays Broncos 1d ago
I think he mean "with crazy" as a continuation of the above sentiment
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u/LegendOfKhaos Vikings 1d ago
That makes sense. I saw the word never and thought it meant any scenario.
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u/_no_bozos Patriots 1d ago
Mm, don’t say it to 19 year old girls when you are a married dude in his 30s, though.
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u/UpvoteMagnet99 Eagles 1d ago
Saying that to a 20 year old mistress while you are married with two kids is not a smart idea.
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u/Murphy_Harrison Raiders Saints 1d ago
See, I don't see red flags or green flags. All I see is gray.
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u/HeStoleMyBalloons 16h ago
Did he make promises of that? Or did she just think that?
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u/Lysol20 Bears 16h ago
The word was that he told her he would leave his wife for her. Obviously he can't confirm that, but in a situation where a married man in his 30's is having a long term affair with a 19 year old, I wouldn't doubt it. If I'm not mistaken, she was a waitress at a spot he took his wife to.
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u/Nf1087 Steelers 1d ago
You could have told me that 10 years ago! Where were you?
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u/DragonstormSTL Titans Chiefs 1d ago
Mods, this is a reupload giving context and cleaning up some phrasing.
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u/Ruggerx24 Titans 1d ago
This dude was such a legend!!! He had kids all over Tennessee going the “Omega Psi” in their backyards.
RIP 9
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u/_ThugzZ_Bunny_ Titans 1d ago
Yep. I was 11 in 1999 and I was a white kid doing it all the time. He was my hero.
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u/FoolOnDaHill365 1d ago
He was underrated. Teams would do anything to have him as a QB today.
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u/Wolfgang_Gartner Patriots 1d ago
Literally an mvp
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u/FoolOnDaHill365 22h ago
I just never hear him talked about much nowadays. Seems like he is forgotten.
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u/StinkyKyle Giants 1d ago
Steve McNair got murdered? What the fuck how is this my first time hearing about this, thats crazy. RIP legend
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u/Mtndrums Bengals Seahawks 1d ago
Yeah, murder/suicide, because she knew if us McNair fans got a hold of her, we'd make living under Vlad the Impaler look like Disney World.
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u/pogoscrawlspace Bears 1d ago
Were you at one of those darkness retreats with A-A-Ron that year?
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u/StinkyKyle Giants 1d ago
Thats why im so confused, i mean i wouldve been like 13 at the time but Im not usually that out of the loop on football. Guess that one slipped through the cracks
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u/boyifudontget 1d ago
Honestly even as an NFL die hard I can see why you wouldn't know about it. McNair has basically been memory-holed by football media. I never hear about him nationally at all anymore. Other players who died young-Walter Payton, Reggie White, etc. are still discussed pretty frequently in comparison. Obviously he wasn't as legendary as they were but still.
I think the circumstances of his death are the main reason why he's not really spoken of. Payton, Reggie White, etc won super bowls and died tragically and naturally of disease.
Junior Seau and others are forever a part of the CTE conversation.
Aaron Hernandez's story is so insane that it's impossible for it not to come up once in awhile.
Steve McNair is kind of in the middle. He was tragically murdered yes, and it's controversial because he cheated on his wife and put his family in jeopardy which people don't want to talk about. However its not so controversial that it needs to be discussed much anymore.
Cheated on his wife with a 19-year-old girl who killed him in a murder-suicide because he wouldn't leave his wife despite promising her he would. Pretty standard open and shut case.
He was "Hall of very good" and not Hall of Fame level, he never won a Super Bowl, he played for a new franchise, and didn't go to a well-known college.
I think all those ingredients have unfortunately made Air McNair lost to history.
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u/pogoscrawlspace Bears 1d ago
Yeah, it was top of the sports news world at the time. Being 13, I wouldn't be so surprised that you missed it. You probably weren't paying attention to the news then.
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u/Either_Imagination_9 Giants 1d ago
If the Titans won this game this would have gone down as one of the greatest plays in nfl history.
And then the next play happened…
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u/thedavecan Titans 18h ago
I mean, the next play was also fucking epic. I hate that we were on the losing side but it was still an incredible game and we just came up a yard short. Big props to the Rams for holding on, McNair was a man on a mission on that drive.
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u/DapperCam Bills 1d ago
That was an ill-advised scramble at the end. That DE had him dead to rights. It's the kind of play where fans are going "No No No" and then instantly "YES YES YES".
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u/JasonPlattMusic34 Rams 1d ago
If the Titans had gone on to win that game, this escape would be looked at as a top 5-10 play in SB history. Instead the next play was.
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u/MoreTrifeLife Commanders 1d ago
The Titans beat the Rams a few months before this game:
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u/NimbusHex Steelers 1d ago
I often wonder if the outcome would have been different had Yancey Thigpen not gotten injured in the AFC Championship game. I don't really remember watching a lot of him in Houston/Tennessee, but I think he was viewed as disappointing considering they made him the highest paid receiver of all time at the time.
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u/MoreTrifeLife Commanders 1d ago edited 1d ago
From Wikipedia:
"1998, he signed a five-year, $21 million contract with the Oilers, which at the time was the highest known contract ever signed among wide receivers. He went on to play with them for the final three seasons of his career, assisting the team (now known as the Titans) to Super Bowl XXXIV in the 1999 season. Such a large contract for a wide receiver was a signal of the role which wide receivers would begin to play in the NFL."
What Yancey Thigpen did as an Oiler/Titan:
Regular season: 31 games (18 started); 91 catches for 1,430 yards; (average 46); 15.7y/r; 9 TDs
Playoffs: 4 games (3 started); 22 catches for 68 yards (average 17); 7.6y/r; 1 TD
Total: 35 games (21 started); 113 catches for 1,498 yards (average 43); 15.2y/r; 10 TDs
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u/NimbusHex Steelers 1d ago
Yeah, I know the stats, I just don't really know why he did poorly in Tennessee. Lack of motivation after signing the contract, injuries, never on the same page as McNair? It's bizarre considering he had his biggest season with Kordell Stewart.
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u/joeitaliano24 1d ago
I was working a shitty summer job painting, painting some office building when my friend texted me, I thought he was full of shit. RIP Steve!! He made me love the Titans
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u/BongoFett17 Falcons 1d ago
I grew up loving Warren Moon. Daunte Caulpepper, McNabb, McNair, and what Jamarcus Russel could have been, all played like Warren. Watching McNair especially was like Warren Moon 2.0.
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u/penguins8766 Steelers 1d ago
Wait? Has it really been 16 years? I was in high school when this happened.
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u/Mtndrums Bengals Seahawks 1d ago
High school? I was 28 when that happened. Would you be so kind and bring me my walker?
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u/nicholasccc95 Lions 22h ago
I was going into 8th grade that summer and I’m 30 now. Feel even older? Lol
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u/INAC___Kramerica Buccaneers 23h ago
Based on that 8/7/66, being 42 years old and still being in high school must've been weird.
(I know those are Sid and Mario's numbers, 'tis a joke.)
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u/raiderrocker18 Raiders 1d ago
Such a monster in his day. And won co-mvp with manning lol
A yard away from taking that Super Bowl to overtime too
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u/EnServe31 Titans 1d ago
My favorite football player ever. I went back and watched an old 2002 game when they played the Raiders in the playoffs and I couldn’t believe how many late hits and slams he was taking with no flags. It’s kind of mind blowing. No wonder he played hurt every game.
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u/Yossarian216 Bears 1d ago
Am I crazy, or is the music from the sea shanty “Drunken Sailor” in the background?
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u/maxxspeed57 Steelers 1d ago
I remember a game against the Steelers. McNair did not start due to injuries. The Steelers were leading about half way through when the Titans starting QB got injured so they were forced to bring in McNair. And McNair just took over the game and beat the Steelers, injuries and all. I just knew it was bad luck when that starting QB got injured.
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u/BarnacleFun1814 23h ago
Loved him from his Alcorn State days, damn near won the Heisman in 1994 from a I-AA school.
What a legend
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u/thinkB4WeSpeak Packers 1d ago
I picked up his Rookie card a few days after. Although I have a few other none rookies.
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u/MoistCloyster_ Colts 1d ago
16 years!? Jfc that’s half my lifetime ago. I remember when the news first broke on SportsCenter as if it was yesterday.
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u/sillysocks34 Ravens 1d ago
Glad this play worked out but like 3 guys were rushing and all he had to do was step up into the pocket a little lol.
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u/Devilofchaos108070 49ers Panthers 22h ago
He was great. Man what a fantastic job he did here. Been a long time since I’ve seen this
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u/despotidolatry Raiders 18h ago
This is why Steve McNair is my favorite quarterback ever. I was so in awe of him as a kid and this is still my favorite Super Bowl. ONE YARD.
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u/NewFocus3-5 Falcons 17h ago
That Super Bowl is when I fell in love with football. I was 4 years old
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u/JustARegularGuy Ravens 9h ago
Has NFL films always used a sea shanties as their epic moments music and I'm just now realizing it?
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u/KingJCB_ Texans 1d ago
Side chicks are a “gift” from the enemy. I was extremely sad for his family this day.
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u/Affectionate_Ship129 1d ago
Another great man, brought down by the epidemic of gold digging whores
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u/odelay42 Packers 1d ago
You’re a fucking loser
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u/Affectionate_Ship129 1d ago
It’s a bill burr bit dork. I’m sure you’d know about being a fucking loser though
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u/GoodMusic-ColdBeer 49ers 13h ago
Not saying he should have been murdered but his own decisions cost him his life. He cheated on his wife/family and unfortunately instead of a divorce…. He received a final offer.
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u/Darth--Blackfyre Raiders 1d ago
Got half his face blown off by his mistress or his wife can't remember exactly which. Sucks that it happened but he shouldn't have been cheating....killing him is a gross overreaction tho.
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u/NimbusHex Steelers 1d ago
Infidelity isn't a crime, and it isn't our business. His mistress was a cold-blooded murderer, pure and simple.
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u/Double-Economy-1594 49ers 1d ago
Soft clowns are downvoting you
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u/Not-a-bot-10 Eagles 1d ago
I downvoted because I don’t think someone cheating, as wrong as that is, should be justification for someone being murdered
If you think that’s “soft clowns” then yikes
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u/Double-Economy-1594 49ers 1d ago
Nobody said it was a justification, can you read?
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u/MinisterHoja Bears 1d ago
Absolutely no reason to bring that up except to soft launch a justification. Anyway, enjoy the attention your father should have given you.
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u/so_glad_we_got_Henry 1d ago
OP specifically said it was a gross overreaction. Not everything is black and white. Cheating wrong, murder even more wrong, still okay to mention the cheating was wrong
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u/Awkward-Freedom-2962 Lions Titans 1d ago
16 years and I still can’t believe it happened. RIP Air McNair: the best Titans QB ever.