Kurt & Me

Kurt Warner announced his retirement on Friday. His story is one that most people, even people who aren't sports fan, are familiar with. He went from playing in the Arena Football League and bagging groceries at Hy-Vee to winning MVPs, setting records & appearing in Super Bowls. He led his teams to 3 Super Bowls, winning one.

If you aren't familiar with Kurt Warner the football player you may be familiar with Kurt Warner the Christian. He is a big supporter of the Lord's work, and isn't afraid to share it with others.

When I was in college the Rams had training camp at WIU. The year after they one the Super Bowl I spent the summer in Macomb working at the Macomb Journal. I had the opportunity to cover the Rams. My job was to watch practice, interview players & write stories. Warner was never hotter than at that time so I did not have a chance to interview him one on one, but I did have a chance to watch him before, during and after practice every day. I also had a chance to cover the press conference he held after signing his first big contract.

From what I heard and observed he was someone who lived what he preached. He was very often the last player off the field because he was signing autographs for fans. The best story I heard involved a trip to a local Macomb eatery. Kurt and his family were out to dinner, his kids were being kids and disrupting the people around them so he paid the bills of everyone who was in the restaurant at the time, which is pretty cool.

These are some excerpts from the article I wrote about his press conference.

'To Warner contract is more than money'

Kurt Warner took a time out Friday afternoon to talk to the media about his seven year $46.5 million dollar contract, which included a signing bonus of $11.5 million.

Warner's focus wasn't on the dollar amount. It was on his faith, family and the St. Louis Rams.

"As always, first and foremost, I have to thank the Lord up above. I truly am blessed, and, it's a wonderful day for me and my family. I'm truly excited to know that my future is going to be with the St. Louis Rams, a great organization, a great team, and I think we have the things in pace to continue for a long time.

Knowing it was only a matter of time before the deal job done Warner signed for $358,000 to get into camp on time for more than just himself.

"A few of my teammates came up to me and told they were glad I was here. A lot of people outside the team said they appreciated what I did in the fact that I came in, but to me it's more than the football part of it. I am here for a bigger reason that that," Warner said. I felt that's what I needed to do show up to camp, be here for my teammates and coaches, and I wanted to be here to touch lives off the field."