The Heart of a Champion

For the sports fan, at least the one who enjoys football, this is the ultimate week. It’s the week of the big game – the Super Bowl. The name says it all. Originally a game between two rival league champions, the Super Bowl crowns the best of the best in what Americans call football. Even more than that, this week’s game is not just about a game. It’s about having the heart of a champion.

Kurt Warner, this week’s starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, was a third-string, bench-warming quarterback at the University of Northern Iowa for most of his college career. Finally, in his senior year at UNI, his coaches believed he could lead them team. Lead them he did. He was the Gateway Conference offensive player of the year.

However, that performance wasn’t enough to impress the pros. After attending pre-season camp with the Green Bay Packers, the Packers released him. Kurt went back to Iowa and worked stocking shelves for minimum wage at a Hy-Vee grocery store.

But you can’t keep a good man like Kurt Warner down. Kurt got a second chance at the pros when he started racking up the stats as a quarterback in the Arena League and NFL Europe. His performance caught the attention of the St. Louis Rams. After the Rams quarterback went down with an injury in the 1999 season, Kurt led them to the playoffs and a Super Bowl victory. He was the league MVP twice while playing for the Rams. But it still wasn’t enough.

After an injury, some less-than-impressive games, and a few trades, Kurt Warner again found himself on the bench. He was now in Phoenix, Arizona – where the win column is usually as dry as the climate. Yet, once again, after a few years of on-and-off play for the Arizona Cardinals, Warner is now performing and leading his team, and they will appear in next week’s NFL Super Bowl. Between his NFL play, his personal life, and the many charitable actions with which we as Missourians are well-acquainted, it is obvious that Kurt Warner has the heart of a champion. Whether the Cardinals win Sunday or not, Kurt Warner has already won.

When you think about Warner’s story, it is obvious that he has been the recipient of a 2nd chance (and a third, and a fourth, etc.). There are many times when we wish we were so blessed. We struggle to overcome past mistakes. People don’t let us forget the past. And if it weren’t enough, we come to believe that even God “has it in for us”. After all, we know. We know we’ve failed so many times.

Yet, God actually calls us to get up off the bench and come back into the game. Far from “writing us off”, God offers as many chances as we will take to be winners in life. The question is whether or not we have that same heart of a champion - the one that never quits - the one that has faith.

What do you think?