The St. Louis Rams 1999 Cinderella season is not without a Cinder-fella. A virtually unknown quarterback by the name of Kurt Warner rose from the ashes of obscurity and adversity to bring glory to his team.

While at Northern Iowa, Warner was a second string player. It was during college he met a single mom who had two kids. Even though one of the children was blind, Warner didn't run for the sidelines. He married the woman and adopted both kids.

Because he wasn't drafted by the NFL after college, he went to work stocking groceries. But he kept his dream alive playing in the Arena Football League and eventually for the Amsterdam Admirals in the European NFL. In 1998, he was signed by the St. Louis Rams but barely played. In 1999 his opportunities didn't look much better. The Rams had hired quarterback Trent Green and gave him a multimillion dollar contract. Kurt got the league minimum for a second year player, $250,000.

In a preseason game Green got hurt, which allowed Warner to prove himself as a starting quarterback. And prove himself he did. Kurt Warner was named the NFL's most valuable player for 1999. Only a handful of quarterbacks have thrown for as many touchdowns as he did this year. And of course, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Superbowl.

In spite of all this, Kurt Warner has an uncanny ability to keep his storybook success in perspective.

On October 15, 1999 on the stage of the Billy Graham crusade, (which was held at the TWA Dome where the Rams play their home games), Warner announced to over 40,000 cheering fans: “Who am I? I am a devout Christian man. I am not a football player. That is what I do. When I throw a touchdown pass now, my thoughts are on how can I use this success on the field as a platform to glorify and praise my Lord Jesus Christ. People often ask the secret of my success as a football player. It has nothing to do with how I work out in the off-season, or my diet. The secret of my success is simply Jesus Christ.”

Warner says his faith, as well as the hardships and tragedies his family has faced, has helped him understand what truly is important in life. In turn, this helps him on the football field, particularly in pressure situations.

He said that any salary increase he receives in a possible contract-adjustment for 1999 will be donated to Camp Barnabas, a Christian retreat in Purdy, Missouri, for special-needs children and their siblings.