Speech in hand, Warner ready for Hall induction
As an NFL quarterback, Kurt Warner pored over details in the game plan, took all the snaps he could in practice and expected teammates to be just as fastidious in their preparation.
So it came as little surprise on Thursday when Warner admitted he’s spent weeks writing, editing and polishing the speech he’ll give when inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio.
“The day after you're chosen, they tell you they want you to get up there and speak for 12 or 13 minutes,” Warner said during a conference call on Thursday. “To try to put your entire career (in perspective) and thank the people you want to thank, and do the speech justice, I think it’s nearly impossible to keep it to that length.
“At the end of the day, I just take the approach you get one shot at this…and you just get up there and let it go. I guess you apologize later if it’s a little too long.”
If Warner tries to tell his whole story in one speech, it will last hours because it’s one of the best stories in sports history.
He started just one college season at Northern Iowa. He was cut by the Packers. He played one summer in NFL Europe and three seasons in the Arena League. He stocked grocery store shelves to make ends meet. He became a starter with the Rams only after Trent Green suffered a knee injury.
Warner led two moribund franchises, the Rams and Cardinals, to Super Bowls.
He and wife, Brenda, are the parents of seven children, and they have devoted considerable time and resources to charitable causes.
So, yes, that’s a lot to cover in one speech on one Saturday evening.
Brenda will “present” Warner at his induction, a decision that ultimately was easy for Warner to make. She’s the one person, he said, who has been with him throughout, the one who sacrificed as much as he did.
“She really allowed me to chase after my dream,” he said. “She may have put things on hold and took on different responsibilities that she may not have if we had went a different direction.
“Being up on that stage, there are so many people who helped me get there, but she’s the one I believe deserves to share that moment with me, share that stage with me.”
Presenters’ speeches are recorded and brief, but Brenda’s might pack a punch, Warner said.
“Anytime it’s your wife, you’re wondering what they might say in public,” he joked.
As for his speech, Warner hinted it might be unique.
“Maybe a little different than what other people have done,” he said, “but I think that’s kind of fitting, and I think that’s what you want to do. Just as your career took its own path and wrote its own story, it will be the same when I get up there on that stage.
“If you do it right, it doesn’t seem like it’s too long.”