Kurt Warner

  b. 1971 | American football player

At The Bottom

— 1995

He stood in the middle of a blizzard with a useless car and no direction in his life.

It was a terrible day to move into a new apartment, and an even worse day for Kurt Warner’s worthless car to die.  It was the coldest day of the year, and snow had been falling since the previous day in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Drifts piled up around the wheels as Warner tried to figure out how he was going to move all his family’s stuff without a car.  He wondered how on earth he’d wound up in this position.  Just a few months earlier, he was throwing passes at the Green Bay Packers’ training camp, working his way toward a spot as an NFL quarterback.  The former University of Northern Iowa star was sure that he’d be a standout in the pros, so he was stunned when the team cut him.  The quarterbacks coach told him he had talent but wasn’t ready for the big time.  Disappointed, Warner returned to Cedar Falls to live with his girlfriend, Brenda, and her children.  He waited for another shot at an NFL roster spot, but no one called.  He waited by the phone on draft day for the World Football League, but no one wanted him.  Desperate for a job — any job — Warner found work at a Hy-Vee grocery store, where he stocked shelves for minimum wage and bought his groceries with food stamps.  When officials from the Arena Football League called to see if he would join an expansion team in Iowa, Warner ignored the offers, believing arena football was a last resort.  Now, as he stood in the middle of a blizzard with a useless car and no direction in his life, Warner wondered if things could get any worse.