The Kurt Warner Story

There is a widely e-mailed story going around about a supermarket stock boy who goes on a date with a cashier who is a bit older then him. At first Brenda turns down Kurtis because she could not afford a babysitter for her two young children. However he offers to pay and she finally accepts but when the babysitter does not show it looks like there will be no date. Kurtis refuses to quit and wants to take the children along but she explains that’s not possible as her son is a paraplegic with Down syndrome. However he won’t give in, convinces her they should all go out where he takes care of the boy like he’s his own. A year later they are married, he adopts the two children and later they add two more and live happily ever after. So what ever happened to the stock boy and check out girl? Well Kurt Warner is getting ready to play in his third Super Bowl this Sunday where his wife Brenda will be rooting him on in Tampa.

Unfortunately while the premise of the story is true most of the details are not. They met at bar one night while he was playing at Northern Iowa in 1994. The next day he wanted to meet the young children she had talked about the night before. Zachary who was then 5 years old was actually a healthy infant at birth. However when he was four months old his father dropped him and he suffered severe brain damage and battled for his life. Through hard work he learned to walk and talk and while legally blind attended school. After a five-year courtship (not one as the fabricated story goes) Kurt and Brenda were married in 1997 and he did adopt Zachary and his younger sister. They have added five more children to their family.

What is true is that both are part of a great story. Kurt did after being cut by the Packers in 1994, stock shelves in a grocery story for $5.50 an hour. It was three years later after stints in the Arena League and NFL Europe that he ended up in St. Louis and went from 3rd string to Super Bowl MVP. Brenda herself had to overcome obstacles after he first husband deserted her. She finished her nursing training while pregnant with her second child and the brain-damaged Zachary. She got by during this time with the help of student loans and food stamps. The year before marrying Kurt both her parents died in a tornado.

Warner of course is the biggest reason why the Arizona Cardinals are in their first-ever Super Bowl this Sunday against Pittsburgh. They are a touchdown underdog but you probably should not bet against him….after all the stock boy is on his way to the Hall of Fame.