Amid Super Bowl Silliness, A Couple Stories Worth Telling
February 5, 2010 Download | Duration: 00:03:22
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It’s hard to think of too many endeavors that receive more overblown attention than do sports. And within sports, nothing’s more overblown than the Super Bowl.
This time around, we’re getting endless stories about President Obama picking the New Orleans Saints – because… that matters? – a preview of the ads scheduled to run during the game, and several hundred articles analyzing the recuperation of Dwight Freeney’s sprained right ankle, and how that might affect national security. Or some such.
But in the midst of this morass are two stories worth telling.
The first is Kurt Warner. After graduating from Northern Iowa in 1994, not one NFL team drafted him. In other words, the NFL determined there were at least 222 players better than Kurt Warner that year alone.
Warner was tempted to pack it in. Instead, he started packing groceries in Cedar Falls, Iowa, while living in his girlfriend’s parents’ basement, serving as a graduate assistant coach for his alma mater, and working out in the hopes of getting another chance. He had to settle for the Iowa Barnstormers, a team that played in the doomed Arena Football League. But, what should have been a dead end, proved to be a launch pad.
Arena Football’s funny rules required Warner to speed up his decision-making and his delivery – skills you need to succeed in the NFL. Three years later, one of the NFL’s worst teams, the St. Louis Rams, hired him as a backup. The next season, incredibly, the Rams won their first Superbowl, and Kurt Warner won the league’s MVP – his first of three.
Last week, Warner retired with a pile of records, a pile of money, and a well-earned reputation for playing his best in the biggest games. He said he didn’t want to be known for being a clutch player, but a hard worker. He’ll have to settle for both.
Warner left the stage with quiet dignity – two qualities not often associated with NFL players – just as a younger quarterback was taking his place.
Drew Brees was one of the most celebrated high school quarterbacks in Texas, a state that celebrates high school quarterbacks more than it does Supreme Court justices. But Brees blew off the hometown Texas Longhorns to head north to Purdue, where he set just about every school record for passing. He took the Boilermakers to their first Rose Bowl in over three decades, and was named not just an Academic All-American, but the Academic All-American of the Year.
But in the NFL, Brees struggled his first three seasons. Soon after he finally found his rhythm, he also found a new city to play in: New Orleans, which had been ravished by Hurricane Katrina the year before. The Saints’ home, the Superdome, had become the very symbol of the disaster, and the owners were considering moving the team for good.
Enter Drew Brees, who not only led the historically pathetic Saints to the playoffs, he spent his money and his time creating his own foundation, which restores schools, parks and playgrounds, in a city desperate for all three. A recent Sports Illustrated cover story said Brees was “as adored and appreciated as any [athlete] in an American city today.”
It’s hard to argue with that, and even harder to root against Drew Brees.
So, if you missed Kurt Warner, enjoy Drew Brees while you can. Players like this don’t come along very often.
Copyright © 2010, Michigan Radio
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class like this does not come often in the public forum and should be celebrated wholeheartedly. Thanks for pointing this out, John.
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People that do the right things in life and give more than they take unfortunately do not make headlines. Kudos to you for acknowledging the positive character traits of these two fine gentlemen and it is a serious flaw in our society that these types of stories too often get ignored or buried in the news. Whereas this past week also included the media giving too much time to Gilbert Arena for writing an editorial about guns and Plaxico Burress a letter of apology to his Commissioner also about guns.
I would say the moral of the story is if one has to write his own article you probably have not done anything overly impressive. Brees and Warner’s feel good stories are about people who do nice things for others because it is the “right” thing to do and not because they are seeking the limelight. Thanks for the refreshing article reminding us that there are role models all of us should try to emulate regardless of our age.
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Brilliant as usual; but don't you mean "ravaged"? (per New Orleans) Being ravished can be a good thing- (depending on the ravisher) being ravaged-not so much.
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If a writer has to admit he used the wrong word, I cannot imagine a more palatable circumstance than a reader pointing out that "being ravished can be a good thing... being ravaged -- not so much."
Thanks for your good eye and good judgment.
-John
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