popwarner.com - 2005 Award Recipients

About Kurt Warner:

Kurt Warner captured the imagination of the sports world in 1999 when he defied the odds by emerging from obscurity to lead the St. Louis Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. In that same year, Kurt was named the NFL and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player and stood out as the spiritual leader of the Championship team

Kurt's journey to NFL stardom was unconventional. After being passed over in the 1994 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers invited Kurt to training camp but cut him from the team shortly thereafter. Kurt played for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League from 1995-1997, passing for 10,486 yards and 183 touchdowns. During his time in the Arena Football League, Kurt led his team to two straight Arena Bowl appearances and earned all-Arena honors. In 1997, Kurt missed his opportunity to tryout for the Chicago Bears due to a swollen elbow resulting from a spider bite. A short time later, the St. Louis Rams signed him and sent him to play for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, where in the spring of 1998 he led the league in passing yardage and touchdowns. He made the Rams roster that season as the third-string quarterback and saw his first NFL action in the fourth quarter of the Rams final game of the season.

A season-ending injury to the Rams' starter thrust Kurt into the spotlight for the 1999 season, where he went on to lead the NFL with a 109.2 passer-rating, 4,353 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes. During his time with the Rams, Kurt led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances - including two Super Bowls - and received Pro Bowl honors for three consecutive years (1999-2001). In the summer of 2004, Kurt became the newest quarterback for the New York Giants.

Kurt is one of a few NFL players to be recognized with two NFL MVP awards, receiving his second after the 2001 season. During his professional career, Kurt has rewritten Rams and NFL record books, placing him on elite lists with some of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.

After a short stint with the Giants, Kurt Warner signed with the Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent on March 6, 2005.

He and his wife, Brenda, have five children: sons Zachary, Kade and Elijah and daughters Jesse and Jada. Kurt graduated with a degree in communications, and attended Cedar Rapids Regis High in Iowa, where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball. He was a Des Moines Register all-state selection in football senior season.

In the spring of 2001, Kurt and Brenda established the First Things First Foundation to promote Christian values and bless the lives of those less fortunate with projects such as trips to Disney World for ill children, building recreation centers in children's hospitals, helping single moms achieve the dream of homeownership and teaching Special Olympians the football basics. All projects are centered on Kurt and Brenda's life theme: faith and family come first. Born Kurtis Warner in Burlington, Iowa on June 22, 1971.