Arizona Cardinals

A fan's perspective on Kurt Warner finally entering the HOF

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:06 p.m. ET

Fansided, Lawrence Lease/FanSided via Raising Zona

Kurt Warner brings class and respect of the game to the Hall of Fame

Growing up in America means most people are football fans. I spent most of my life watching America’s favorite team the St. Louis Rams, also known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Kurt Warner was not expected to reach greatness, several sports commentators wrote him off. However, he proved them wrong.

Warner did not have it easy, when it came to playing in the National Football League. It began at Northern Iowa, where Warner was third on the depth chart until his senior year.

Warner went undrafted in 1994 and failed to make a loaded Green Bay team out of training camp. He then stocked shelves at a Cedar Falls, Iowa, grocery store, spent three years playing in the Arena Football League, canceled a tryout with the Chicago Bears because of a spider bite and played a stint in NFL Europa.

He later ended up on the New York Giants and then found his groove with the St. Louis Rams and finished out his career with the Arizona Cardinals. He did not start his first NFL game until he was 28 years old.

Warner entered the spotlight while playing for the St. Louis Rams from 1998 to 2003, where he won NFL MVP awards in 1999 and 2001 as well as the Super Bowl MVP award in Super Bowl XXXIV when he and the Rams beat the Tennessee Titans. Super Bowl XXXIV will always be a game that I remember for the rest of my life. I was able to witness Kurt Warner fly down the field with the help of Isaac Bruce, Marshall Faulk and his other teammates.

What makes Kurt Warner stand out is his love and respect for the game and the compassion he shows off the field and through his work with First Things First foundation. Warner is a man who lives how every man should, the perfect family man.

He always attended his kid’s sporting events. Warner was willing to work with struggling football players who are fighting for a shot at the NFL dream. Hats off to Mr. Kurt Warner, he will be remembered for the class he brought to the game.