THAT MISTER MISTER

FINALLY

It's Opening Day. Finally.

"Anybody would say this and I will also: The sky's the limit on him. The only guy who could get in his way is himself... He might be, position player-wise, one of the top five guys in the league."

"Nothing not to like. He throws strikes, prepares well, is professional in what he does and he gets people out. He's a frontline guy, there's no question. For me, he's one of the top six or seven guys in the majors. I'd take him in a heartbeat."

WELCOME TO MY LIFE

I don't know how I ever lived without you.

LET THE BEAT BUILD

WHATEVER IT IS

When I get bored at work (See: When it rains or is May-August) I generally end up screwing around on my phone. Sometimes it's reading articles, other times playing games, and others blasting away texts and BBMs. Lately, I keep coming back to a conversation I had with a certain someone some random summer day, with the sticking point being: "Let it play out."

Those that know me are more than aware that I am laid back (Unless I'm in a competitive situation. Then forget about it). Sometimes overly so. Like, to a fault. People think I'm lazy. I walk slow, people watch, eat long meals, and love a couch. Love baseball. Love golf. I sit back and relax, because life is no fun stressed all the time.

Despite that, I have a hard time with patience. That doesn't seem to make sense, but I promise it's true. It's just the way I am. When there's something I want, I have a hard time waiting for it. I do whatever I can that I think will help me get it and keep it. I screw a lot of things up that way, but it is what it is.

I think that's where letting it play out comes in. Maybe. But things get realllly interesting the times I try to balance the laid back with the impatience. When I really want something, but want it to come to me. I am used to just letting things come to me, or just going after the things I want. I guess trying to find a balance between the two is my "letting it play out." I am not sure this is right. But I feel like being laid back is not exactly letting things play out so much as it watching them play out. For me, letting things play out means there are still moves to be made (to borrow a line from Kyle), and you can't just sit back and wait. You have to make an effort, build something up, all for the chance that maybe it works.

Anyways, I've decided I suck at it. Whatever it is. I'm pretty certain I know what I want, and it would be real great if it just happened. No moves to be made. No hesitation or reservation. Just going for it.

WHEN EVERYTHING IS OUT

YOU NEVER KNOW

"Buy the ticket, take the ride."

- Hunter S. Thompson

FINDING NEVERLAND

"I suppose it's like the ticking crocodile, isn't it? Time is chasing after all of us, isn't that right?"

- Mrs. Snow, Finding Neverland

THE MAN

One of the greatest fairytales in sports has reached its end. Most of us know the story at this point, but thinking about it today, it is still incredible to me. Shunned by the NFL after graduating from Northern Iowa, Kurt Warner was stocking shelves in a grocery store for $5.50 an hour. After stops in the Arena League and NFL Europe, he finally got his shot - as a third string quarterback. That's not exactly a real big chance. I would guess that 90% of the people that might read this can't name the Cardinals' third stringer right now. The rest is history, as they say. Injuries forced him into action, and four weeks into his NFL career he's on the cover of Sports Illustrated under the title "Who IS this guy?"

"This guy" is the man. He is what every athlete should be. God-fearing. Gracious. Humble. Giving. A family man above all else. He is a hero. He is a two-time MVP. And a Super Bowl Champion. One of the best ever. The following quote is a little questionable on metaphors and language, so some of you might just be better off skipping it, but sums up Kurt's quarterbacking ability about as well as anything I've ever read:

"No way in hell I pick against the Cardinals when there's always a chance that Kurt Warner will slaughter a calf for God's glory and be transformed, once more, into '99 Warner, setting the fucking Earth aflame for four weeks straight. I don't give a shit if Boldin or Rodgers-Cromartie aren't playing. If '99 Warner materializes on the field Sunday, Green Bay has no fucking chance. ‘99 Warner can get off atomically precise passes forty yards downfield with seven defenders hanging off of his dick. He can ejaculate through a Froot Loop and not hit the sides of it. He can also turn water into Booker's. There's nothing else like it. I swear, I've never seen a QB play better than when '99 Warner strikes. Ever. Not Brady. Not Manning. No one. He's unstoppable when he's feeling that shit."

He is that good. And he made football in Arizona fun. We're talking about the Arizona Cardinals. PLAYING IN THE SUPER BOWL. It still doesn't make sense. I remember telling a friend before the NFC Championship Game last year that if somehow Kurt led us to the Super Bowl, absolutely anything in this life is possible. And when it happened, I cried. At a sports bar. In public. And I believe it. Absolutely anything. No doubt it took a lot more than just Kurt to get there - Coach Whiz, Fitz, A Dub, Dansby, Dockett, and DRC. It took everyone. But there's no way we get even close without Kurt. No way in hell. Last January was the most incredible month of my life. Call it ridiculous, I don't really care. It's true. And anyone who has grown up on Cardinal football will tell you the exact same thing. There was nothing like that ride last January. I will never forget it.

And as amazing as he was on the field, he was even better off it. There is not a single athlete out there I would rather have a kid looking up to. He is something else. So, so different than 98% of the guys out there. He gets it. This life isn't about us. This life is about grace, and each of us using whatever God has given us, big and small, and honoring Him in it. One of my favorite quotes ever is from my pastor John Lynch, who said:

"This life isn't about arriving any place, it's about returning time and again to the One who brought us here."

That's something that Kurt has always driven home for me, as a Cardinal and otherwise. He went from nothing to the top of the world. And yet, it was never about him. I hope that regardless of what I have in front of me, I can be half of what Kurt was, and is. He'll be missed. Him and his giant sleeves.

Thank you, Kurt. For all of it. You're the man.

SO IT BEGINS

It was a hell of a way to start, but here's to hoping we just began another amazing ride.
51-45.



Let's go Cards.