Kurt Warner talks to Catholic Online about hit new reality show, 'The Moment'

Kurt Warner, the legendary NFL quarterback and devout Christian, is hosting a new prime-time television show on the USA Network called, The Moment. The Moment is about second chances for people who missed their first chance because life events got in the way. Marshall Connolly of Catholic Online had an opportunity to interview Kurt Warner ahead of the show.

Light Your Virtual Prayer Candle For a Loved One

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online)  - The Moment is a new reality series set to premiere on the USA Network on Thursday April 11 at 10/9 central. The show will run every Thursday through its first season. Kurt Warner, legendary NFL quarterback who led the St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals to the Superbowl will host the show.

Kurt Warner knows a lot about second chances. The NFL took a pass on Warner after he tried to play for the Green Bay Packers. To make ends meet, Warner was compelled to take work stocking grocery store shelves before he finally made his way back into the NFL and eventual stardom playing for the St. Louis Rams and later the Arizona Cardinals.

Today, Kurt Warner travels as an inspirational speaker, sharing the Christian message and the power of second chances. Part of that mission involves The Moment, an inspirational reality show designed to give a lucky few a second chance at their dreams.

The participants in each episode started following their dream careers, such as a Tracie Marcum, a mom from Alabama who put aside her dream of becoming a sports photographer after losing her business in a divorce. In The Moment, she gets a second chance at her dream, inspired by Warner and assisted by a top professional in sports photography. 

Watching the pilot episode of the show inspired some questions for Warner.

COL: Kurt, why second chances? Why not first chances?

WARNER: I love first chances, but unfortunately first chances don't always work out for everyone, and I'm a perfect example of that.  I had a chance and for a lot of different reasons including reasons that were based on things that I did and mistakes that I made, I needed a second chance. So to know the power of second chances, to know what a second chance can mean for an individual, for family, for a career, I just think there's a lot of people out there where life just gets in the way. That's a big premise of the show.

Sometimes life just gets in the way, sometimes life throws you a curve ball that is out of you control, and you just have to let go of the first chance. And a lot of people get stuck figuring out how to generate a second chance. I just think it's a part of everyday society that we all need second chances and that's what I love about the show.

Free Catholic Knowledge Assessment from Catholic Online School

Obviously there's a great Christian tie-in that we all need second chances that we all make mistakes and we all fall short and from a Christian standpoint we need Jesus to give us a second chance.

COL: Not everyone's going to get a spot on your show. For the soul on the street who needs a second chance, how do they maximize their odds of a second chance?

WARNER: The first thing you need to do is you always prepare. If you have a dream, never stop preparing for that. For me, I didn't have anybody knock on my door. I didn't have anybody ask me to be on a television show. I had to create the opportunities for myself and a big part of that was staying prepared.

Even though life couldn't always allow me to give 100 percent to my dream of being a professional football player, sometimes that I had to work, I had to take other jobs, I had to take care of my wife's kids... so when I had opportunity, I made sure I took advantage of that opportunity to make myself ready. I think that's where it starts.

The second thing is that you have to take advantage of smaller opportunities along the way. My dream was to play in the NFL and had I just sat back and said, 'you know what, I'm not going to take any opportunity if it's not the NFL, I probably wouldn't be sitting here today.' I had to play arena football for three years, I had to work in a grocery store for a while to make ends meet, I had to go to Amsterdam to play. A lot of things had to happen along the way to continue to keep me ready to continually try to open door for that second chance.

And I hope that's what the show does, that it encourages people. I'm not going to be able to knock on every door and give everybody a second chance, but that doesn't mean your second chance isn't out there. If you're prepared and ready, you can generate a second chance that will change your life forever.

And that to me is the real premise and push behind the show. Yeah, I want to help the nine people on the show, but for me it's bigger than that. I want to impact everybody across the country. People sitting on their couch.

We Will Pray with You: Light Your Virtual Prayer Candle

I think God always tells us we've got to move. Start moving towards your dream. That's what I always did. It was a long time coming and it didn't happen in the time I wanted it to happen, but I was ready for it when it did and because of that I was able to parlay that into as great career, and amazing platform, and a chance to truly impact people.

COL: What would you say to a person who fumbles a second chance?

I'm one who believes you keep trying. You keep exhausting different opportunities. Because for me a lot of it depends on the reason that you're doing it. When I think about second chances and dreams, I think about those things that make us fully alive. Those things that we believe we were created for. And I don't think we should ever let those things go.

If we mess up one chance, a second chance, we have to understand as we mess things up, we may not be able to fulfill our dreams the way we thought about when we were 9 or 10 years old. We may not be able to get to that level, but that does not mean we can't accomplish our dreams at some level.

If you love something, if you're passionate about it, that's where you're going to have the greatest impact on the people around you. By living in those passions and sharing that passion with other people and sharing your gifts and what God created you to be. That would be my encouragement, you miss one chance, you miss two chances, don't give up. Keep chasing it. If it's part of who you are and it really drives you, and makes you alive and fulfills your purpose in life make sure that it's part of your life.

Make sure that to some degree you continue to pursue that passion because it will make a difference in the kind of person you are, the attitude you have towards life, the husband that you are, the father that you are, the friend that you are, I think a lot of that stems from us being fulfilled in life and a big part of that is being able to live in our passions.

COL: As you're telling me this, I keep thinking how Christ stumbled with the cross three times on the way to Calvary.

WARNER: There's so many people in the Bible that messed up. Moses, just go down the line. Peter. How many people messed up along the way, yet God still used them to do great things?

Shop Holy Cards

You can still have an impact, you can still do unbelievable things. You can still do miraculous things like you've see in the Bible.

We're all going to stumble at times, we're all going to mess up. But that's the great story of redemption. It's the redemption from sin and it's the redemption in our life where God can take the foolish things and confound the wise.

The people who mess up, God can use them in powerful ways. It' a tremendous message.

COL: So that's the formula. Always prepare, take advantage of every opportunity, even the small ones, and embrace what you are passionate about. Keep trying and God will help with the rest.

Kurt Warner, may God bless you, and thank you.

-The Moment will premiere on April 11, 10/9 C.

Check it out by clicking here!

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'