{"id":351098,"date":"2025-11-02T20:49:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T20:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/351098\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T20:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T20:49:13","slug":"always-been-the-heartbeat-of-the-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/351098\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Always been the heartbeat of the team\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON <\/strong> \u2013 It was an extremely special day for the McNair family as Janice McNair was formally inducted into the Texans\u2019 Ring of Honor, joining Bob McNair, her late husband.<\/p>\n

A co-founder and senior chair for the Texans, Janice McNair was honored at halftime of a game against the Denver Broncos at NRG Stadium. Her name is now in the rafters of the stadium alongside Bob McNair, Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year defensive end J.J. Watt.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou helped bring football back to Houston and you\u2019ve always been the heartbeat of the team,\u201d said Cal McNair, Texans principal owner and CEO and Janice\u2019s son. \u201cI know how pleased dad would be today. I\u2019m so proud your name will be up there in the rafters with dad, Andre and J.J. forever. You are so deserving of this honor. We love you. Congratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janice McNair was overcome with emotion during the ceremony, visibly happy at being given the highest honor the franchise bestows.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go Texans,\u201d she said. \u201cLet\u2019s win this ballgame.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janice McNair, joined on the field by Cal McNair, his wife, Hannah McNair, the team\u2019s foundation vice president, and Johnson, who presented her with a framed portrait of her and Bob McNair, was saluted for helping to bring back football to Houston.<\/p>\n

McNair, 89, helped bring the NFL back to Houston in 2002 after the Oilers moved to Tennessee after the 1996 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could not have been asked to be drafted to a team with better ownership and that starts with Bob and Janice,\u201d retired Texans linebacker Brian Cushing said. \u201cMore so just from the personal relationship side and what they brought to the team and the players and the community. It was huge for them to bring football back to Houston. They were very passionate about it, but not only that, they were passionate about growing the community and making it a tighter-knit city. Everything they hoped to do, they\u2019ve done and succeeded.\u201d <\/p>\n

Watt recognized Janice McNair on his social media account. Watt was in Pittsburgh working for CBS Sports as he called the Steelers\u2019 game against the Indianapolis Colts.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. McNair is one of the sweetest, kindest souls this great world has to offer,\u201d Watt wrote. \u201cI\u2019m incredibly thankful that our paths have crossed and for all she\u2019s done and continues to do for Houston. I wish I could be there today to celebrate her. Please give her a warm hug for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since moving to Houston in 1960, she and Bob McNair have been leaders in the community with a long legacy of philanthropy. She has been instrumental in the Texans\u2019 charitable foundation launched in 2002 when the franchise was started. Since its inception, they have raised more than $50 million to help the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents brought football back to Houston more than 20 years ago and ever since, my mom has given so much to our city and our organization,\u201d Cal McNair said. \u201cThere is no one more deserving of being the next member of this illustrious group than mom. She continues to be our team\u2019s biggest fan, and I know how proud dad would be to see her name join his in the rafters of NRG Stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is a breast cancer survivor and the proud mother of four children, 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grand children.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been everything,\u201d Cal McNair said. \u201cShe\u2019s been who we model so much of what we do. And we\u2019re here today because of her and she and dad believed in giving back to community and being part of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, the McNairs created McNair Scholars programs to recruit and support exceptional students and faculty at institutions including the University of South Carolina, Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, UTHealth Houston and Texas Children\u2019s Hospital. Their transformational 2007 gift to Baylor College of Medicine established the McNair Scholars Program, advancing groundbreaking medical research and improving patient care. In recognition of their generosity, the Baylor Medicine McNair Campus was named in their honor.<\/p>\n

In 2015, the McNairs expanded their philanthropic focus by establishing the McNair Centers for Entrepreneurism and Free Enterprise at the University of St. Thomas-Houston and the University of South Carolina. These centers foster understanding and appreciation for innovation, entrepreneurship and the principles of free enterprise in society.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially just the embrace they had for me from Day 1 coming in,\u201d Cushing said. \u201cHow active they were with the team at all times, whether it was training camp, regular practice, postgame, just seeing them around and them knowing every player\u2019s name and on a personal level as well. When you talk to other players that have been with other organizations, it\u2019s just not like that. How much they cared about the actual team and the people individually as well, it\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janice McNair was selected to receive the 2025 Houston Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes individuals who have made a positive impact on the sports <\/b>world and the Houston community. By receiving this honor, she joins a distinguished group of trail blazers whose contributions have shaped the city\u2019s rich sports legacy and inspired future generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it was a unanimous decision,\u201d Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. \u201cMrs. Janice, with her love and affection for everybody, you talk about someone who supports, who loves Texans football. It wouldn\u2019t happen without Mrs. Janice and Bob bringing football back to Houston. So, we\u2019re thankful. As a city, we\u2019re thankful for them bringing football back to Houston. She supports us in training camp. She\u2019s out there every day supporting the team. I would say my fondest memory of Mrs. Janice is saying anytime I talk to her, she says, \u2018Anytime you need a linebacker, I\u2019m ready to go.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cShe loves football. She loves the Texans and she\u2019s done everything in her power to make sure we have everything that we need as a team to be as successful as possible. So, we\u2019re all thankful for Mrs. Janice and the late Mr. Bob McNair for what they\u2019ve done to bring football to Houston and have our city fired up about football again. Now it\u2019s on to us to continue to press it forward and take us to new heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com<\/a> <\/p>\n

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