As the first female to write for Sorts of Sports, I figured what better way to enter your testosterone-driven minds than a chic who loves football. Yeah, that’s right fellas. Like most of you I spend my Sundays either sprawled out on my couch or at a bar in front of a high-def TV with a beer in hand yelling at the screen for twelve hours. Considering 90% of you will not take me seriously due to my anatomy, I decided that instead of hitting you with my opinions and predictions (those of you who know me know I have plenty of them) I would take this opportunity to honor my favorite player in the NFL. Now, being a New York Giants fan it may be a shocker that ever since I was nine years old I have followed religiously a quarterback who came to New York in 2004 only after I had staked my claim on him back in 1998. Maybe it was because I saw potential; maybe it was the signed Rams helmet my uncle had in his living room; maybe it was his strength in God and commitment to service; or maybe it was just his killer looks of perfection? Whatever the reason being, all I can say that is for twelve years I felt a sense of passion and excitement as I watched this great player grace the field. I even went as far as wearing his Cardinals jersey to my high school graduation. With that being said, I feel as if his accomplishments have gone unrecognized, and his greatness underrated, perhaps because he has been so humble over the years; therefore, I’d like to share this rags-to-riches story and demonstrate how this individual has been inspiring, an all-star athlete, and overall someone who truly impacted NFL history.
Friday January 29, 2010, my all-time favorite quarterback Kurt Warner announced his retirement from the National Football League. About two weeks prior to his assertion I stared at him on the sidelines during the last two minutes of that heart-breaking loss against the Saints devastated that he would not play the last few minutes of his career. I comforted myself with the fact that he still had one more year left signed to the Cardinals, and he would most likely be back next season because he would not want to lose his salary. I hoped that he’d make those “twelve unbelievable years” a lucky thirteen.
We all love those underdog stories, the ones where the little guy makes it big and triumphs with success, or as Kurt Warner puts it, “Stories about ordinary people where God came in and did something extraordinary with them.” We are fascinated on those Rudy and Rocky Balboa-like characters that inspire us to set forth with our goals. But what is often disregarded is what happens when that runner up becomes the star, when they achieve their peak performance, when their rising action reaches the climax to their story. I guess this is because their proceeding falling action is often fulfilled with a bumpy road of upsets, embarrassment, injury, despair, and in most cases jail time. So what makes an underdog story a great one? I’d like to say it is always being on top, abolishing selfishness, leaving as a legend, and finishing strong.
Luck has been the least persevering element in Kurt Warner’s career. Now being born on Friday the 13th myself, I can assure you that his choice in number had no role in his setbacks. Growing up in Burlington, Iowa, Warner started his football career with Regis High School. He then continued onto the University of Northern Iowa where he did not start until his senior year, when he was named Gateway Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. In 1994 Warner was not drafted to the NFL, instead he was left with two free-agent contract offers to the San Diego Chargers and the Green Bay Packers. Warner opted to go to Green Bay hoping that he would have a chance against their other three quarterbacks: Mark Brunell, Ty Detmer, and the yet-to-really-retire Brett Farve. Warner was never given his chance in Green Bay.
Warner then gave up playing professionally for the Packers to play Nerf football in the aisles of the local Hy-Vee grocery store where he worked stocking shelves while hoping that the NFL would call with another opportunity. In 1995 Warner signed with the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena Football League. In 1996 and 1997 Warner took the Barnstormers to the Arena Bowl and was named the AFL’s First-team All-Arena, proving to be the best quarterback in the AFL.
The Chicago Bears gave Warner his next opportunity to make it to the NFL by offering him a tryout, but with the luck on his side Warner had to postpone the tryout to a week later due to his wedding. During his Jamaican honeymoon, Warner’s luck continued when he got bitten on his right elbow by an unknown bug. Upon returning from paradise, Warner informed the Bears that he would not be able to make the tryout that week and they offered to call him two weeks later with hopes of a healed elbow. The elbow healed, but the call never happened. Warner now faced what may have been his last chance to make it to the NFL.
Now to hit everyone with a cliché: the rest is history. After playing for the NFL Europe Amsterdam Admirals in 1998, Warner played for three NFL franchises including the St. Louis Rams(1998-2003) where he started his career, lead the team to two Super Bowls with one win in 1999 over the Tennessee Titans, named two-timed NFL MVP, and Super Bowl XXXIV MVP; the New York Giants (2004) where he was able to mentor the young QB Eli Manning; and the Arizona Cardinals(2005-2010) where he was able to join forces with Larry Fitzgerald and turnover the organization with a Super Bowl appearance and end his career in the playoffs. Just to name a few of his other career accomplishments, Kurt is the only QB in Super Bowl history with three 300-yard performances, became just the second QB in NFL history to start a Super Bowl for two different teams, in his 36th career game he became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 passing yards, in his 76th career game he became the second fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 20,000, and in his 124 regular-season games, Warner has completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 32,344 yards and 208 touchdowns.
Many great athletes end their careers due to old age, loss of athletic ability, an upcoming rookie, or a career-ending injury. Now being an unfortunate loyal New York Mets fan, injury has been something I have grown quite used to so when Kurt Warner suffered a concussion against the Rams during Week lucky number 13 (ironic?) I grew apprehensive and fearful that his career may be at stake. Well unlike the Mets, Kurt was able to believe and thank God that he was back on the field the following week. His last career performance proved his passion and greatness when he threw an interception to the New Orleans Saints’ defensive end Will Smith and proceeded to go after the tackle and recovery for possession of the ball. He may not have been successful, but I was shocked that this religious guru went after a Saint, and you name one other QB who would run in for a tackle?
Now the big question is whether or not Kurt Warner will make it to the NFL Hall of Fame. I could only hope that his accomplishments are highlighted with such an honor. I commend Warner for finishing his career strong. He may not have accomplished everything with a win, but he has decided to finish his career at the peak of his success, on top of the mountain, at the climax of his story, and with a happy and healthy life ahead. Maybe he was afraid of what year lucky number 13 would bring, but it takes a real man with class and dignity to leave his passion with a decision rather than a purpose or a reason and as he states himself “You want to be able to leave on your own terms and playing at the level that you want to play at.”
After “twelve unbelievable years” all I can say is that I will miss his excitement, his talent, his passion, his benchmarks, and of course his strikingly good looks. Even you 49er fans have to feel a pang for this all-around all-star’s early pronouncement. As he leaves the NFL he looks to focus on his charity and give back to the community. “I hope that when people think back on my career, they remember that here’s a guy that believed, that worked hard, although things didn’t always go in his favor, he continued to press through and with his faith in himself and his faith in God he was able to accomplish great things,” Kurt Warner, #13
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