HOUSTON – The Houston Texans wore wear a decal with the initials RCM on their helmets during Monday night's game.
Bob McNair, the Texans founder, senior chairman and chief executive officer, died peacefully in Houston on Friday, the team announced. He was 81.
The Texans released a photo of the decal on their Twitter account.
It's a game day full of mixed emotions for Texans fans gearing up for the first game since the passing of McNair.
"Everything that we do, that I do, is all because of him," said Glen Miller, of the Raging Bull Tailgaters. During the middle of their tailgate, Miller stood up on top of a stand and offered a moment to pay tribute to the former owner.
“Let’s do a moment of silence for Bob McNair; after this silent moment, we will not be silent until the Super Bowl,” said Miller to the group of tailgaters who took a moment to pause and reflect the late owner.
Longtime tailgating groups said they wouldn't be there if it wasn't for McNair.
"He always supported us as a fan base. He supported us tailgating," said Kathryn Currier, of the Blue Crew Tailgaters.
Some tailgaters said they planned to hold a candlelight vigil for McNair before Monday night's game against the Tennessee Titans.
Monday night's game against the Tennessee Titans is almost poetic since the Titans, were formally the Houston Oilers. When the franchise left the Bayou City in 1996, McNair took the lead years later to bring professional football back to Houston.
“You can get all kinds of clichés about it,” said Louis Lee with the Raging Bull Tailgaters. “No one would be here if it wasn’t for Bob McNair, he wanted this tailgate party, he wanted this city blowing up with energy. We’ve had our ups, we’ve had our downs, it’s going to be sad when the game starts and talk about him; after that, the game is going to blow up.”