Texans owner receives final tribute in stadium
HOUSTON — As the city concluded a week of reflection and remembrance Friday, the normal tumult of NRG Stadium gave way to the strains of hymns and gentle words of praise for Bob McNair, the soft-spoken but deeply influential owner of the Texans.
With Texans players and coaches and several of his fellow NFL owners in attendance, McNair, who died Nov. 23 at 81, was eulogized by former Secretary of State James Baker, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and others as one who embodied the same traits as the late President George H.W. Bush of honesty, hard work and love of country.
With McNair’s death in such close proximity to that of the late president, Baker said, “Houston has lost two of its very greatest and most admired adopted sons.”
Baker’s remarks were the keynote of an hour-long service attended by about 1,000 people seated on the floor of the stadium — descried by Baker as “the house that Bob McNair built” — that Sunday will host the Texans’ game against the Indianapolis Colts.
With a victory Sunday, the Texans will extend their winning streak to 10 games and take another step toward a playoff berth and what several speakers described Friday as McNair’s ultimate goal for his adopted hometown.
And while the focus of the service was on McNair’s faith, philanthropy and love of family and of Houston, of course there had to be at least a little football talk.
“Not to put any more pressure on you, coach, or the team,” Goodell said, referring to Texans coach Bill O’Brien, “but you know how much Bob wanted to win a Super Bowl.”
The memorial service for McNair, who paid $700 million in 1999 to bring the NFL back to Houston, prompting the construction of NRG Stadium as a home for the NFL and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, reflected his characteristic traits of which Baker and others spoke.
Friday’s eulogies were preceded as guests arrived by a montage of photos of McNair and his wife Janice, with Texans players and fans, including the late president and President George W. Bush. Among those on hand were Dom Capers, the team’s first head coach, and Charley Casserly, its first general manager, along with the current players and coaches, who filed onto the stadium floor en masse minutes before the memorial service began.
“He was a good boss,” Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt said of McNair after the service. “He was always around. He wanted to know how things were going.
“All he wanted was to win, and that is why it’s fun to be on a nine-game winning streak, because we know that is what he would want. We hope we can keep it going.”
If they do, perhaps in the offing will be another encounter with Texas’ other NFL team – the Dallas Cowboys — and their owner Jerry Jones, who had tears in his eyes as he spoke of McNair.
“The only other time I teared up was right on this field, when the Texans and Bob kicked our butts in the first game that was played in this stadium (in 2002),” Jones said. “It was a glorious night to begin the Texans.
“Bob was so special. I was excited for Houston to get an NFL franchise, and I was particularly excited when I saw the character of the person who was going to lead the way in Bob. … He will be missed. He will be an inspiration. He loved his players and was always so supportive of the NFL, the players and what we could do to make it good for the players.”