A New Arena

They are hidden away in football’s shadows, playing in places like Albany and Iowa, Grand Rapids and San Jose, far from the glare and glamour of Sunday afternoons on network television.

Or else they head overseas, exported to spots like Berlin or Barcelona, Frankfurt or Amsterdam, sent by NFL teams to get some work, hone their skills, find out if they can really play this game.

Football’s anonymous army hangs out in the Arena League or NFL Europe, sometimes in both places, waiting for somebody to find them, just like somebody finally found Kurt Warner.

Warner was a football vagabond, cut in training camp by the Green Bay Packers in 1994, playing for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena League for three years, then spending a year with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe.

He was one of those guys just waiting for a break and then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, he turned up as the NFL’s MVP, playing for the St. Louis Rams in today’s NFC championship game.

Warner was not exactly an overnight sensation. But his success is what keeps a whole community of faceless football players strapping on pads, hoping it happens to them, too. He is their poster boy.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Jake Delhomme of the New Orleans Saints. “This is just a great thing? He’s setting a standard. As good as he’s doing, the better it is for somebody like myself. A team gave him a chance and look where he’s got them. It helps all of us.”

Some of them have helped themselves.

The NFL Europe quarterback alumni association includes Brad Johnson of the Washington Redskins, who played for London in 1995; Jon Kitna of the Seattle Seahawks, MVP of the World Bowl with Barcelona in 1997; and Damon Huard of the Miami Dolphins, who played for Frankfurt in 1998. They are among 11 former overseas quarterbacks who started games in the NFL this season.

Delhomme backed up Warner at Amsterdam in 1998, lived next door to him in the team hotel, sharing a unique football experience.

“We had a real good working relationship, but it was tough,” he said. “I wanted to be on the field. You go there to play. It’s a developmental league.”

Warner developed big time. He led the league with 2,101 yards passing and threw for 15 touchdowns, leaving little playing time for his backup. That came after he put up impressive numbers in the Arena League, passing for 10,164 yards and 183 touchdowns in his three seasons there.

So Delhomme waited his turn, in a place far from his roots in Lafayette, La.

“It’s difficult,” he said. “You leave all the luxuries of the United States behind. It’s a difficult lifestyle. There’s no network TV. You’re living in a hotel for 11 or 12 weeks.”

Warner moved on to St. Louis, in the right place at the right time when Trent Green was injured in training camp. He took over the starting job and enjoyed a dream season.

Meanwhile, Delhomme went back to NFL Europe last year and led Frankfurt to the championship. The environment was special, he said.

“We had 15,000 to 20,000 for every game and they were loud,” he said. “They bring in air horns and blow those things. It was a fantastic atmosphere. This time, I played and I won. It was well worth it.”

Then Delhomme turned up with the Saints in time to stun Dallas in the next-to-last game of the season.

It was a significant victory in a season in which the Saints won just three games and important personally for a young quarterback trying to establish himself.

The first message waiting for Delhomme when he got home that night was from Warner, one NFL Europe quarterback congratulating another.

Maybe today, he’ll get a chance to return the compliment.