Cardinals QB Kurt Warner is NFL's Mr. Fix It

DMN ^ | 1-20-09 | Rick Gosselin

[Dysart]

Kurt Warner, miracle worker.

When Warner became the quarterback of the St. Louis Rams in 1999, he inherited the reins of the worst NFL team of the decade with a 45-99 record. The Rams finished in last place six times that decade. Warner took them to a Super Bowl championship in his first season at the helm.

When Warner arrived in Arizona in 2006, he inherited the reins of the worst franchise in NFL history.

The Cardinals won only two playoff games and two NFL titles in the first 87 years of franchise history. No team had a longer championship drought than the Cardinals at 60 years.

And Arizona wasn't exactly building toward a championship this decade – not with four last-place finishes and a 43-85 record heading into the 2008 season. The Cardinals had not won a playoff game since 1998 and had not won a division title since 1975.

In his first two seasons with the Cardinals, Warner shared the snaps with young Matt Leinart. Warner opened the 2006 season as the starting quarterback but lost the job to Leinart. Then Leinart opened the 2007 season as the starter but lost the job back to Warner.

The 37-year-old Warner and the 25-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner Leinart went to training camp last summer competing for the starting spot. At the conclusion of the preseason, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt told Warner the position was his. Don't look over your shoulder – just take this as far as you can.

By putting their complete faith and trust in the two-time league MVP Warner – as the Rams did in 1999 – the Cardinals have been rewarded with their first trip to a Super Bowl.

[Doc Hunter]

My wife and I watched Brenda and Kurt work their magic with the RAMS and St. Louis. We’re thrilled for him and will be watching the Super Bowl pulling for him. He is just a good guy. :)

[webschooner]

Yes he is. I saw him interviewed briefly after the big win, and he unashamedly referenced his faith. I was smiling, knowing all the media Leftists were all cringing at that point.

[Into the Vortex]

I hope Mr.Fixit has kept his Home Depot card up to date. The upcomming job will require a few more tools.

GO STEELERS!!!

[Damifino]

Yeah, the morning sports-talk guy on WDAE in Tampa was crying about Warner's blatant Christian proclamations. What a loser.

[Shelayne]

He is such a decent guy. I was really pulling for him (after my team lost—natch ;^) ) throughout the playoffs.

I cheered when he said to Terry Bradshaw “I know you guys are tired of hearing it, but I’m going to say it again...” and then trumpeted his faith in Jesus Christ. I loved it!

GO CARDS! :^)

[copaliscrossing]

Yeah, the morning sports-talk guy on WDAE in Tampa was crying about Warner's blatant Christian proclamations. What a loser.

Oh, that's nothing. You should read the comments over at DUmmieland about Kurt Warner. OMG, those DUmmies have to be the most vile, hateful, crass, and clueless people on the face of the planet.

[webschooner]

I just love hearing about these media weasels getting their panties in a wad when someone mentions their faith.

[Clintons Are White Trash]

I agree - I hated to see him go and miss him still!

[PGalt]

The Cardinals won only two playoff games and two NFL titles in the first 87 years of franchise history. No team had a longer championship drought than the Cardinals at 60 years.

Hooray Kurt! The lowly, winless Detroit Pussycat Lions move up to #1 in something...championship droughts.

[Dysart]

Yep. Looks like the Lions are unstoppable in the championship drought category. Hear them roar.

[BenLurkin]

Warner’s experience gives the Cardinals a fighting chance but in the ned the Steelers will be simply too physical for Arizona.

[pookie18]

http://peacemoonbeam.typepad.com/scooters_report/2009/01/january-20-2009-america-looks-to-one-man.html

[Renegade]

Warner will need “ Mr. Fixit “ to put him back together when the Steeler defense gets done with him .

[radar101]

English: Brenda Warner, left, and her husband, New York Giants quarterback Kurt Warner, middle, and New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer, talk to an injured Indonesian boy aboard the Military Sealift Command (MSC) hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19). The two football stars came aboard Mercy to visit patients and talk with the crew of Sailors and “Project Hope” volunteers providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as part of Operation Unified Assistance. Mercy is currently off the waters of Indonesia in support of Operation Unified Assistance, the humanitarian relief effort to aid the victims of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kurt Warner was born to parents Gene and Sue Warner on June 22, 1971, and has a brother, Matt Warner. Warner's parents divorced when he was 6. His father, Gene Warner remarried a year later. Warner's stepmother, Mimi Post Warner, also had a son named Matt; therefore, Kurt actually has two brothers named Matt. The three boys formed a close relationship soon thereafter. He graduated in 1990 from Regis High School in Cedar Rapids, where he distinguished himself as a quarterback of the school's Class 3A football team. Kurt and Brenda Warner in February 2005 During college, Warner met his future wife, the former Brenda Carney Meoni; they married on October 11, 1997. Brenda was a United States Marine Corps veteran and a divorcee with two children when she and Kurt wed. She had also recently lost her parents, Larry and Jenny Carney, when their Arkansas home was destroyed by a 1996 tornado. After Kurt was cut from the Packers' training camp in 1994, he got a job working the night shift as a stock boy at a local Hy-Vee grocery store, in addition to his work as an assistant-coach at Northern Iowa. Warner was still hoping to get an NFL tryout, but with that possibility appearing dim and the long hours at the Hy-Vee for minimum wage taking their toll, Warner began his Arena League career. Warner officially adopted Brenda's two children, son Zachary and daughter Jesse, after their marriage. The Warners also have 5 children of their own: sons Elijah and Kade, daughter Jada, and twin girls Sierra Rose and Sienna Rae. Both Kurt and his wife are active born-again Christians. On October 24, 2006, he was featured in a political advertisement opposing a bill supporting embryonic stem cell research in Missouri. The advertisement was in response to a pro-embryonic research ad featuring Michael J. Fox. He appeared in the advertisement

[Renegade]

Warner will need “ Mr. Fixit “ to put him back together when the Steeler defense gets done with him .

[who knows what evil?]

I cheered when he said to Terry Bradshaw “I know you guys are tired of hearing it, but I’m going to say it again...” and then trumpeted his faith in Jesus Christ. I loved it!

Hey, Kurt...I never get tired of hearing it.

[CriticalJ]

The Panthers should have picked him up instead of Mistake Delhomme.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

The Panthers should have picked him up instead of Mistake Delhomme.

Fans of any number of teams could say the same thing. I certainly would not exclude the Eagles from that list.

[MitziRene]

I heard somewhere that he also has a special needs child. Does anyone know anything about that? My husband & I are huge fans of Kurt. My husband has been a long time fan of the Rams & we fell in love with Kurt while he was there. We followed his career to the Giants & since to the Cardinals. We’ve been rooting for the Cardinals ever since. God’s blessings to the Warner family & the Arizona Cardinals. I’ve always had a little soft-spot for Arizona, my parents took us on a vacation there when I was four years old. I was enchanted by the desert & it’s people & have always loved that state.