The biggest question facing Kurt Warner's recent retirement shouldn't even have to be asked. Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? The answer is a resounding yes.
An NFL and Super Bowl MVP award, a career completion percentage that is second all-time and leading two franchises to Super Bowl appearances are all factors in his favor. And you can't talk about Kurt Warner without mentioning his implausible rise to greatness.
From grocery-store stocker to Super Bowl champion, the guy's story is as inspirational as they get. It would be nice for that story to conclude in Canton, Ohio, home to the professional football Hall of Fame.
Warner announced his retirement just days after his Cardinals lost to the New Orleans Saints a couple weeks ago, which led media, players and fans to look back on the illustrious career of the formerly undrafted quarterback. As magical as his career was, it didn't start off like he had wanted it to.
After not being picked in the 1994 NFL Draft, Warner found work at his local Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, making $5.50 an hour—not exactly an NFL proving ground. But just one year later he was starring in the Arena Football League and continued to do so until 1997, when the St. Louis Rams picked him up prior to the 1998 season, thus beginning ""The Greatest Show on Turf"" era.
But it's not his Cinderella story that allots Warner a bronze bust in football's most honorable club—it's his play on the field. His numbers, in the playoffs especially, are up there with some of football's greatest quarterbacks.
Warner's career passer rating (93.2) is third all-time among those with at least 1,500 attempts, behind only Hall of Famer, Steve Young, and another future Canton member, Peyton Manning. Before Manning won his first Super Bowl three years ago, many people criticized him for not being able to win ""the big game"" and said the absence of a championship jeopardized his place in history. The same cannot be said for Warner.
Not only does he have a championship ring and a Super Bowl MVP trophy, but he also owns the three most prolific passing games in Super Bowl history.
Some people aren't as easily swayed by great numbers and playoff performances, but Warner had other attributes that give him Hall of Fame credibility. The guy helped resurrect not one, but two of the NFL's most incompetent teams in the Rams and the Cardinals. Who else can lay claim to that?
Watching Warner and the Rams defeat the Tennessee Titans with a stop at their 1-yard line as time wound down is now legend, and then there's the fact that he led the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance. Had it not been for Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes' late-game heroics, Warner would have another Super Bowl ring. Being the face of two formerly—or in the Rams' case after Warner's departure, currently—dreadful franchises puts my man Kurt in a class by himself.
Those against Warner's induction may point out that he had a ""valley,"" so to speak, in the middle of his career. But during this time—2002 to 2006—Warner was dealing with injuries the first couple years and then dealt with an extremely raw Cardinals team for the next few. Brett Favre had four years in which his passer rating was under 75, but does that make him any less likely to be in the Hall of Fame? No, it does not, and even the most bitter Packers fan knows it.
As for the Cinderella story not being a factor... well, I lied. How can voters not take into account his rise from undrafted nobody to Super Bowl MVP? Even Sports Illustrated had a cover asking ""Who is this Guy?"" in October 1999 after he exploded onto the national scene.
On top of transforming from Hy-Vee stocker to 5-time Pro Bowler, he might be the most humble and kind football player this side of Barry Sanders. I know personal characteristics shouldn't be a part of voting criteria, but it's hard to root against a man who has accomplished so much yet passes credit to every teammate before himself. Here's hoping he eventually makes the trip to Canton, and that his story is a glimmer of hope to all of those at Madison Market.
Does Kurt Warner deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame? E-mail Jack at jpdoyle2@wisc.edu.
