Cardinals' Warner never forgets humble roots -- or fans
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- It's 6 p.m. in Flagstaff, the time of day photographers and cameramen love most for the flattering light the setting sun casts on all flora, fauna and faces.
Most of the Arizona Cardinals have departed following their second training-camp practice of the day, but the crowd ringing the lower of Northern Arizona University's two practice fields is waiting impatiently.
|
|
| Warner not only doesn't mind signing autographs, he seeks out fan interaction. (Getty Images) |
Warner works the crowd, grinning and flapping his arms wildly.
The plebeians respond, and when the din reaches maximum volume, he veers suddenly and sharply toward the sideline.
At last, he is among them.
The encounters are too numerous to chronicle, filled with handshakes, high-fives, hugs and quick conversations. And there are always autographs -- hundreds of them -- scribbled on jerseys, caps, photos and flesh.
Not once in this near-chaos does Warner display a hint of regret or fatigue. Not once does he turn to the Cardinals staff for an escape plan.
"We may not understand all the autograph stuff and why that's important to people, but I think what's important is the interaction," Warner said. "I think they appreciate it, even if it's just a few minutes to acknowledge them."
Warner's Christian beliefs have been well-chronicled at this stage of his career, and they play a vital role in his willingness and desire to connect with people.
"That's what Jesus was like and that's what I want to model," he said.
But this man of the people is not just a product of faith.
"We have the same faith and I wouldn't do what he does," quipped his wife, Brenda. "I think it's just how Kurt was created."
• • •
Unless you've been living in a monastery, you've probably heard the details of Warner's rags-to-riches tale.
• His parents' divorce when he was 6.
• The lack of big-time scholarship offers out of high school that led him to Northern Iowa University.
• Stocking grocery shelves for $5.50 an hour at Hy-Vee in Cedar Falls.
• The Arena Football League and NFL Europe careers.
• His seven children, one of them with special needs.
• And a Super Bowl victory with the Rams.
"All of those things shaped who Kurt is, just as everything in our past shapes us," Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "He had to work hard to get to the NFL and he works hard to stay in it, so I think he appreciates everything that he's earned."
Warner wasn't so firm in his convictions as a high school freshman.
"I think you'd have a hard time finding any ninth-grade boy outwardly proclaiming his faith in Jesus," said Jim Padlock, Warner's freshman coach at Regis High School in Cedar Rapids.
What Warner did display at that early age was an uncanny ability to manage volume, whether it was his school work, his teammates or Padlock's complex, multiple-set offenses.
"He was determined to do it all," Padlock said, "and there wasn't anything we threw at him that he didn't master in a very short time."
Marci Pritts was in charge of community relations for the Rams when Warner took over at quarterback for injured Trent Green in 2000.
"One day, he pokes his head in my office and says, 'Hey Marci, you know anything about fan mail?'" said Pritts, who now runs the Warners' First Things First Foundation. "At that point in his career he was adamant about responding to every letter, so I recruited some people and we went over to his house to see how we could help out.
"We get there and literally half the basement was filled with crates of mail. It was so typical of Kurt. Nothing daunts him."
Not even a woman with self-described "baggage," hanging out at a country bar.
"When I finally met him and danced with him -- after everybody else had had their turn -- I said, 'Listen, I'm divorced with two kids so if you don't want to waste your time, don't,'" Brenda said.
"I figured, 'This cool guy? That will end it, for sure.'
"When he showed up the next morning to meet my kids, I was thinking 'Are you kidding me? This guy can't be real.'"
That too-good-to-be-true persona has its disadvantages. Take last summer, when Warner invited his teammates and their families over for a pool party and barely anyone showed.
"I think a lot of people have this perception that Kurt and Brenda are these Bible-thumping freaks who are going to point out all your problems once they have you cornered," Pritts said. "Faith is important to them, and that's obvious with all the programs they run and all the time they commit, year-round, through the foundation.
"But what people don't see is how down-to-earth and funny they are. Kurt won't hesitate to poke fun at himself or others."
Early in training camp, defensive tackle Darnell Dockett proclaimed on Twitter that he had adopted the moniker '9-0' and would be ignoring anyone who referred to him by his old name. Warner now makes a point of enunciating "Dar-nell" whenever he addresses Dockett.
And when Whisenhunt eased up in training camp recently, allowing players to practice in caps and shorts, Warner donned a hideous white cowboy hat with a Cardinal emblazoned on it.
"He knows when to put the leadership hat on and when to put the silly hat on," guard Deuce Lutui said. "Kurt doesn't take himself too seriously. How could you, wearing that hat? It ain't a good look."
Warner thought about abdicating some of his responsibilities following last season's improbable Super Bowl run. The pressure of needing to be at his best every week for the team to win seemed too great a weight.
"Sometimes it takes the fun out of the game because you can't just sit back and let it come to you," he said.
But a couple days after the Pro Bowl, he found himself missing football again.
That's when he knew "it probably wasn't the right time."
• • •
It's Day 4 of training camp, and Warner is seated at a table to preserve his aching, surgically repaired hip. As he surveys a line of autograph seekers 60 yards long, a group of disabled kids is watching him from inside the fences, then turns to leave.
Warner gestures to a member of the Cards PR staff.
"Hey, I just want to make sure every one of them got an autograph -- if even they want one," he said.
Warner is not the only athlete who signs a lot of autographs.
He isn't the only professional athlete with personal trials dotting his past and shaping his present.
He's not the only one with a foundation dedicated to serving the community, he's not the only Christian and he's not the only loyal father and husband.
But it would be hard to find another athlete who devotes his time so freely and frequently -- even when it means there's no time left for himself.
And it would be difficult to find an athlete who merges the disparate parts of his life so seamlessly.
"What I'm trying to do and accomplish is more about impacting people in the big picture than it has anything to do with playing football," Warner said. "I don't ever want my identity to be caught up with the game I play or the job I have.
"I want it to be more about the relationships I've built."
