Warner can finish career off in style with a Super Bowl victory

TAMPA, Fla. - Four years ago Kurt Warner was having a hard time finding a job.

No matter that he had been to two Super Bowls and won one of them, or that he'd been an NFL and Super Bowl MVP.

The perception was that he was washed up, finished, that his storybook career was approaching an ignominious end.

Then the 37-year-old quarterback wrote the most amazing chapter of all with a season that might cement him a spot on football's Hall of Fame, especially if he can lead the Arizona Cardinals, of all teams, to a Super Bowl victory Sunday over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Hopefully, it would recognize him for exactly what he is - one of the best players to ever play his position," his coach, Ken Whisenhunt, said.

Warner's story is rooted in a deep faith and a persistent drive to be the very best he can be as a person and a football player.

"My approach is hoping that every player that I've played with, every place that I've been, that in some way, shape or form, I leave my stamp on those people and those places," he said at the Super Bowl media day on Tuesday. "That's what I want my legacy to be. The football stuff, that's all gravy."

Warner's return to the top is a dominant theme leading up to this Super Bowl, just as it was in his 1999 season.

"Most times when you do something great, it's not overnight," he said. "It's not something that comes easy. It comes with a lot of hard work, a lot of time, a lot of commitment."

The comment pretty much sums up his life.

His well-publicized path to the NFL went through the Arena Football League and NFL Europe. He got a chance in St. Louis, won a Super Bowl and lost another, then went to the Giants for a season.

With no serious offers, he signed with the Cardinals at age 33.

"I worked my butt off this year to try to prove they made the right decision, not only this year but when they signed me four years ago," Warner said, "to try to pay back as much as I can for what they've given me."

Since 2006 Warner has been battling for the starting spot with USC phenom Matt Leinart. Last season, Leinart went down with a broken collarbone five games into the season, and Warner went on to throw for 3,417 yards and 27 touchdowns.

But at season's end it was the same old story: Leinart was the starter.

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, though, assured Warner he'd have an opportunity to compete for the job in training camp, and after the final preseason game of 2008, Whisenhunt made Warner the starter.

"It was a week and a day before our first regular-season game," Whisenhunt said, "and I stayed up all night making the decision. ... As I've said before, it was a very close competition. It came down to what I felt was the player that gave us the chance to win early."

Warner found an offensive rhythm with his powerhouse group of receivers and the Cardinals took flight. His statistics this season rival those of his St. Louis days, finishing second in the NFL in completions (401), second in completion percentage (67.1), second in yards passing (4,583) and third in passing touchdowns (30).

And the offense kicked into an even higher gear in the playoffs, with the Cardinals beating Atlanta 30-24, Carolina 33-13 and Philadelphia 32-25.

Warner will make his 20th start of the season Sunday, the most of his career. As far as his teammates are concerned, he's already a Hall of Famer.

"I told him after the NFC championship that I just want a ticket to Canton, Ohio, when he gets in," defensive end Bertrand Berry said. "When you think about what he's done in his career and what he's accomplished in his career, to think that there is even a question about whether he'll be a Hall of Famer or not, to me, is ridiculous."