If God doesn't care who wins why thank him after a ballgame? That question is a personal question to each Christian athlete in the league but Kurt's reason is best explained in a quote from his book.
"It's my opportunity to profess in front of everybody that I live my life for Jesus. If someone were to put a microphone in front of my mouth after I'd just lost a game, I'd thank God in that context too. I go home and thank him every day when I walk off the field healthy. A lot of times we don't think him enough for expectations that aren't met. If we hadn't won the Super Bowl, for instance, it would've been crazy for me not to thank him for all that he had done throughout the season. When I think him after a game I'm thanking him for every bit of influence, guidence, wisdom, talent, understanding, and protection he gives me in every situation."~~Kurt Warner
The following is from Kurt's website talking about his First Things First Foundation followed by a link to the website:
"Many have said if my life story was a script in Hollywood, it would never be believed. But - I am where I am because I believed and I never gave up...and that is the message of the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation. Brenda and I are living proof of the importance of having strong faith in God, in yourself and in your talents.
This foundation started with a vision sparked by a magical year in 1999 when my lifelong dream of success in the NFL became a reality. NFL experts have been trying to figure out the secret to my sudden success in the NFL. For me. it's easy and really has little to do with football. First things first - faith and family - that is my formula for success.
Brenda and I have experienced extreme highs and lows - and through it all our faith and our family are the fabric that holds everything together. It is our wish to share these blessings and beliefs with others who have lost hope in themselves, their talents, and life.
Established in Spring 2001, First Things First is a 501(c)(3) public charity which serves as a vehicle for Brenda and me as we reach out to the community to share our blessings with those in need.
We thank you for supporting our efforts to love on those who need to be reminded how precious life is. As a football player, I understand the importance of teamwork in turning dreams into realities. Thank you for being our teammate to remind everyone that all things are possible when you put First Things First."
Kurt came out of the University of Northern Iowa having a very successful season and earning player of the year in the Conference. After an unsuccessful tryout with the Packers he played 3 years with the Des Moines Barnstormers in the Arena League from 1995 - 1997. He was very sucessful twice going tro the championship game. He played in NFL Europe where he played with Jake Delhomme as his backup. Again he was success ful and is in the Ring of Honer with the Amsterdam Admirals. He tried out for the Rams in 1998 and made the team.
Warner was the backup quarterback for the St. Louis Rams during the 1998 regular season and the 1999 preseason. When starting quarterback Trent Green was injured in a preseason game, Warner took over as the starter. With the support of running back Marshall Faulk and wide receivers Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim and Ricky Proehl, Warner completed one of the top seasons by a quarterback in NFL history by throwing for 4,353 yards with 41 touchdown passes and a completion rate of 65.1%. The Rams' high-powered offense was nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf" and registered the first in a string of three consecutive 500-point seasons, an NFL record. Warner threw three touchdown passes in each of the first three games in the 1999 seasons, his first three NFL starts. He is the only NFL quarterback in history to accomplish that feat, and only the second other than Dan Marino to do it in his first two NFL starts.
Warner really drew attention, however, in the season's next game, a home game against the San Francisco 49ers, who had been NFC West Division champs for 12 of the previous 13 seasons. The Rams had lost 17 of their previous 18 meetings with the 49ers and had a 3-0 record along with the 49ers' 2-1 record. Warner proceeded to throw three touchdown passes on the Rams' first three possessions of the game and four in the first half to propel the Rams to a 28-10 halftime lead on the way to a 42-20 victory. Warner finished the game with five touchdown passes, giving him 14 in four games and, more importantly, the Rams a 4-0 record. After many years of defeats and losing records, football experts finally had to take notice.
Warner's breakout season from a career in anonymity was so unexpected that Sports Illustrated featured him on their October 18 cover with the caption "Who IS this guy?". He was named the 1999 NFL MVP at the season's end.
In the NFL playoffs, Warner led the Rams to a Super Bowl XXXIV victory against the Tennessee Titans. He threw for two touchdowns and a Super Bowl record 414 passing yards, including a 73-yard touchdown to Isaac Bruce when the game was tied with just over two minutes to play. Warner also set a Super Bowl record by attempting 45 passes without a single interception.
Warner was awarded the 1999 Super Bowl MVP, becoming one of only six players to win both the league MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same year. The others are Bart Starr in 1966, Terry Bradshaw in 1978, Joe Montana in 1989, Emmitt Smith in 1993, and Steve Young in 1994.
2000 season
Warner started the 2000 season well, racking up 300 or more passing yards in each of his first 6 games (tying Steve Young's record) and posting 19 touchdown passes in that stretch. Warner broke his hand and missed the middle of the 2000 campaign, but Trent Green filled in ably and the Warner/Green duo led the Rams to the highest team passing yard total in NFL history, with 5,232 net yards. Warner and Green's combined gross passing yard total was 5,492, which if held by just one player, would surpass the single-season record set by Dan Marino (5,084 yards). In contrast to his previous season, however, Warner's turnover ratio drastically increased in 2000, throwing an interception in 5.2% of his attempts. Due to a very poor defensive unit, the Rams were eliminated from the playoffs in the wild card round by the New Orleans Saints despite one of the most productive offensive years by an NFL team. Nine of the Rams' eleven defensive starters would be cut during the offseason, and Trent Green was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.
2001 season
Warner quickly returned to form in 2001. Although his season lagged behind his 1999 performance, he amassed a league-high 36 touchdown passes and 4,830 passing yards, a total second only to Dan Marino all-time. Warner lacked the consistency he showed in 1999, however, by throwing a career-high 22 interceptions, despite completing a career-high 68.7% of his passes. He led "The Greatest Show on Turf" to an NFL-best 14-2 record and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVI, which the heavily favored Rams lost to the New England Patriots. He was named the NFL MVP for the second time at the close of the season, giving the Rams their third winner in as many years (running back Marshall Faulk won in 2000).
In Super Bowl XXXVI Warner threw for 365 yards and a passing touchdown along with two interceptions and one rushing touchdown. After falling behind the Patriots 17-3, two Warner touchdowns tied the game late in the fourth quarter. The game ended when Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri booted a game-winning field goal as time expired, giving the Patriots the first of three Super Bowl wins in four years. Warner's 365 yards passing was second only to his own record of 414 in Super Bowl XXXIV.
2002-2003 seasons
Warner began the season 0-3 as a starter, throwing seven interceptions against only one touchdown. In their fourth game against the Dallas Cowboys, Warner broke a finger on his throwing hand, and despite attempting to come back later in the season, his injury only allowed him to play two more games (both losses). In contrast to his 103.4 career passer rating entering the season, Warner posted a minuscule 67.4 rating in 2002. Warner was replaced as the Rams' starting quarterback after fumbling six times in the opener of the 2003 season against the New York Giants. Warner's replacement as the Rams quarterback, Marc Bulger, would be named to two Pro Bowls and is currently third all-time in completion percentage (trailing only Warner and Chad Pennington).
New York Giants
The Rams released Warner on June 1, 2004. Two days later, he signed a two-year deal with the New York Giants.
Warner started the 2004 season as the starting quarterback, winning five of his first seven games, but following several poor performances in a two-game losing streak, rookie quarterback Eli Manning was given the starting job. Giants coach Tom Coughlin later stated that he regretted starting Warner and should have played Manning from the beginning in order to give him experience and build his confidence. The Giants had a 5-4 win-loss record at the time of Warner's benching, finishing at 6-10 overall (going only 1-6 under Manning).
Arizona Cardinals
In early 2005, Warner signed a one-year, $4-million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, and was quickly named the starter by coach Dennis Green. Warner posted three relatively mediocre performances before injuring his groin and being replaced by former starter Josh McCown. McCown played in two games during Warner's injury, performing well enough that Green named McCown the starter for the remainder of the season.
The change in Warner's status led many sports analysts (including Dan Marino) to conclude that Warner's days of being a starting quarterback in the NFL were over[citation needed]. After McCown struggled in two straight games, however, Green re-inserted Warner into the starting line-up. After playing fairly well in two consecutive losses (passing for a total of nearly 700 yards), Warner defeated his former team, the Rams, by a score of 38-28. He passed for 285 yards and three touchdowns while posting a quarterback rating of 115.9. Warner's season ended in Week 15 when he partially tore his MCL.
Warner signed a new three-year deal with the Cardinals on February 14, 2006. The deal has a base salary of $18 million and, with performance incentives, could be worth as much as $22 million.
In Week One of the 2006 NFL season Warner won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award, throwing for 301 yards and three touchdowns in a win over San Francisco. Two weeks later Warner passed the 20,000-yards passing milestone in his 76th game, one game more than record holder Dan Marino, although Marino accomplished the feat in his 5th season while Warner was in his 9th.
After three subpar games in Weeks 2-4, Warner was replaced at quarterback by rookie Matt Leinart in the fourth quarter of Week 4. Then-coach Dennis Green stated that Warner would be the backup quarterback for the remainder of the season. In Week 16, quarterback Matt Leinart went down with a shoulder injury against the 49ers, forcing Warner to see his first action since Week 4. Warner filled in nicely, as he was able to hang on for the Cardinals win. In Week 17 against the San Diego Chargers, Warner started again in place of the injured Leinart. Warner threw for 365 yards (which led the NFL for that week) and a touchdown, however the Chargers were able to hang on for a 27-20 win.
The Arizona Cardinals are 4-15 with a winning percentage of .210 in games that Warner has started, including one win in 2007 against the favored Cleveland Browns, where he tallied an effective 18 completions from 30 with two touchdown passes and one interception and led his team to a 27-21 victory on December 3, 2007.
In 2007, during the week 3 game against the Baltimore Ravens, Warner came off the bench to relieve an ineffective Matt Leinart during the 2nd and 4th quarters (the Ravens were leading 23-6 at the beginning of the 4th quarter). He led a furious comeback as he completed 15 passes out of 20 attempted for 258 yds and 2 TDs. This brought them to a tie game (23-23), but after a Ravens last second field goal, Arizona lost the game 26-23.
On September 30, 2007, during the week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Warner relieved Matt Leinart following another ineffective start by Leinart. Warner finished with 14/21 for 132 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions. Leinert reentered the game in the 4th quarter, and led the Cardinals to their final touchdown. After Leinart was placed on IR Warner was named starter for the remainder of the 2007 season. Warner passed for a career-high 484 yards against the San Francisco 49ers in a 37-31 loss on November 25, but had a fumble in the end zone in overtime that was recovered by Tully Banta-Cain to lose the game. However, the following week showed an improvement for Warner and the Cardinals, as the above-mentioned victory over the Browns brought his team to 6-6 and kept them in the chase for the NFC Wild Card playoff spot. However they lost the next two ball games and finished the season 8-8 just one game from the playoffs. Kurt ended up with 27 Tds one short of the Cardinals all time record. He had a QB Rating of 89.8, passing yard totaling 3417 in just 14 games. He finished in the top 10 in the NFL in 3 categories. Passer Rating, YPA, and TDs. He was 11th in Yards.
Officially, the quarterback job in Arizona was up for grabs when training camp began in 2008. But by the end of August, Whisenhunt happily named Kurt his starter. The Cardinals had exciting young talent on both sides of the ball and needed a been-there, done-that presence in the huddle.
Kurt started all 16 games for only the third time in his career and put up his best numbers since 2001. He completed 401 passes for 4,583 yards and 30 touchdowns, which set a team record. In the club’s first game of December, Arizona beat the Rams to clinch the NFC West crown for the franchise's first trip to the playoffs in a decade. It was the Cards' first division title since 1975.
In the first round of the playoffs, Arizona hosted a playoff game for the first time since 1947 and beat the Falcons, 30–24. Kurt completed 19 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. The Cards advanced to a second-round showdown with the favored Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. Kurt was money once again, completing 22 of 32 attempts for two TDs in a 33–13 win. After the Eagles upset the Giants, Arizona would host Philly in the NFC Championship Game.
Kurt Warner, 2004 New York Post sticker
Kurt was the man once again against the Eagles, as the Cards continued theirremarkable postseason run. He connected for four touchowns against Philadelphia’s vaunted defense, including three beauties to Fitzgerald. He threw for 279 yards in an exciting 32–25 victory that put the Cardinals in the last place anyone outside Arizona dreamed the team—or Kurt—would be: on their way to Tampa for the Super Bowl.
The Cardinals did their best to make the trip worth it. They faced the Pittsbrugh Steelers, who were favored by a touchdown. Arizona had enjoyed its role as the underdog throughout the playoffs, so the team wasn't fazed by predictions that the Steelers would roll on Super Sunday.
The game was somewhat of a hum-drum affair until the last play of the first half. With the Cardinals inside the Pittsburgh 5-yard-line, Wisenhunt chose to go for the touchdown instead of the tying field goal. The coach put the ball in Kurt's hands, and he made an uncharacteristic mistake. Reading a blitz, he fired a short pass to Boldin, but linebacker James Harrison dropped into the throwing lane. One hundred yards later, Pittsburgh held a 17-7 lead.
Arizona didn't seem to recover from the blunder until the fourth quarter. Down by 13 points, the Cardinals shifted into their hurry-up offense. With more time to throw, Kurt picked apart the Pittsburgh defense. He hit Fitzgerald with two scoring passes, including a 64-yarder with under three minutes remaining. But the Cards left too much time for Ben Roethlisberger, who zipped a pass to Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone with 35 seconds on the clock.
Kurt moved his team to midfield, but was sacked and lost the ball with time running out. Amazingly, the officialls in the booth did not review the play—even though it appeared that the fumble could have been ruled an incomplete pass. The Cards lost, 27-23. Depsite his untimely interception, Kurt had a great game. He threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns—all of this in the face of intense pressure.
Career Highlights, Awards, and Accolades:
College: Northern Iowa
Undrafted in 1994
Teams:
* Iowa Barnstormers (1995-1997)
* Amsterdam Admirals (1998)
* St. Louis Rams (1998-2003)
* New York Giants (2004)
* Arizona Cardinals (2005-present)
Gateway Conference's Offensive Player of the Year (1993)
AFL's All-Arena first team (1996)
AFL's All-Arena first team (1997)
Warner is included in top 20 list of the best arena football players of all time.
NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals Ring of Honor (1998)
NFL MVP (1999)
All Pro (1999)
Super Bowl XXXIV MVP (2000)
All Pro (2000)
ESPY NFL Player of the Year (2000)
ESPY Breakthrough Athlete of the Year (2000)
NFL MVP (2001)
All Pro (2001)
All Pro (2008)
• Kurt played for the Iowa Barnstormers from 1995 to 1997 and threw for 10,164 yards and 183 tds. Both are still teams records. In three seasons Kurt averaged 61 tds a year.
• In 1998 Kurt started all 10 games for the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europe League … led league in passing yards (2,101), attempts (326), completions (165) and touchdowns (15).
• Became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 passing yards, accomplishing the feat in his 36th career game. Playing in his 76th career game on 9/24/06 vs. St. Louis, became the second fastest quarterback to reach 20,000 yards in NFL history, trailing only Dan Marino who did it in 74 games.
• 2000-Threw for 6 consecutive 300-yard passing games to tie for the record.
• Recorded nine 300-yard passing games in both 1999 and 2001 (NFL single-season record is 10 by Oakland’s Rich Gannon in 2002).
• 2001-4,830 passing yards is the second-highest single-season total in NFL history.
• 2005-Highest completion % in Cardinal History completing 64.5% of his passes (242-375). completing 64.5% of his passes (242-375).
• 2005 Cardinals rank as the league’s #1 ranked passing offense for the first time in team history.
• Entering 2007 his career completion percentage of 65.6% ranks #1 in NFL history.
• Entering 2007, his career QB rating of 93.8 ranks #3 all-time in NFL history.
• Entering 2007 his highest average gain, career (1,500 attempts) of 8.21 ranks #3 all-time in NFL history'
• Has twice posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and became the first quarterback to do so.
• Has 41 career 300-yard passing games including 3 400-yard passing games.
• 2007-27 TD passes which is one short of the Cardinal all time record and led the Cardinal Offense to the most points scored in Franchise history.
• There are 5 former backup quarterbacks that have went on to start a season as a #1 quarterback. They are Trent Green, Marc Bulger, Eli Manning, Josh McCown, and Matt Leinart. A sixth QB is Jake Delhomme backed him up with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe and has went on to start in the NFL.
"He's a role model-not just for fans, but for a lot of players, coaches, and owners. In this day and age, the NFL needs Kurt Warner."
~~John Madden
"Kurt Warner is a movie, a book.... It's real life. He's an example of what we'd all like to be. He's a great example of persistence."
~~Dick Vermeil
*The Kurt Warner Story is not only the greatest story in the history of the NFL, it might be the greatest story in the history of sports."
~~Dennis Green
*I learned so much from playing behind Kurt Warner in NFL Europe"
~~Jake Delhomme
Hey just wanted to let you know your a huge inspiration through both your football skills and your spiritual knowledge. Your by far my favorite quarterback.
Hi Kurt Warner! Eddie's CD, "Wanna Go Back" is available now on Amazon, and ! Eddie hand picked and performs new versions of 12 classic hits that were all songs that he loved playing as a kid when he was growing up!!!
Ha.you got Brees as a friend?I also wanted to let you know you are awesome for spreading the GOSPEL in the league!I want to be like you spread the word,be the next legendary QB,win a couple of super bowls and go home proud of GOD.
Looking back on the months gone by, As a new year starts and an old one ends, We contemplate what brought us joy, And we think of our loved ones and our friends.
Recalling all the happy times, Remembering how they enriched our lives, We reflect upon who really counts, As the fresh and bright new year arrives.
And when I ponder those who do, I immediately think of you.
WHAT IS HAPPINESS? The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coiled and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away, just for this time in my life."
She went on to explain, "Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories, Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."
And with a smile, she said:
"Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred. 2. Free your mind from worries. 3. Live simply. 4. Give more. 5. Expect less."
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