It is a safe bet that no one picked the Arizona Cardinals to reach the Super Bowl during NFL pre-season last summer. If someone had picked the Cardinals to play in the big game it is very likely that someone would have counted on Kurt Warner being the starting quarterback. Yet this Sunday it will be the 37-year-old Warner who will attempt the lead the Cardinals to their first ever Super Bowl and first title for the franchise since the Cardinals won the NFL Championship in 1947 when they called Chicago home.
Warner will have a tall task in front of him when the Cardinals face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday. The Steelers are 6½ point favorites to win. After all, the Steelers are only three years removed from their last Super Bowl victory. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is gritty performer who can play hurt and under pressure earning a Super Bowl ring in only his second professional season. The Steelers defense led by strong safety Troy Polamalu is the top ranked and most feared in the league. They could make life very tough for Warner but nobody knows better than Warner the ups and downs of gridiron.
Unlike Roethlisberger, who was the 11th college player selected in the 2004 NFL Draft, Kurt Warner was not sought after a decade earlier and went undrafted after a successful stint as a starting quarterback in his senior year at the University of Northern Iowa. Warner did attend training camp with the Green Bay Packers in 1994 but with Brett Favre in his prime he would soon be cut and offered his services as an assistant coach at Northern Iowa. Yet Warner still hung onto his dream of playing in the NFL.
But with no NFL teams calling, Warner decided to give arena football a shot. The Arena Football League, established in 1987, has long been considered a poor cousin of the NFL. Indeed, finances forced the AFL to cancel its season in 2009. But the AFL’s lack of status mattered little to Warner who signed with his hometown Iowa Barnstormers in 1995. Warner would spend three seasons with the Barnstormers and led them to back to back appearances in the Arena Bowl in 1996 and 1997. Although the Barnstormers lost both championship games it gave Warner valuable experience and his performance was finally catching the interest of NFL teams.
In 1998, the St. Louis Rams signed Warner and was assigned to NFL Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals. Beginning in 1991, the NFL tried to expand its base into Europe. However, American football could not eclipse the appeal of soccer and eventually disbanded in 2007. But the NFL Europe did have a following amongst American expatriates in need of things to do on a Sunday afternoon. Warner continued to make a positive impression as he led the league in touchdowns and passing yards. He impressed the Rams enough that he was permitted to play in one game during the 1998 season.
No one, however, expected Warner to become the Rams’ regular quarterback in 1999. That spot was reserved for Trent Green who had signed a four year $16.5 million contract with the Rams after a successful stint starting for the Washington Redskins. But Green would be injured during pre-season. Rams head coach Dick Vermeil gave Warner an opportunity to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Warner would quickly make fans forget about Trent Green. In his first three NFL games as a starter, Warner threw three touchdown passes. A feat never been accomplished in the NFL before or since. Warner was only getting started.
Prior to 1999, the Rams had sustained nine consecutive losing seasons in both Los Angeles and St. Louis. Football fans in St. Louis were accustomed to losing teams. The St. Louis Cardinals couldn’t give their city a championship let alone a playoff victory in the rare seasons they had a winning record. The Cardinals had losing records in ten of their final eleven seasons before moving out to Arizona. Then, as if brought down from the heavens, along came Kurt Warner and everything changed. Warner, running back Marshall Faulk and wide receivers Isaac Brue and Torry Hault were the foundation of what was known as the Greatest Show on Turf. Warner led NFL quarterbacks in touchdown passes and passing yards. The Rams finished 13-3 that season and would win Super Bowl XXXIV with a hard fought 23-16 over the Tennessee Titans. Warner threw two touchdowns and passed 414 yards. Nearly unknown outside of football fantasy leagues the previous summer, Warner was named the NFL MVP and the Super Bowl MVP. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t drafted.
In 2000, Warner picked up where he left off the following season but would suffer a setback when he broke his throwing hand. Although Trent Green performed well enough to get the Rams to the playoffs they were eliminated by the New Orleans Saints. But Warner was healthy enough in 2001 to prompt the Rams to trade Green to the Kansas City Chiefs. For the second time in three years, Warner led all NFL quarterbacks in touchdown passes and passing yards. For the second time in three years, Warner would be named NFL MVP. For the second time in three years, Warner would lead the Rams back to the Super Bowl.
Warner again performed well in Super Bowl XXXVI throwing one touchdown pass, rushed a touchdown and threw 365 yards. But it wasn’t enough. The heavily favored Rams were upset by Bill Belichik’s upstart New England Patriots 20-17 led by quarterback Tom Brady, another unlikely NFL success story. Adam Vinateri’s 48-yard field goal with seconds remaining in the game not only marked the beginning of a New England Patriots’ dynasty it also marked the beginning of Kurt Warner’s downward spiral into professional limbo.
Something was wrong with Warner. Could it have been that he seldom saw eye to eye with Rams head coach Mike Martz (who took over the reins when Vermeil retired after the Super Bowl victory)? Whether it was the coaching situation, being unable to recover from the upset at the hand of the Patriots or declining velocity on his spirals, Warner struggled. The Rams lost their first three games and then in the next game Warner broke a finger on his throwing hand. This forced the Rams to insert Marc Bulger as their starting quarterback. Warner attempted to come back at the end of the 2002 season but was ineffective. He would be given another chance in Week 1 of the 2003 season but would fumble the ball six times against the New York Giants. Warner would never win another game in a Rams uniform and was released the following summer.
Although Warner would embarrass himself against the Giants they apparently saw something in him and signed him prior to the 2004 season. Warner got off to a good start winning five of his first seven games. But after his performance tapered Giants head coach Tom Coughlin replaced him with Eli Manning. To Warner’s credit, instead of moping he spent the rest of the season mentoring Manning who would lose six of his first seven starts much to the initial displeasure of Giants fans. Of course, Manning would lead the Giants to triumph in last year’s Super Bowl.
Out of a job, Warner would sign a one year contract with the Arizona Cardinals prior to the 2005 season. The Cardinals had fared no better in dry heat of Glendale than they had in the humidity of St. Louis enjoying only one winning season. But Warner didn’t look down on arena football. Warner didn’t look down on playing football in Europe. He certainly wasn’t going to look down on playing football even if it was the NFL’s version of Siberia albeit in the desert.
As he had in his final two season with the Rams and his one season with the Giants, Warner battled for playing time this time with Josh McCown. Neither Warner nor the Cardinals set the world afire finishing 5-11 but Warner played adequately enough to sign a three year contract extension while McCown was released and eventually hooked on with the Detroit Lions.
However, it appeared that Warner would be replicating the role he had in New York with Manning. The Cardinals had selected USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart as their first pick of the 2006 NFL Draft. Leinart would eventually sign a six year contract with the Cardinals worth $51 million. Clearly, Leinart was viewed as the long term quarterback for the team leaving Warner on borrowed time despite the contract extension. But Warner did not complain and helped Leinart as best he could.
Leinart would start a majority of the games in 2006 but was less than impressive in his rookie season losing seven of his eleven starts. The Cardinals again finished with a 5-11 record. Head coach Dennis Green would be fired and replaced by Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. Leinart would be the starting quarterback in 2007 but was again ineffective and would eventually end up breaking his collarbone. It would be a bad break for Leinart but just the break Warner needed. Warner put up his best numbers since 2001 and the Cardinals finished the season with a respectable 8-8 record and narrowly missed reaching the playoffs.
Despite Warner’s resurgence, Whisenhunt had committed to having Leinart as his starting quarterback for the 2008 season. But Leinart was ineffective during the NFL pre-season and Whisenhunt took one more chance on Warner. Boy, did it pay off. Warner proved his 2007 performance was no fluke improving on both his touchdown passes and passing yards. With Warner at quarterback and Larry Fitzgerald at wide receiver the Cardinals were in desert bloom winning seven of their first eleven games. There was talk of a third MVP for Warner.
But the Cardinals struggled late in the season. In a period of four weeks, the Cardinals were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and the New England Patriots 48-20, 35-14 and 47-7, respectively. The Cardinals would finish 9-7 enjoying their first winning season in a decade capturing the NFC West. However, the NFC West was a weak division with the Seattle Seahawks collapsing, the St. Louis Rams entrenched in mediocrity and the San Francisco 49ers not ready for prime time. Few thought (myself included) the Cardinals would last long in the NFL playoffs.
Yet Warner and the Cardinals have relished in exceeding expectations. Many thought the Cardinals were no match for the Atlanta Falcons and Matt Ryan, their young quarterback out of Boston College. The Cardinals beat the Falcons 30-24. Many thought the Cardinals were not match for the Carolina Panthers. After all, they had finished 12-4 and owned the second best record in the NFC. Furthermore, the Cardinals hadn’t won a game east of St. Louis. The Cardinals demolished the Panthers 33-13. Many thought the Cardinals were no match for the Philadelphia Eagles who had humiliated the Cardinals in Week 13. The Cardinals led the game 24-6 at the half. But the Eagles scored 19 unanswered points and took a 25-24 early in the 4th quarter. But Warner kept his cool and masterminded a drive that resulted in an eight yard touchdown pass to running back Tim Hightower. Throw in a two point conversion and the Cardinals won 33-25 to gain a berth into the Super Bowl.
Yes, conventional wisdom dictates the Steelers should win Sunday’s game. But don’t forget Whisenhunt was a member of the Steelers coaching staff and knows a lot of those players as well as he knows his Cardinals players. The Cardinals still have something to prove to the fans, the NFL and themselves as a team. The Steelers have no such burden. Kurt Warner might not be the best player on the Cardinals. Clearly that title belongs to Larry Fitzgerald. But no one on that team and possibly the entire league has more faith and perseverance than Warner.
Christian athletes are nothing new. Perseverance and religious faith are not mutually exclusive. But Warner intrinsically understands that life is full of triumph and defeat and that you must find a way to navigate through both. At least for Warner it is his Christian faith that enables him in the words of Kipling “to treat both as impostors just the same.” Everything, whether it is good or bad, happens for a reason. A great deal of our life is spent trying to understand that reason whether it be a good reason or not.
Of course, Kurt Warner would rather leave Tampa Bay on the winning side than the losing side. He would not be human if he didn’t. But either way this latest journey whatever the outcome will lead to another journey. Kurt Warner is a free agent after the game. Will he stay with the Cardinals or will he play elsewhere in 2009? Or will he retire and perhaps devote his life to missionary work of some kind? However Super Bowl XLIII ends no one can deny that Kurt Warner earned a return to athletic glory. But Warner earned that athletic glory by understanding that faith and perseverance are their own rewards win or lose.
Aaron Goldstein was a card carrying member of the socialist New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP). Since 09/11, Aaron has reconsidered his ideological inclinations and has become a Republican. Aaron lives and works in Boston.
