The luckiest number 13 and the individual whose influence single-handedly presided over the unluckiest period in American open-wheel racing have one thing in common as of 3:00 p.m. CT this afternoon.
They have both left the building.
And the entities they represented are likely to enter some dire straits going forward.
Otherwise there would be no other way to link Kurt Warner and Tony George. The two could not be any more different as individuals.
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I'll start with Warner.
Warner's rags-to-riches, potential Hall of Fame NFL career was one of the most unlikely in the sport's history. Few could have imagined an unheralded former grocery store bagger and Arena Football quarterback jumping in at a moment's notice to take over the St. Louis Rams. The rest is history.
His first season was nothing short of stunning. As the architect of "The Greatest Show on Turf," Warner led the revival of an anonymous franchise to prominence and the Super Bowl championship.
Warner did a similar Lazarus-like revival of the Arizona Cardinals, the team that played in my hometown for all 18 years of my upbringing, but was never truly my "home" and favorite team.
You see, the Cardinals were another team mired in mediocrity before Warner's arrival. Growing up, I never got to see Cardinals home games because the team never sold out its games at Sun Devil Stadium (granted, from experience the place is a bit of a dump. But nonetheless...) and so more intriguing teams like the Packers, Cowboys or 49ers were always on due to the blackout.
My mom and I grew up scheduling our Sundays around the Packers game, not the Cardinals. I didn't know anything else. When the Cardinals were on TV, they were always on the road, and getting shredded to feathers by vastly superior teams as they were in the midst of a several year-long road losing streak. Any wonder the "fans" wouldn't support them?
But Warner led a recovery. Tossed out of New York following the arrival of their would-be "messiah" Eli Manning, Warner signed with the Cardinals for relative pennies and ushered in an era of respectibility, if not outright success. For this laughingstock of a franchise, even an 8-win season would be considered dynamite.
In 2008, the unthinkable happened. I didn't witness it as I was in Washington, D.C. for President Obama's inauguration, but I received a text from my dad that said the following. I kid you not.
"HOLY S--- THE CARDINALS ARE IN THE SUPER BOWL! ARE YOU F'ING KIDDING ME?"
If I hadn't got a new phone since, that would be one text I would forever hang on to. It was shocking.
A comparable example - the Clippers making the NBA Finals. The Pirates in the World Series. A start-and-parker not only running the entire race, but winning the Daytona 500. Again, something I never thought I would see in my lifetime.
Suddenly, millions of new "diehard," "life-long" Cardinal fans were born. Everyone could name their three most memorable Cardinal games of their lives - the three playoff games that got the Cards to the Super Bowl.
Now granted, I was pulling like hell for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl because I figured this is literally a once-in-a-lifetime shot deal. When Santonio Holmes got his second foot down, my jaw dropped and a salty, watery discharge emerged from my eye (a Seinfeld reference to when Jerry "cries" and actually "feels" for someone rather than tossing them out like yesterday's lunch).
I was gutted. I knew this could not possibly happen again.
But the Cards rejoined my list of teams I no longer could give a crap about after this year's playoff game vs. the Pack. Even more frustrating than the lack of defense, the constant blown leads, the missed calls, etc., was when my dad screamed and celebrated on the final strip of Aaron Rodgers.
Warner played his heart out that game and ended with a truly incredible statistic, more touchdowns than incomplete passes. For now, it's his last victory.
If there's one thing Brett Favre has taught us, it's to not take retirement at the retirement presser's word. But Warner seems done for good and a much classier individual at the end of his line than does Favre. At least for now.
***
Now, Tony George is another matter entirely.
Anyone who knows me knows I was and still am a CART/Champ Car-guy. I was 7 when "the split" happened and naturally at that age, wasn't exactly an expert on the details or what it meant. But I knew that CART got me hooked on racing in 1996 and for 15 years I have followed it and other series religiously, and since 2005 have made it my work. The Indy Racing League never did.
George will always remain the most polarizing figure in the history of the sport. He came from riches in the Hulman-George family, and when armed with an open checkbook, complete and utter power, and a plan to wipe out the competition, had a nuclear combination. Look at where what's left of IndyCar is today versus 1995 and anyone with half a brain will tell you it isn't even close.
Yet for his flaws, George's accomplishments will still have a lasting effect. He single-handedly transformed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into the mecca it is today, not to mention one of the two most important safety innovations in my lifetime - the SAFER Barriers. He brought NASCAR to the Speedway, and also welcomed back F1 and MotoGP while adding the infield road course and building a new pagoda.
I was especially grateful to get the chance to cover the 2008 Indianapolis 500, the first after George extended the olive branch to what was left of Champ Car, at age 18 in the IMS press room. It remains one of my two most incredible experiences in motorsports, as there is still nothing like race morning at Indy.
That said, the scorched earth story has been told a thousand times over by other writers with far more experience. Just within the last two weeks, George's reign has ended completely.
Last week, he resigned from the IMS Board of Directors. Yesterday, he's told his staff at Vision Racing, his last remaining link to IndyCar, that the team would have to cease operations unless sponsorship could be found.
If that's not a damning indication of the direction IndyCar is headed in right now, when the series' founder announces even he can't find backing, than I don't know what is. I've been accused of being a "doom-and-gloomer" before but there's little positive news I can take out of it.
Another thing too. How ironic is it that two years after the unification that Kevin Kalkhoven, who sold the remnants of Champ Car, is now more directly involved with IndyCar than TG is?
I don't know how many IndyCar races I will make it to this year, but I'll be interested to see the reaction internally given everything that's transpired over yet another discouraging off-season.
***
On the bright side, the Rolex 24 at Daytona kicks off the 2010 season this weekend. Meanwhile, the majority of my time is spent at school with 18 credits and my two campus jobs, working as an assistant news editor with The Marquette Tribune (follow us @mutribune on Twitter and on Facebook) and also as a student manager at the University Advancement Phonathon.
Hence, I'm pretty busy and therefore have neglected the blog, and I know I need to be better at updating. But the end of these respective eras very much warranted this post.
Out for now, cheers.
