Kurt Warner, the Family Guy, Can Cement Legacy

By KAREN CROUSE Grabbing the microphone, Kurt Warner warbled “Hey There Delilah” while eyeing the white arrow that moved across the 52-inch plasma screen like a first-down marker, measuring his pitch. Before coming here with the aim of avenging a defeat in the Super Bowl, Warner, the Cardinals’ quarterback, tried to even another score in the game room of his Arizona home. Though able to carry a tune almost as well as a team, he has not been able to unseat his daughter Jesse as the Warner household Wii “American Idol” champion. Warner’s choice, a Plain White T’s song about an anguished boy in love with an absent girl, stirs emotions in him that one would not expect from a married father of seven. “It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s about ‘Follow me and my dreams, and I’ll make it work.’” It’s a pitch-perfect message for Warner, whose football career has been an ode to dreamers. Sprawled on a loveseat on his patio the day after Arizona clinched its first Super Bowl berth, Warner sang: “Hey there Delilah, I know times are getting hard. But just believe me, girl, someday I’ll pay the bills with this guitar.” He grinned and said, “I used to say, ‘But just believe me, someday, I’ll pay the bills with this arm.’”

So far, this is a great column, but it gets even better:

Over the past 11 seasons, the deeply religious Warner has converted enough disbelievers to fill a stadium. His story is so incredible, it is hard to tell where the facts end and the fable begins. From stock boy to Super Bowl M.V.P. to castoff to Super Bowl XLIII against the Pittsburgh Steelers here on Sunday, Warner offers his story as a preserver for those struggling to keep their heads above water. [Continue reading]

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