The movie about St. Louis Rams QB great Kurt Warner well worth the price of admission
Over the holidays, I went to a Tuesday morning matinee to see “American Underdog” — the story of Kurt Warner and his family.
Due to COVID, it had been awhile since I had been to the movies. I passed on the soda, popcorn and box of Sno-Caps because it was before noon. I thought about them the entire movie.
The matinee ticket from Marcus O’Fallon Cinema was $5. I purchased it online beforehand. I showed my phone to the ticket taker, or phone checker, or whatever you call the nice young person in the theater uniform who told me the movie was in Theater 2, just to the left.
My seat was G14. It was a comfortable, leather lounge chair. After about 10 minutes of fumbling around with a button to get my legs and feet elevated to a perfect level — as if my legs and feet needed to be at a perfect level to watch a movie — I was ready for the movie previews, which seemed about 15 minutes longer than the movie itself.
As always, the sound in the movie theater seemed unnecessarily loud but I got used to it.
All sounds seemed too low for a few days.
I enjoyed the Kurt Warner movie.
It wasn’t overdone. I’m a big Kurt Warner fan. He was a great quarterback. I’m a bigger fan of the person.
The 1999-2000 Rams football season was magical. Dick Vermeil crying. Marshall Faulk’s elusiveness. Warner’s magic. For a St. Louis football fan who grew up with the Big Red, I kept waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under the team and fans. Is this too good to be true? I never thought I’d experience a Super Bowl in St. Louis. I still can’t believe the St. Louis Rams organizations didn’t mess it up.
American Underdog is Kurt and Brenda Warner’s story. He went from a stock boy at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Iowa to a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback. It’s not only a football movie. It is a love story, life story, and football story — in that order.
About the movie
The movie allowed me to see Kurt and Brenda Warner before they came to St. Louis. They were struggling. I had forgotten Brenda’s parents died tragically in a tornado in Arkansas. Kurt asked a teammate how to line dance so he could approach his future wife.
It leads to the Super Bowl season. After Trent Green’s injury, coaches Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz stuck with the unproven Warner to lead their team. That was an amazing decision, in itself.
When the movie was over, I told myself I would see it again, but I have not yet.
A few weeks later, I think watching the Kurt Warner movie was my farewell to all that represents St. Louis Rams football. The good and bad. Vermeil and Jeff Fisher. Kurt Warner and Sam Bradford. Tailgating on a side street near the dome, which was a really bad venue for football games. Even the good seats were bad seats.
It’s time to move on. A lawsuit has been settled. Part of the financial deal is not an NFL franchise or expansion team in St. Louis. No new football stadium.
Had Big Red stayed, no Kurt Warner
It’s all hindsight. None of it matters. I wish the St. Louis region would have built Bill Bidwill a football stadium like we built the Rams. Then the old Football Cardinals would have never left town. But then the Rams would not have moved here from Los Angeles. And we would not have had Kurt Warner and the Super Bowl memories. Or this movie.
In a weird way, it works out but it doesn’t, right?
I’m lucky to have lived NFL football in St. Louis twice in my lifetime. I don’t expect a third time. A lawsuit settlement check for $790 million will buy a whole lot of something for the region. But it won’t buy NFL football again in St. Louis — in my lifetime.
I’d encourage you to see “American Underdog.” It’s a feel-good movie. And if you are like me, it will remind you to be more grateful for what we had once. And help you forget the hope of having another NFL team in St. Louis someday. We’re big, big underdogs. Again.