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Home , Kurt Warner, NFL Europe, Trent Green

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August 5. Kurt Warner. Kurt was an . He played for three teams: the St. Louis Rams, the , and the .

He went on to be considered the best undrafted NFL player of all time, following a 12-year career regarded as one of the greatest stories in the NFL. On this date in 2017, Kurt was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

When things get tough, it’s not time to quit.

Kurt dreamed of playing in the National Football League (NFL); he wanted that more than anything. But he wasn’t the best player, and he didn’t come from a big-name college.

He made it to the NFL as a fourth-string quarterback for the , only to be cut by the team. Kurt had no option but to go back home to and work—not on the football field— but in a grocery store. His dreams of playing in the NFL seemed hopeless, but he refused to give that up.

While he worked at the grocery store he continued to work on his game and eventually had the opportunity to play in the League (AFL), a professional indoor . His faith and talent continued to grow. Even in difficult circumstances, Kurt relied on God for strength.

As his talent grew, he got his chance to play in NFL Europe. And Kurt was once again catching the attention of NFL scouts in the US.

When he finally got the opportunity to play in the NFL in the US, he was a backup quarterback. And he was with the St. Louis Rams, a team known for losing. But that didn’t bother him, because he knew God would use him where he was. His part was to trust God and keep practicing his football skills.

Then during the 1999 pre-season, the starting quarterback was injured. Kurt became the team’s starter and led the Rams to an unexpected resurgence. He led the NFL in pass- completion percentage, thrown, and that season. The Rams won thirteen games in the second-greatest single-season-win improvement in NFL history. And he took his team to , which they won, and Kurt was named the Most Valuable Player of the NFL.

Two years later Kurt took the Rams back to the Super Bowl and were upset by the underdog New Patriots. But he was brought low again. Kurt was injured during the 2002 season and only played in seven games. And he was ineffective in those seven games. In the first game of the 2003, Kurt fumbled six times. He was for the remainder of the season and found himself in a backup role. After a season on the bench, the Rams released Kurt. Two different teams tried to revitalize his career, but it seemed like it was over.

Kurt kept trusting God and practicing football. He played for the Cardinals and took them to a place they had never been, the Super Bowl. And he went on to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Kurt’s college coach at Northern Iowa said, “[Kurt] represents what we believe Northern Iowa is and that’s perseverance, nothing was given to him. Everything was earned.”

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4 NIV).

Is there any area in your life where you feel stalled? When things get tough, it’s not time to quit.

Moraitis, Mike. “Kurt Warner’s Grocery-Store Checker to NFL MVP Story a Tale of Perseverance.” Posted May 21, 2012. NFL. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/the year 1190204-kurt-warners-grocery-store-checker-to-- mvp-story-a-tale-of-perseverance.

Weinfuss, Josh. (2007, August 5) “Kurt Warner’s time at Northern Iowa influences Panthers who followed, David Johnson included.” Posted August 5, 2017. https://www.espn.com/blog/arizona- cardinals/post/_/id/26403/lessons-from-kurt-warners-time-at-northern-iowa-influence-panthers-who- followed-david-johnson-included. Would You Like to Learn More About This Man?

For more information see Kurt’s book about his faith called All Things Possible: My story of faith, Football and the Miracle Season.

Story read by: Nathan Walker Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter Audio Production: Joel Carpenter Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/ Project Manager: Blake Mattocks Copyright © 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved.