Saturday, January 30, 2010

Kurt Warner has retired.

With just one week to Super Bowl 44, Kurt Warner has announced his retirement from the National Football League, after twelve seasons as a professional quarterback. The rise of Kurt Warner from a grocer to Arena Football Star to Super Bowl champion is inspirational, to the same degree as his deep seeded faith in the Lord is.

After stocking shelves in Iowa, Warner joined the Iowa Barnstormers of the now defunct Arena Football League for two seasons, leading the team to two Arena Bowl appearances, losing both. The impressive nature of Warner's performance in the Arena Football League led to the St. Louis Rams signing him as a third string quarterback in 1998.

Warner continued to impress the St. Louis Rams with a spectacular season with the NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals, earning a promotion to second string quarterback after the Rams released their other quarterbacks and signed Trent Green during the off season, however, Warner would soon be starting quarterback after Green was injured during a preseason game.

The 1999 season would be magical for Kurt Warner, as he threw for 41 touchdown passes and gained over 4,000 yards in the air, earning a Most Valuable Player award and leading the St. Louis Rams to their first Super Bowl championship in team history. Warner would go onto lead the Rams to another Super Bowl in the 2001 season, losing to the New England Patriots.

Kurt Warner's career would decline at a rapid pace, as he was no longer a Ram in 2004, he lasted for just one season with the Giants and the Arizona Cardinals would sign him in 2005, with an uncertain future ahead of him. After several interesting seasons, Kurt Warner was able to lead the Arizona Cardinals to their first Super Bowl berth, surpassing all expectations at his old age.

24 months after the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl 42, Kurt Warner has decided to hang up the cleats and become a better father to his seven children, after completing his dream of becoming a National Football League quarterback, and one of the most successful at that.

He's long been a longtime favorite of mine and I wish him the best in retirement.

Also, some are debating whether or not Kurt Warner should be inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame. 208 Touchdowns, 32,000 passing yards, a Quarter Back rating of 93.7% and three Super Bowl berths is good enough for me.

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1 comment:

Jenna Culbertson said...

Great post. I was sad to read Kurt Warner is leaving the game of football but he has had a great career in the game and should be very proud of his accomplishments. It was great to see the support his family shows for him too.