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NFL Quarterback Kurt Warner's Family Tradition

Kurt Warner, the two-time NFL MVP quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals, started a family tradition he calls The Restaurant Game. The night before he heads out for a road game, Kurt and his wife take their seven children out to eat a family dinner. Once the Warner family is seated, one of the children will scan the dining area like a quarterback looking for potential receivers. When the Warner child picks a table, Kurt asks the waiter to add that table's dinner tab to his own—all anonymously. At a steakhouse before a September game against the New York Jets, a family of four received a free meal without knowing it came from an NFL star.

The idea for The Restaurant Game came to Warner and his wife after Warner led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory in 2000. It's a natural fit for them. They remember the days before Warner's NFL career—when Kurt was working a night shift at a grocery store, and they only had food stamps to feed their family. With that in mind, giving is a joyful family tradition for the Warners. "We want our kids to grow up knowing that because of football we are blessed," Warner said. "We never want them to lose sight of what it's really about. Our circumstances are not the most important thing. It's what we do with those circumstances."

Warner's motto for life and ministry is "Faith and Family First." The Restaurant Game is one way he's passing that motto on to his children. When they go out to eat, they always pray and pick up someone's dinner bill before they enjoy their own.

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