From Supermarket To Super Bowl
St. Louis Rams quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner led his team to a 23-16 Super Bowl victory over the Tennessee Titans by throwing for 414 yards.
"I always believed in myself and thought the lord had a plan for me," Warner said. "I just lived my life one day at a time, always believed in myself, always believed I had the talent."
Seventy-three of those yards came on the game-winning pass to wide receiver Isaac Bruce.
"Kurt Warner is Kurt Warner and it's not a fairy tale," said Rams coach Dick Vermeil. "He is a book, he is a movie."
Warner - who, several years ago, was stacking shelves in the supermarket - said there have been some contacts about a movie of his life, but it hasn't been anything serious. He played in the Arena League and NFL Europe and was left unprotected in the expansion draft last spring.
The Rams quarterback, who made the league minimum for a two-year player, $250,000, said he hopes to get a raise and take care of his family, but he's not playing for the money.
"I play because I love the game. That's why I played this year," Warner said. "If the money comes, that will be great. But I play because I love it."
The Rams controlled the ball and statistically dominated, but missed opportunities from both teams comprised of botched field goals and a dropped touchdown made the first half a kicker's duel, reports CBS News Early Show National Correspondent Jon Frankel. The Rams led 9-0 at the break.
As the second half started, the Titans' woes continued, with another blocked field goal and safety Blaine Bishop went down with what appeared to be a very serious head injury. It was a rallying point for Tennessee. After the Rams put another touchdown on the board, the Titans rushed for two scores and kicked a field goal to tie the score at 16.
|
"I think that epitomizes the whole season and this team," Warner said. "Every time we need a big play, someone's come up with it."
The championship for Warner, Vermeil and the Rams seemed no more than a dream six months ago after a 4-12 season in 1998.
"I thought we could do it but we came up about 6 inches from having a chance to do it," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "As much as this hurts we have an awful lot of pride in coming so close."
It was the first NFL title for the Rams since 1951 and the first football title ever for St. Louis, which lost the Cardinals after the 1987 season and gained the Rams from Los Angeles in 1995.
For Additional Coverage:
St. Louis Fans Get Their Title