Nothing in the NFL has ever been given to Kurt Warner, and nothing has ever come easy.
His bid to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is no exception.
The former Arizona Cardinals quarterback has been a finalist for the Hall of Fame each of the last two years, but he hasn't received the necessary votes to earn a permanent place in Canton.
But Warner, the two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl XXXIV champion, isn't sweating it.
"From what I hear from people, it's just a matter of time," Warner told ABC15's Craig Fouhy on Sunday.
"I never want to use the word disappointment, because you don't get to the final 10 and it's a disappointment that you're one of the 305 best players in NFL history.
"We'll see. If it happens, great."
Warner said being snubbed the second time around was less difficult than the first time.
"It was actually easier this past year," he said. "I always tell people: You kind of feel like a Hall of Famer when you get to the finalist spot. It's right there. And then, when they tell you you're not, then the next year you come back and you kind of feel like, 'Oh, I'm not until they tell me that I am.'
"It's not a bad thing. It is what it is. But it makes it easier."
Patience has always been a virtue for Warner. He spent time in the Arena Football League before he got a crack at the NFL -- and when he did, he received a starting nod with the St. Louis Rams only after original starter Trent Green went down with a season-ending injury.
That lesson in patience has prepared him for the situation he's in now.
"Everything else I've done in my career has been about waiting, so I'm willing to wait a while longer," he said. "And if it happens, what a tremendous blessing that would be."
