Warner Retires

If you can't believe Kurt Warner is what woke me from my blogging hibernation you're in the same boat as me.

But I had to write about him. Mainly, because I still hear people wonder if he's a hall of famer. If you ask me, it's a no brainer. Two league MVPs, one Super Bowl MVP, three Super Bowl appearances. The most prolific passer in Super Bowl history (#1, #2, and #3 on the "most passing yards in a Super Bowl" list and most career Super Bowl passing yards in history). Super Bowl appearances for two franchises. Second highest "passing yards per game" average for a career. Most games with a perfect passer rating in history. Only quarterback to throw 14,000+ yards for two teams. One of two players to ever throw 100+ touchdowns for two teams.

Even if those numbers aren't enough for you to put him in the hall of fame, think about the teams he did all of that for. Yes, every team he played for had great wide receivers, which is bound to inflate any quarterback's numbers. Forget that. Think about the franchises he did this with. The St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals.

Growing up, there were two franchises that every fan of the NFL laughed at. Yeah, the 'Aints and Browns and Bungles were legendarily bad at times, but they still had fans. Nobody cared about the Rams and Cardinals. They were awful, and never seemed good enough to compete.

Before Warner, the St. Louis Rams hadn't been to the playoffs in a decade. They hadn't won a championship since the early '50s. They hadn't been to the Super Bowl since...well they never went to the Super Bowl without Kurt Warner.

Before Warner, the Arizona Cardinals hadn't been to the playoffs in a decade. They hadn't won a championship since the late '40s. They hadn't been to a Super Bowl since...well they never went to the Super Bowl without Kurt Warner either.

All Kurt Warner ever did in the NFL was win. And he put up hall-of-fame-like numbers doing it. Best of all though, he brought relevance to two franchise that were so insignificant nobody remembers just how bad they are.

How is it still a question?
[Click To Continue Reading]