Steve McNair, Former Titan, to Host Pep Rally for Ravens

Sick kids trump franchise loyalties.

By BRETT POLLAKOFF

Updated 2:20 AM PST, Fri, Jan 9, 2009

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When NFL fans remember Steve McNair, it's safe to say that just about all of them outside of Baltimore remember him as a Tennessee Titan. McNair played 11 seasons for the Tennessee franchise, taking them to the playoffs nine times and even appearing with them in a Super Bowl. So you'll have to excuse Titans fans if they're a little upset at McNair's choice of charity work, which just happens to be at a pep rally for the team that Tennessee is facing in the playoffs this weekend -- the Baltimore Ravens.

McNair is scheduled to appear at a Ravens' pep rally the Friday night before the teams meet on the field in the divisional round of the playoffs, and once the local media in Tennessee heard the news, not surprisingly, a controversy was underway. McNair's manager quickly issued a denial however, claiming his client was eternally loyal to the Titans, and that he would not in fact be appearing at the event.

"There's not a guy more loyal to the Titans than Steve McNair,'' Raymond White said of the former Titans quarterback. "He has given his body, blood and bones to the Titans. He has given more body parts than anybody for the Titans. Steve isn't doing this. He is never going to host a pep rally for the opposing team. He is 100 percent Titans.''

"We didn't agree to any of this. He wants to help the foundation, but Steve is not going to do this. He is not going to be a part of a Raven pep rally. Get real. We're 100 percent Titans. Steve is 100 percent Titans."

While McNair may indeed be "100 percent Titans," it turns out that he's 110 percent in favor of not disappointing sick children. You see, the event is going to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore, and despite what fans might think, McNair will indeed be participating in the pro-Ravens event.

"It doesn't have anything to do with the Ravens or the Titans. I'm gonna be there because I'm not gonna disappoint these kids," McNair said.

"People want to say it's about the Ravens, it's not about the Ravens. It's not about Tennessee. It's about these kids from the Ronald McDonald House and I can put a smile on their face. If this taints my image I'm going to be very disappointed because that'll tell me that people [do not] care about me raising money to help kids. That's selfish."

There's nothing wrong with McNair wanting to do charity work of any kind, and we should applaud him for keeping his commitment despite the local pressure to ditch the event to show some kind of extreme loyalty to the Titans. But you can't blame fans for questioning the timing of his choice of events, when he clearly could have done something on any other day of the year that could help the Baltimore charity, without enraging the fine people of Tennessee.