Kurt Warner: More than football

In professional sports, athletes must cope with the “What have you done for me lately?” test from their employers and fans. Even superstars in this fickle business can fade quickly from the public's mind.

But we won't soon forget Kurt Warner. The rags-to-riches story of this Cedar Rapids son who became one of the NFL's most accomplished, effective quarterbacks is well known across the nation.

More lasting to Warner's legacy: His athletic prowess was matched by his efforts to help others. We'll never know the exact number of times he slipped into town to assist some humanitarian project. Yet we have witnessed his support for flood victims, his work in Habitat for Humanity projects. And heard him credit Cedar Rapids for influencing the person he's become: a man of character, of devotion to family, faith and community.

So, Warner, now that you've retired from the NFL, we trust you won't forget Cedar Rapids. Keep using your celebrity and proven record of servant leadership in ways that make us proud, here and elsewhere.

And by the way, our

City Council may yet get

that street named in your honor.