Circumstances

Quarterback Kurt Warner recently announced his retirement from professional football. Throughout his eleven-year career in the NFL, Kurt has been known as a man of faith and generosity.

He started a family tradition he calls “The Restaurant Game.” The night before he heads out for a road game, Kurt and his wife take their seven children out to eat a family dinner. Once the Warner family is seated, one of the children will scan the dining area like a quarterback looking for potential receivers. When the Warner child picks a table, Kurt asks the waiter to add that table's dinner tab to his own—anonymously.

The idea for “The Restaurant Game” came to Warner and his wife after Warner led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory in 2000. They remember the days before Warner's NFL career—when Kurt was working a night shift at a grocery store, and they only had food stamps to feed their family. With that in mind, giving is a joyful tradition for the Warner family.

"We want our kids to grow up knowing that because of football we are blessed," Warner said. "We never want them to lose sight of what it's really about. Our circumstances are not the most important thing. It's what we do with those circumstances."

-Source: Rev. Dale Miller, www.nardinpark.org