I start most mornings the right way— after falling out of bed at 8:30 a.m. I stumble into the kitchen and pour myself a bowl of Frosted Flakes Lucky Charms or if I feel the need for something healthy that day Raisin Bran. Then eager for my daily intake of sports news I flip on ESPN and try to pay attention in my half-awake state (because let’s face it anything before 10 a.m. is too early in college).
The morning edition of SportsCenter is just a rehash of the previous day’s highlights with additional fresh commentary and live interviews of athletes who have done something to merit relevancy. Last Tuesday one of these interviewees was Kurt Warner who announced his retirement Jan. 28 closing the books on a remarkable 12-year NFL career.
“Any second thoughts?” interviewer Dana Jacobson asked the former Arizona Cardinals quarterback.
Three years ago this would have been an odd question to ask. Unfortunately the concept of retirement has cheapened since Brett Favre turned it into a yearly event.
Warner’s response which he said in a modest down-to-earth tone was perfect.
“Absolutely not. I’ve known for quite awhile I’ve been leaning in this direction. It wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment decision…I wanted to go out on top. I wanted to leave the organization in a great position and I think we’ve done that.
“No second-guessing no comebacks. I’m done with football and that part of my career and I’m looking to a new one.”
The NFL didn’t just lose one of its best players. It lost one of its best people.
Professional athletes get a lot of flak and perhaps rightfully so. When they’re not cheating on their wives or taking steroids they’re hosting dog-fighting rings in their backyards or expressing discontent about their multimillion-dollar contracts. It seems sports fans have adopted this cynical attitude similar to the negative light in which distrustful voters view politicians.
Warner though is the antithesis of the broken athlete. His dozen years in the NFL— and the Hollywood-esque story that accompanied them— were about much more than money and fame. They were about much more than football itself.
If you’ve never heard Warner’s story go look it up. It’s incredible. In 1994 he was released from Green Bay Packers training camp and made his living stocking shelves at a local grocery store. Four years later he was signed by the St. Louis Rams. The following season he was MVP of the Super Bowl.
The remainder of his career had its share of ups and downs and by 2007 football experts had written Warner off. At 36 his best days appeared to be behind him and the Cardinals had an up-and-coming Matt Leinart on docket to assume starting QB duties. When Leinart suffered a season-ending injury Warner moved to the top of the depth chart. He would have his best season since 2001. One year later he led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl.
Barry Bonds had a similar late-career emergence— except he did it with steroids. What does Warner attribute his success to?
“For me it’s easy and really has little to do with football he writes on kurtwarner.org. First things first— faith and family— continue to be my formula for success.”
During his retirement press conference he spent more than 40 minutes thanking all those who spurred his NFL career. Many athletes would look back at a career like Warner’s and say “Wow look at everything I accomplished.” Warner turned the tables giving all the credit to everyone but himself. That’s pure class.
If we’re going by the numbers Warner shouldn’t be considered an elite quarterback on the same level as Tom Brady Peyton Manning or Brett Favre. But even if Warner isn’t remembered for his statistics he’ll surely be remembered for his never-ending resilience— and for having the kind of humility that is so hard to come by in the modern professional sports world.
Well done Kurt.
