On the first anniversary of legendary NFL quarterback Steve McNair’s tragic passing, former Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young slipped into a blue softball jersey that read “RIP POPS, with McNair’s No. 9 stitched on the back for a charity game. He even went to McNair’s mother’s house in Mississippi to celebrate McNair’s life and keep her company. Now, years later, it’s the 4th of July again, and Young hasn’t forgotten the man who taught him football.

As everyone else geared up for the 4th of July celebrations, Young took to his Instagram to post a tribute – a picture of himself with McNair on the football field – followed by a heartfelt message.

“Miss you, pop Steve McNair!” Young captioned his post. “We celebrate your life today, champ..love you R.I.P 🙏🏿🕊🕊”

Young and McNair met at a football camp when Young was still in high school. A decade younger than McNair, Young was growing up without a father, just as McNair had done. McNair, impressed with Young at the camp, told him his phone lines were always open for him, and Young took it up for the rest of McNair’s life, including a Mississippi visit to the latter’s mother’s house. A year after McNair’s passing, at a Tennessee Titans training camp, Young explained why he held McNair in such high regard.

“He took me under his wing, gave me that extra time,” Young said. “Not a lot of guys in his position would do that. That’s why I call him Pops. He’s like a father figure to me. He has filled that role.”

Young didn’t stop after McNair’s reported murder in 2009. He took McNair’s sons, Trenton and Tyler, out for a father-son breakfast at their school, standing in for the parent they’d lost. He even kept showing up at their games and milestones in the years that followed, a mentee now turned a guardian.

McNair was reportedly shot four times by his 20-year-old girlfriend in a murder-suicide at his Nashville Condo when he was 36. Now, 17 years after his death, as Vince Young remembered his “Pop,’ the NFL community showed up as well.

The football world remembers Steve McNair

Vince Young wasn’t the only one who took a moment to remember Steve McNair on the 4th of July. Jarrett Payton, a former Titans running back who played with McNair in 2005, offered his own tribute on X. Payton posted a picture of McNair handing the ball to him, followed by a short message:

“I miss this guy. RIP Steve McNair 🙏🏽.”

“I watched him play with the Oilers in Jackson, MS, against the Jets, due was electric,” a fan wrote, remembering McNair’s football origins. “Should have won the Heisman.”

NBA star Klay Thompson weighed in, too, posting a short, “My idols 🙏🏽,” as a way to honor both McNair and Vince Young.

“Two of my favorite quarterbacks ever to play the game,” another fan wrote, invoking McNair’s moniker. “Long Live Air McNair 🕊️.”

One fan even turned the lens to Young, acknowledging the unwavering respect Young still has for his mentor, with, “You a real one, Vince.”

Seventeen years on, and the tributes still arrive the same way they did in 2009 – in the form of people who loved Steve McNair, refusing to let his memory fade away. That’s a legacy far deeper than any football accolade, and Vince Young will keep showing up to honor it every single year, just like everyone else.