Kurt Warner was great in every sense of the word

SCOTT JACOBS

How do you surmise the man who defied the odds, and achieved success even he probably didn’t see coming?  How do you try to explain the influence he’s had, both on the field and off?  How do you put into words the miracles he worked with two down-trodden, stuck in neutral franchises?

Where do you begin with a man that is an even better person off the field than he was on it?  Where do you start with a guy whose cinderella, rise to stardom story was better than that which even Disney could probably have written.

Kurt Warner retired today at the age of 38.  With family and friends surrounding himself, Warner ended one of the most fascinating NFL journeys we’ve ever seen.  To understand Warner’s greatness you have to know his roots.  To understand his determination, won’t quit attitude you have to know his background.  To see why he is more than just another great athlete look no further than his family.

Buried behind two other quarterbacks on the depth chart entering his senior year at the University of Northern Iowa, Kurt Warner was a long shot to even make a dent in the college football world.  But he waited things out, and finally his chance came. In typical Warner fashion, he made the most of it, going from third string quarterback to the Gateway Conferece Offensive Player of the Year. It was just the begining of a glorious but rocky road that would take him from an unknown to a beloved folk hero.

Today Kurt Warner retired. As an Arizona Cardinal. With post-season passing records galore under his belt.  With three Super Bowl appearances and one championship.  As a sure fire, should be first ballot Hall of Famer.  Today Kurt decided that the world needed him for bigger and better things.  His faith told him so.

So he leaves a game that will miss him, probably more than he will miss it.  With seven children, and a wife who was his childhood sweetheart, Warner is not exactly retiring to a sedated, quiet life.  Maybe he’ll go around the country making speeches.  Maybe he’ll raise even more money for his charitable organization that he has done so much for.  Maybe he’ll get involved in politics.  Who knows?

Warner was a four time Pro Bowler and a two time league MVP.

Even though Warner had his ups and downs, he was for all intensive purposes, a terrific football player who helped make the game even more fun.

But the Gloved One, as he was so often called, was also the winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2008.  In 2009 he won the Muhammad Ali Sportsmanship Award.  Last year, USA Weekend bestowed upon him their Most Caring Athlete Award.

You try to summarize his story in a short article and you just can’t.  What Kurt Warner has done for the NFL, what he has done for his foundations, what he’s even done for all the dreamers out there who sometimes abandon their dreams when there’s time to still keep fighting– has been nothing short of awe-inspiring.

In his second to last game, Warner had more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (4).  In his last game, Warner was leveled to the ground.  He was never the same after that and said he’s still feeling the hit a mere two weeks later.  But he won’t be remembered how he went out.  No one talks about Dan Marino’s disasrous final game.  They talk about his brilliant career in it’s entirety.  Even though Warner had his ups and downs, he was for all intensive purposes, a terrific football player who helped make the game even more fun.

That said, it’s hard to blame him– even as a selfish NFL fan who wants to see him continue to play– for retiring.  Warner has so much more going for him than just football.  He has a lifetime ahead of him, to do whatever he deems worthy.

The numbers– and Warner was so much more than his mind blowing numbers– are startling.  Consider that Warner’s completion percentage was never worse than 58%.  And the beat goes on:  32,344 career passing yards, 208 touchdowns, and a career passer rating of 93.7.  Kurt Warner wasn’t just good.  He was great.  He wasn’t just accurate.  He was pin point.  The 1999 Rams, or the Greatest Show on Turf, as many called them, weren’t just flawless, they were unstoppable.  They scored 35 points or more, seven times!  Thirteen times that year they put up 30 points or more.  1999 marked the first of three consecutive years that Warner led the Rams to 500 points.

The accomplishments go on, especially in the post-season, a second season that Warner owned.  Warner’s teams were 9-4 in the playoffs and he is 1,2, and 3 in top passing games in the Super Bowl.  Warned helped the Rams and Cardinals light up the postseason, and for two franchises not used to success, he basically claimed the role of each franchise’s respective savior.

Warner’s career was far from perfect.  He fumbled a lot, and he had a five year span of rather mediocre football.  That’s what makes his resurgence in the desert all the more impressive.  That’s what gives his story even greater perspective.  Even after being at the top, Warner fell from grace, and people doubted him once more.  After his Giants days, everyone said he was done.  It’s safe to say now that they were wrong.

Warner had asked that the Lord take away his desire to play football, but it was his desire to leave the game relatively healthy that makes this decision a wise one.  With a large family and large dreams outside of playing, Warner needed to leave still walking, and on a good note.  The New Orleans game aside, he accomplished both.

Still, I can’t help but wonder how good Warner could have continued to be, maybe into his 40’s, but unlike Brett Favre he appears to truly be done.

On his terms. With no one doubting him anymore.  If anything, he’s still got it.

O the irony.

Photo: Reuters

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